Board members: Reach out to your CEO during dark times

• Published date: 01 November 2020
• Date: 01 November 2020
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/ban.31184

B&A For Board Members

DOI 10.1002/ban © 2020 Wiley Periodicals LLC • All rights reserved

of their social media platforms. But they can go

beyond simply “liking” or sharing a single post

linking to the organization’s fundraising page. For

example, they can post a series of items—with a

combination of text, pictures and video—highlight-

ing the organization’s work, the need for funding,

the specific P2P campaign and examples of on-the-

ground impact the organization has made. Instead

of a one-off post, they can tell a compelling story

about the charity and encourage support for it

through the P2P campaign, pushing this story out

to their extended networks of friends, families and

colleagues—garnering a much bigger fundraising

response.

“Many board members just don’t realize how big

of a role they can play in this,” Perry said.

• Major donor cultivation. Board members

play a crucial role in this area as well, Perry

said, as they can contribute on several fronts.

First, they can scan their networks and connec-

tions to identify any peers who might be good

prospects for supporting the organization. They

can also help with personalized meetings and

introductions to organizational staff and lead-

ership. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic,

in-person meetings with potential major donors

might not be appropriate, but board members

can just as easily extend virtual invitations to

podcasts, webinars and other virtual experiences

the organization sets up to introduce potential

supporters to the organization and its mission,

Perry said.

• Post-campaign operations. After the

campaign has run its course, Perry said, board

members can help by sending thank-you notes

and personalized follow-up letters and emails,

and even making phone calls, to those who gave.

Done properly, these activities should help the

charity retain these donors by setting the stage

for them to stay engaged and connected to the

organization throughout the year.

• Personal giving. As the saying goes, board

members should give “early and often” to the

organization they serve—and that goes for end-of-

year fundraising campaigns as well, Perry said. In

fact, one of the best ways they can urge others to

donate to these campaigns is to do so themselves,

demonstrating their own personal support for the

organization and its mission.

The actual roles that individual board members

will play will vary depending on their personal

strengths and comfort levels – some will engage

more directly in soliciting funds, while others will

work behind the scenes in less visible ways. But

all are essential for the organization’s success.

For more information, visit https://www.gailperry.

com. ■

Board members: Reach out to your CEO

during dark times

One of the easiest and most effective things

board members can do—especially those in lead-

ership positions—is pick up the phone and touch

base with the organization’s executive director, ac-

cording to nonprofit consultant Joan Garry.

As Garry explains on her website, nonprofit

CEOs are facing unprecedented challenges due to

the pandemic, social unrest, and general insta-

bility and chaos currently rocking the United

States. And they are expected to navigate them

without any guidance from their forebears, who

admittedly faced many challenges, but not so

many all at once, that made even simple things

like holding board meetings a strenuous logistical

undertaking.

Board members can do a variety of things to

help out—Garry goes into many of them on her

website—but one of the easiest things for board

members to do is get on their phone and let the

CEO know they have their support at a time when

many nonprofit execs are questioning their leader-

ship abilities.

For more information, visit https://www.joangarry.

com. ■

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