GuideStar Blog

I've never really kept track.

In my years of consulting, I suppose I've worked with 30,000 volunteer and professional fundraisers. Perhaps as many as 50,000. They come in all sizes and shapes and ethnic backgrounds. Tall, short. Heavy, thin. I've seen it all.

From this wealth of experience, I've identified 15 precepts that I believe board members should use as their guide. In my book, The Fundraising Habits of Supremely Successful Boards, I spell them out in more detail.

1. The mission of your organization is its most prized treasure—to be taken out for public display, to be cherished, and to be polished regularly to maintain its luster and value. Your mission isn't a recital of where you've been. It speaks eloquently as to where you're going.
2. You make certain your organization has the financial resources to meet its mission. Money makes this happen. Board members cannot abdicate their responsibility for raising funds. They cannot allow a mission deficit.
3. Trustees must be willing to give. This is what transforms vision into reality. If those closest don't give, it is a serious failure, a decaying of moral fortitude, determination, and dedication.
4. You bring to each board meeting a probing, challenging, open mind. You ask, What are we achieving? Are we meeting our mission? What are the dreams and visions for the future?
5. Understand that your organization doesn't have needs. The people you serve have needs. You have the answer. The response. The solution.
6. It is an unforgiving failure if you come to a board meeting unprepared. If you're not familiar with what is happening, it sets a course for a rudderless journey in stormy waters. No compass, no direction, no bearings, no future.
7. Policy determination is the province of the board and the board only. Policy execution is the responsibility of the staff. You are admonished not to meddle. There ought to be a "No Trespassing" sign firmly in place.
8. You never lose sight that your organization is in the business of empowering and enriching lives.
9. Complacency and even graduate growth are the enemies of organizational vitality. There's plenty of room at the bottom for the organization willing to limp along and live on past laurels.
10. It is amazing, the wondrous things that can be achieved when a staff receives its proper recognition. Including salary recognition. You provide accord and acclaim for good performance.
11. There are four levels of trustees. Those who make things happen. Those who watch things happen. Those to whom things happen. And those who don't even know what's happening. Your job is to make things happen.
12. As a board member, you are less concerned about how things are done and greatly concerned about why things are done.
13. The financial statement doesn't tell the story of your organization. The bottom line cannot be counted in dollars. The true net worth can only be measure in how you affect the lives of those you serve.
14. A ho-hum board begets a ho-hum institution. Plain vanilla. No soaring hopes. No exciting aspirations. No creative solutions. It will never be able to respond to human and social needs. Your responsibility is to be continuously vigilant. To review, package, and revitalize the program.
15. As a trustee, you are an advocate. You carry the flag. More than anyone, you're the goodwill ambassador and tell the organization's story whenever and wherever possible. Be a roaring enthusiast. Tell everyone about the amazing work your organization is doing.

As a board member, you are among the chosen few. Lives are being changed and saved because of you. You're the noble souls raising funds to provide the scholarships, heal the sick, feed the hungry, build the buildings, furnish the equipment, and find the cures.

You dream the unthinkable. Attempt the impossible. It is the magic of your involvement that leads your organization to success.

You will forever be, to use Ernest Hemingway's salute: "The winner and undisputed champion." 

The proceding is a guest post by Jerold Panas the author of The Fundraising Habits of Supremely Successful Boards, Making a Case Your Donors Will Love, Asking, and Mega Gifts: Who Gives Them, Who Gets Them.

Excerpted from How to Turn Your Words Into Money

Sometimes being a writer is like starring in a bad episode of The Twilight Zone. You're about to enter a dark forest to do something heroic. An old man appears from nowhere. He fixes you with bloodshot eyes and warns you the forest is full of traps. Traps, everywhere!

You would think, with this being the age of "all information available" via the Internet, that it would be so much easier to develop a compelling statement of need when you are writing a grant proposal. But in truth, it has become much harder.

With so much information available, how do you know which reports, statistics, or quotes to use to build a compelling case for support? Where do you look for the best data you can find? Where do you even begin to build a strong statement of need?

All need statements answer these four very basic questions:

1. What is the problem that requires a solution?
2. What will happen if this problem is not addressed?
3. What is the gap between what exists now and what ought to be?
4. Why do we need funding now to address this problem?

It will focus your research if you keep all four of these questions in mind as you dive into the task of writing a strong statement of need.

Tip! I actually write these four questions out and keep them on the wall of my office when I am writing a proposal. This keeps me on track.

Unearthing the True Need

Evidence and data are essential tools if you want to develop a strong case for support. The data you present must be relatively objective, however. While most people would say the evidence they present to support their need is objective, it's very easy to skew data—even if it is not intentional.

Consider this scenario:

Your nonprofit runs an afterschool program that is a bit stagnant. The program is maintaining its funding, but the outcomes, the results, are just so-so. The board of directors is beginning to question whether or not the program is having any appreciable impact, and you are sure it won't be long until the funders start to question this as well.

The program needs a makeover, and the director of the afterschool program proposes changes based on her experience.

A funding opportunity comes along, and there is a scramble to collect the data to support a proposed program makeover. Finding the data to support your statement of need isn't all that hard, because the solution to the problem (weak outcomes) has already been determined. You decide to develop a survey of your stakeholders to gather the information you need to generate the statement of need. In fact, the questions you develop are, at this point, actually biased to support your new plan of action.

So, what is wrong with this approach?

The problem with this approach is that, despite the best intentions, your statement of need will now be based almost entirely on the observations and experiences of a few people. It is in-built, a natural progression from an existing program, not truly data-driven!

The potential pitfalls in using a planning process like the one described above is that many individuals who review proposals on a regular basis look for this kind of documentation.

They know it is an easy pitfall for many an organization, not to mention the grantwriter, so you want to stay far away from this kind of reasoning. Instead, go after the documentation that will build a powerful, objective case for support that results in a plan of action that truly attacks the basic premise of your problem or need.

When you develop a need statement, you have to be aware that you are not only documenting the problem or need that is facing society but you are also demonstrating that the approach you propose is built on a solid understanding of that problem.

The need you are presenting, the need you are documenting and sharing with the grantmaker, is what I call a "true" need.

Remember, your overall goal is to convince the grantmaker that the information you are presenting in your statement of need is both accurate and credible, and that the resulting program or project you are asking them to fund is the best way to address this need.

If this topic interests you, I am offering a 90-minute webinar called The Golden Key to Grantwriting as a free gift if you join GrantStation over the holidays! You can learn more about this offer by going to GrantStation.

The preceding is a guest post by Cynthia Adams, CEO of GrantStation, a premiere online funding resource for organizations seeking grants throughout the world. Providing access to a comprehensive online database of grantmakers, GrantStation helps nonprofit organizations, educational institutions, and government agencies make smarter, better-informed grantseeking decisions. GrantStation is dedicated to creating a civil society by assisting the nonprofit sector in its quest to build healthy and effective communities.