Fundraisers' & Board Members' Self-Assessments

Follow 3 simple steps to fundraising success:
Step 1: Digest Fundraising Formula 1: B x 10 = FT to determine your nonprofit's Fundraising Threshold.
Step 2: Fill out the fundraiser's and board member's self-assessments.
Step 3: After you determine your FT, email Dr. Stephen Goldstein personally at trendsman@aol.com to find out how you can improve it. Also, order "The 5 Formulas for Fundraising Success" and/or "The 7 Deadly Sins of Fundraisers and Donors." Both of them will help you benchmark and improve your nonprofit's fundraising success!

Fundraising Formula 1: B x 10 = FT
Create a board that “tens”!

1.1 Ask (too) many people associated with (too) many nonprofits how much money they think they can raise in a fundraising cycle and usually they’ll smile and answer, “As much as we can.” How silly!

1.2 Typically, nonprofits operate on a wing-and-a-prayer and live out of hope—that “the money will somehow come.” After all, they think, “we’re doing good so somehow good things should happen to us.” Right!

1.3 In addition, my guess is that even if they know better, most nonprofit boards resist anything to do with establishing realistic goals for fear of under-motivating paid staff—or boxing themselves in.

1.4 Even worse, too often, when boards put a number on how much they need or want to raise, they set an unrealistic, “stretch” goal.

1.5 Then, having set pie-in-the-sky parameters for their success, they give marching orders to paid staff to meet it. And staff are afraid to challenge their board’s unrealistic expectations.

1.6 In other words, fundraising is typically based upon unrealistic assumptions and expectations. No one thinks that there may actually be a formula to apply to answer the question, “How much money CAN we raise?”

1.7 So here is a standard against which every nonprofit can set a realistic yearly fundraising goal: An organization’s “Fundraising Threshold” (FT) is equal to the amount of money its board personally donates annually times 10.

1.8 In other words, if the board of nonprofit X collectively contributes $100,000, it is reasonable to expect that it can raise $1.1 million yearly.

1.9 Of course, in some years, an organization may have a windfall—a major gift from an estate, for example. That’s always good, just not predictable. By contrast, an organization’s FT establishes the parameters of its ongoing activities, putting it on a reliable, solid footing.

1.10 The FT formula is based upon two important assumptions.

1.11 First, the board of every nonprofit must understand that IT is the key to the organization’s successful fundraising. The buck and the bucks start and stop with them.

1.12 As fiduciaries, board members are responsible for their nonprofit’s financial health and well-being. They are its prime fundraisers. Paid staff guide and assist them in their fundraising role; they cannot and should not replace board members as prime fundraisers.

1.13 Second, board members “worth” anything should be able to get at least 10 others to donate as much as they do.

1.14 Of course, they may have to approach many more than 10 people to reach their goal, so they have to be willing to pull out the stops. They agreed to be on the board presumably because they were committed to the mission and goals of the organization. So what’s the big deal?

1.15 Before even considering making a major gift, potential donors should ask the board member asking them how much he or she gives, how much the board donates as a whole, and at what levels board members give, without naming names.

1.16 Before approaching a major gift prospect, representatives of a nonprofit should be armed with the giving history of the board.

1.17 The reason is simple: Why should a potential donor bankroll an organization if the people who are supposed to be committed enough to it to be on the board don’t ante up?

1.18 Effective board members exhibit five traits that are gauges of their ability to multiply themselves by 10: (1) knowledge of their nonprofit’s purpose, (2) commitment to that purpose, (3) willingness to make financial contributions, (4) willingness to get others to contribute, (5) willingness to be held accountable.

1.19 So, to increase your fundraising goal, determine your current FT, motivate your board to give more—then score a perfect 10!

1.20 Formula 1: Fundraiser’s Self-Assessment
From 0 (Not at all) to 10 (I’m gung-ho!), how willing are you to use Formula 1:

1.21 I am willing to determine board members’ knowledge of my nonprofit’s purpose..........0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
1.21.a What would it take to improve your score? _______________________________
1.21.b How willing are you to improve it?...........................0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1.22 I am willing to determine their commitment to that purpose………….…0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
1.22.a What would it take to improve your score? _______________________________
1.22.b How willing are you to improve it?...........................0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1.23 I am willing to get them to commit in writing to their personal “contract” for support
of my organization…………………………. 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
1.23.a What would it take to improve your score? _______________________________
1.23.b How willing are you to improve it?...........................0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1.24 I am willing to determine their willingness to get others to make similar commitments…………......…0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
1.24.a What would it take to improve your score? _______________________________
1.24.b How willing are you to improve it?................................ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1.25 I am willing to hold board members accountable for their leadership of my nonprofit…………..…….…0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
1.25.a What would it take to improve your score? _______________________________
1.25.b How willing are you to improve it?....................................0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Your TOTAL Score: _______ out of 100

Note: Now, ask one or more of your board members to self-assess. Or, "thinking like your board members," use the Board Member's Self-Assessment to rate your board's overall fundraising commitment. Then, contact Dr. Stephen L. Goldstein through the website at the end of this post to find out how he can help you improve your scores & effectiveness. He'll answer you personally.

1.26 Formula 1: Board Member’s Self-Assessment
From 0 (Not at all) to 10 (I’m gung-ho!), how willing are you to use Formula 1:

1.27 This is how I would assess my knowledge of my nonprofit’s purpose…………………...…………………..0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
1.27.a What would it take to improve your score? _______________________________
1.27.b How willing are you to improve it?..........................................0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1.28 This is how I would assess my commitment to that purpose…………………………………….…0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
1.28.a What would it take to improve your score? _______________________________
1.28.b How willing are you to improve it?..........................................0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1.29 I am willing to put in writing my commitment for my personal support of my organization………. 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
1.29.a What would it take to improve your score? _______________________________
1.29.b How willing are you to improve it?..........................................0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1.30 I am willing to determine the willingness of others to make similar commitments……………….........…0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
1.30.a What would it take to improve your score? _______________________________
1.30.b How willing are you to improve it?.........................................0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1.31 I am willing to hold other board members accountable for their leadership of our profit……………....…0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
1.31.a What would it take to improve your score? _______________________________
1.31.b How willing are you to improve it?..........................................0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Your TOTAL Score: _______ out of 100

Your next step . . . Now that you know your "scores," discover all the ways you can enhance your fundraising success. Get answers to your questions about strategies you may implement.

Contact Dr. Stephen L. Goldstein at trendsman@aol.com to find out how you can improve your Self-Assessments. He will answer you personally.