What Not-for-Profit boards need to know about Donor Development
Donor cultivation is the lifeblood of many not-for-profit organizations. But odds are your organization is not doing it right. It is even more likely that your board members lack an understanding of your donor development program. That needs to change, and the time to address it is NOW!
As board members, part of their fiduciary responsibility is to know your organization's donors, financial support, and future development. I often find with my clients that a lack of donor knowledge at the board level is due to miscommunication in one of two ways. First, the organization staff reports only high-level donor information to the board – through a top-level update report. The other way miscommunication occurs is from the board, with members not asking questions or appearing disinterested in a lengthier discussion regarding donors.
A robust understanding of your donor development program is essential to building financial success. Here are three key questions every board should be asking about their donor program:
The WHO, WHAT, and WHY
As board members, they should know the names of your largest donors and how much money they give, at minimum. But they should also see the history of these partnerships with your organization. Understanding the relationship statistics of your donor base is essential and often overlooked because of the time involved in reporting this data. When your board does not know what they should know about their donors, you have to be willing to drive them to ask the right questions.
To start, your board should be asking for a comprehensive report from your donor database system, and you should be providing it! Board members need to develop a baseline of what information your organization retains. From there, they should work with you to create a wish list of donor data, free from restrictions of your software capability and previous data collection. Considering your strategic objectives when building this wish list will ensure future success and expedite your board's investment in donor development.
HOW are you cultivating these relationships
In addition to the whos and whats about your donors, the board members must understand how these relationships are cultivated. When they bring a potential donor to the organization, they should know the communication plan and be involved in that process.
As board members, they should feel confident bringing donors to the organization because they have clarity in the relationship-building process. The peer-to-peer connection of donors to board members is vital, but the sustainability of their relationship happens at the staff level. There should be buy-in from both staff and board members on the processes and procedures for managing donor relationships.
Do you have a contingency plan?
The past year caused disruptions to every organization's plans, but strong organizations have learned from this! Situational adaptation is pivotal to sustaining your organization's donor base and surviving future disruptions. Investing in the future of your donor development means cultivating a variety of relationships driven by strategy. Your board should be reviewing your donor plans as often as your organization's strategic objectives and diversifying that relationship portfolio.
