Help board members become ‘ambassadors’ to maximize their fundraising impact

• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/ban.31155
• Published date: 01 September 2020
• Date: 01 September 2020
• Author: Nicholas King

4 Board & Administrator

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

Help board members become ‘ambassadors’

to maximize their fundraising impact

BY NICHOLAS KING

For the typical nonprofit organization, hav-

ing an engaged board of directors that generates

fundraising revenue and helps to mobilize volun-

teers and spur event participation is critical to

success. And, in most cases, board members are

more than willing to help in these areas—contrib-

uting their time and resources personally, and

helping the organization reach new audiences by

accessing their networks of friends and business

associates.

Board members should be prepared and

willing to advocate for the organization

in all manner of settings—be it on an

airplane with the person seated next to

them or at a formal gala while wooing a

group of VIPs.

Unfortunately, however, some board members

are not so eager to go this extra mile—acting as

what industry experts call “brand ambassadors”

that spread the word and advocate on behalf of

the charity. For these board members, giving their

cash and time is what they signed up for—but if

nonprofits can help them tap into their deeper re-

serves and reach beyond their comfort zones, they

can generate much more substantial returns for

the organization.

According to Roger Sametz, president of

Sametz Blackstone Associates, board members

should be prepared and willing to advocate for

the organization in all manner of settings—be

it on an airplane with the person seated next to

them or at a formal gala while wooing a group

of VIPs.

“These people have opportunities all day long,

everywhere, formal and informal, to spread their

organization’s message,” Sametz said.

But if they aren’t equipped with the requisite

tools, they miss out on those opportunities, he

said. So they must become fluent in the ins and

outs of the organization, and be able to vocal-

ize its message and impact in a way that spurs

people to action.

On a basic level, Sametz said, it all starts with

gaining an understanding of brand building—the

who, what, where, when and why of the organiza-

tion—and how to not only explain these aspects

of the organization at the drop of a hat, but do

so in an effective and compelling way that con-

nects with specific constituencies that support the

organization.

Develop your story

In his training workshops, Sametz starts

participants off with developing the “elevator

speech,” which for nonprofits is quite similar in

style and substance to what it is in the corpo-

rate world—a short pitch on the merits of the

organization, what it does, how it does it and

why the person being pitched to should support

it, Sametz said. His company uses group train-

ing sessions where all board members and key

leadership staff collectively put together the “big

picture” of products and services the organiza-

tion provides, how it provides it and the impact

it has. Group members then vote on the vari-

ous words and phrases presented and narrow

the list down to a succinct message that has the

broadest support and buy-in from organizational

stakeholders.

The next part of the process is collecting and

internalizing stories that demonstrate the many

aspects and attributes of the organization’s work

and impact, Sametz said.

“You should have an effective story to draw on

for every line of endeavor you are engaged in,” he

said.

Further, there should be stories that resonate

with each specific sub-constituency that the

organization engages with, he said. For individu-

als concerned most about accountability, for

example, a story that illuminates the financial

transparency of the broader organization might