"Help! My Board Thinks Fundraising Means Showing Up to the Gala and Eating the Chicken"

I need you to close your eyes for a second.

Actually, don’t.

You’re reading. That would be counterproductive.

But imagine this with me:

It’s your annual gala. The room looks great. The silent auction is set. The centerpieces are doing their little centerpiece thing. You’ve been planning this event for approximately eleven months, four emotional breakdowns, and one passive-aggressive email chain with a volunteer named Gladys about whether the napkins should be “eggshell” or “ivory.”

And then your board walks in.

They look great. They find their table. They eat the chicken. They bid on the wine basket…you know, the one they donated, clearly. They clap during the paddle raise.

They leave.

And the next day, when you ask about follow-up with donors? When you mention thank-you calls? When you, God forbid, bring up asking someone for money?

Crickets.

Wild-Wild-West tumbleweeds.

A board member named Steve suddenly has “a thing” every time you schedule a donor meeting.

Why Does This Keep Happening?

Here’s the deal.

Most board members didn’t sign up to fundraise. They signed up because they care about the mission.

And somewhere between their nomination and their first meeting, nobody, and I mean nobody, told them what fundraising actually looks like for a board member.

So they default to the one thing they’ve seen: the event.

Show up. Eat the chicken. Maybe buy a raffle ticket. Done. Fundraising accomplished.

And look, I’m not mad at them. That’s a systems failure, not a people failure.

You know that fundraising is a 365-day relationship-building effort. They think it’s a Saturday night in November with a cash bar and a DJ who plays one too many Five for Fighting songs. (Seriously, they had one hit…just play that hit and move on dude. On second thought, why is this DJ playing Five for Fighting at a fundraising gala? Things that make you go, “Hmmmmm.”)

So What Do You Actually Do About It?

Glad you asked!

Here are three things you can do this week - not next quarter, not “someday,” this week - to start shifting your board from gala-only fundraisers to actual partners in your mission!

1.     Redefine “Fundraising” Before Your Next Board Meeting

Most board members hear “fundraising” and their brain immediately goes to: “You want me to cold-call strangers and beg for money.”

Nope. Not at all.

Start your next board meeting with a simple verbal reframe that says: “Fundraising for a board member means opening doors. Not closing deals.”

See how fun that sounds!?

Give them examples of what board-level fundraising actually looks like: making an introduction, sharing a social media post, writing a personal thank-you note, inviting someone to a tour, telling their neighbor about the mission over a driveway beer.

None of that requires a script. None of it requires a sales background. It requires being a human who cares about something, which, last time I checked, is why they joined the board in the first place.

2.     Give Them Exactly One Thing to Do (Not Thirty-Seven)

I see this all the time: a well-meaning ED or development director creates a beautiful board engagement packet with twelve action items, a matrix, and color-coded expectations.

And the board collectively does... nothing.

Here’s why: overwhelm creates inaction.

If your board can’t figure out where to start, they won’t start.

Instead, try this: at the end of your next meeting, give every board member ONE name and ONE action.

“Hey Steve, I’d love for you to call Dan Johnson this week and thank him for his gift last month. That’s it. Just say thanks.”

That’s fundraising. That’s donor stewardship. And Steve can absolutely handle that between his “things and stuff.”

One name. One action. Repeat monthly. Watch what happens.

3.     Celebrate the Behavior You Want to See More Of

Oh, this one’s sneaky and I love it.

When a board member actually does something fundraising-adjacent (you know, makes an intro, shows up to a donor meeting, shares a post, writes a note…all the things you’ve begged them to do for the last, I don’t know how long) you put that on blast, as the kids would say.

Not in a weird, overly performative way. But at the next board meeting:

“Hey, quick shout-out to Janet!  She introduced us to a potential sponsor last week and we’ve already got a meeting on the books. That’s exactly what board-level fundraising looks like.”

What happens next? Every other board member thinks: “Oh. That’s all it takes? I could do that.”

Yes Gail. You can do that.

Positive reinforcement isn’t just for golden retrievers and kindergartners. It works on boards, too.

Especially boards.

This Is a MAYDAY for a Reason

If your board thinks “fundraising” starts and ends with the gala, you’re going to burn out carrying everything yourself.

You’re going to resent them.

They’re going to feel disconnected.

And your donors? They’re going to notice that the only time they hear from you is when you need something.

That’s not sustainable. That’s not even a plan. That’s a slow-motion MAYDAY.

The good news? This is fixable. It doesn’t require firing your board or rewriting your bylaws.

It simply requires a conversation, a reframe, and one small action step at a time. Hooray!

YOUR TURN

I want to hear from you. Seriously. Hit reply, send me a DM, carrier pigeon - I don’t care. Tell me:

What does your board actually do for event participation? Or, let’s be honest, what DON’T they do that you wish they would?

Maybe your board is all-in and crushing it. Tell me what’s working and I’ll share it (with permission) so other folks can steal your playbook.

Maybe your board thinks “fundraising” is a dirty word and you’re drowning. Tell me that too. No judgment. I got you.

Send me your answer: patrick@dogoodbetterconsulting.com or just send a note if you want to talk about how to get your board actually engaged in fundraising beyond the gala.

Together, we’ve freaking got this!

-Patrick

P.S. This is one of a series of MAYDAY Distress Signals. Real problems I hear from nonprofit pros every single week. If you’re tired of figuring it out alone, Do Good YOUniversity re-launches May 1st with on-demand training, community, and tools built for fundraisers like you. Stay tuned!