How Your Board Can Boost Fundraising

How can boards better serve their nonprofits?

“If you have a staff, work to understand their perspective and provide the support they need to do their jobs. If you don’t have staff and the board is doing the work, everyone needs to get involved with fundraising and make sure they’re doing all they can to ensure the organization is fulfilling its mission.” – Michael Egly, Community Outreach Coordinator

The FOOD Pantry Serving Waukesha County is a nonprofit community organization, in Wisconsin, dedicated to providing food, hope, and dignity to the many Waukesha County residents in need of assistance. The FOOD Pantry strives to contribute towards a thriving and healthy community free from hunger.

Through governance and fiduciary oversight, The FOOD Pantry’s board of 16 helps the staff serve approximately 9,000 individuals annually. Board committees provide guidance, in collaboration with staff, to ensure the agency is operating, excelling, and aligning with its mission. To keep them informed, The FOOD Pantry staff uses Network for Good’s communication system to distribute board packets prior to meetings; complete with the agenda, minutes, committee updates, and financial reports.

After their 2018 year-end campaign, The FOOD Pantry staff was looking to engage their board in fundraising and wanted to try the peer-to-peer campaign feature in Network for Good’s system. At the first board meeting of 2019, staff presented to the board on what is involved in a peer-to-peer campaign and the impact it could have. The board was excited to take on this new opportunity, and the campaign was launched in March 2019. It was so successful that the board decided to relaunch it in May so newer board members could participate.

The campaign focused on the organization’s infrastructure needs; such as improvements to the building’s lay-out, safety, and atmosphere. A challenging theme for any fundraiser, the board framed it as a good investment in the agency. Using Network for Good’s P2P system, board members added their own personal messages and began contacting their networks. To ease any concerns of over-asking, The FOOD Pantry staff checked board member’s lists to see if anyone had already given. As of early May, they are 60% towards goal.

Campaign Breakdown

• Campaign Dates: March and May 2019
• Goal: $12,500 (originally $10,000, increased due to success and board interest)
• Total Raised: $7,600 (campaign still in process)
• # of Fundraisers: 9 (as of beginning of May)
• # Donors: 24
• # New Donors: 14

Looking to engage your board in your fundraising? Download How to Engage and Activate Your Nonprofit Board. If you’re interested in learning how you can exceed your fundraising goals, contact us.