Tips From The Trenches

• Published date: 01 October 2020
• Date: 01 October 2020
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/ban.31169

October 2020 • Volume 37, Number 2 7

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

Tips From The Trenches

Prepare board members for the role

of giving thanks

One of the many ways board members can

help the organization with fundraising has

nothing at all to do with asking for money—it’s

thanking those who have already given. But

that’s not the easiest thing for them to do, and

executive directors should take steps to bolster

their success in this area, according to Amy

Eisenstein, CEO and co-founder of the Capital

Campaign Toolkit.

According to Eisenstein, you shouldn’t as-

sume board members know how to make

thank-you calls or write thank-you notes. After

all, just as many board members have limited

experience fundraising, many may not have any

experience thanking donors either, and might

be understandably nervous that they might do

or say something out of line. This, thankfully, is

easily addressed—give them a script or tem-

plate to follow that spells out what to say, and

how to say it.

“Remind them that it’s fine to leave messages,

and to be sure they tell the donor that they’re a

volunteer board member calling to thank them for

their recent gift,” Eisenstein said in a blog post on

this topic.

“If the donor has questions that the board

member can’t answer, have a system for getting

that question to staff quickly, so you can provide a

timely response,” she added.

She also suggests that board members commu-

nicate with donors about the impact their support

has made.

“Another great way to use your board mem-

bers is to have them let donors know how their

gifts were used. So, six or eight months after a

gift is made, have board members communicate

by mail, phone, or even in person, the difference

that a donation has made to your organization,”

she said.

Once your board members start thanking

people, they will quickly see the joy that giving

brings others, and are much more likely to become

involved in other areas of fundraising, Eisenstein

said.

For more information, visit https://capitalcampaign

toolkit.com. ■

Improve board member engagement

during meetings with balanced

agenda

A meeting agenda that offers a mix of important

and critical tasks with more lighthearted, fun ones

is one key to keeping board members engaged and

attentive, according to Jeremy Barlow, director

of digital marketing at BoardEffect, a provider of

board management software.

In a blog post on this topic, Barlow explained

that a productive agenda is both timely and

balanced.

“Copying and pasting an agenda from the prior

meeting and making a few additions and deletions

is a time-saver, but it’s also one that can carry

some risk if you get into the habit of not reviewing

the agenda, line by line,” he said. Most significant,

he said, is that it risks overlooking critical and

timely topics of concern to the board.

“Balance the agenda by mixing some of the

heavier items with lighter topics,” he wrote. “If you

know that a topic is going to be heavy or laden

with controversy, mix it up with some breaks or

follow it with something more pleasant. Improve

the mood with a short team-building exercise or

share some uplifting news.”

Barlow also warns against overusing a con-

sent agenda, a tool that enables boards to ad-

dress some of the more routine agenda items

more quickly. While it might offer some time sav-

ings, a consent agenda also limits opportunities

for discussion and input—which not only help

ensure proper board oversight and operation but

help drive engagement among board members as

well.

“The board should have the chance to discuss

and review every item on the agenda,” Barlow said.

“Make sure board members get materials for items

on the consent agenda ahead of time. Allow mem-

bers to pull an item out of the consent agenda if

they wish to discuss it.”

For more information, visit https://www.

boardeffect.com. ■