The Fundraising Coach

Over the years, I've heard countless nonprofit leaders say some version of the same thing: "Our board has a governance problem." Sometimes they're right. A board may have outdated bylaws, weak committee structures, poor orientation for new members, or unclear policies. Those issues certainly matter, and they deserve attention.  But after facilitating hundreds of board retreats and strategic planning sessions over the past twenty years, I've come to a different conclusion. More often than not, governance isn't the real problem. It's simply the symptom. The real issue usually runs much deeper, and it's one that few boards are willing to acknowledge. In my experience, the greatest weakness of many nonprofit boards isn't a lack of intelligence, experience, or commitment. In fact, most boards are filled with remarkably accomplished people. They include CEOs, physicians, attorneys, entrepreneurs, bankers, educators, accountants, business owners, and community leaders.  These are individuals who routinely make difficult decisions in their professional lives. They negotiate contracts, terminate employees, challenge assumptions, manage crises, and accept responsibility for decisions that affect hundreds or even thousands of people. Yet something curious often happens when those same individuals walk into a nonprofit board meeting. The decisiveness they display everywhere else suddenly becomes caution. Tune in to Learn More!

Why "Any Questions?" Is Killing Your Board Discussions   I've facilitated hundreds of board retreats over the past 20 years, and I've noticed something fascinating. The moment a board chair or CEO finishes a presentation and says, "Any questions?" the room almost always gets quieter—not livelier.   A few people glance at their notes. Someone takes a sip of coffee. Another checks the agenda. Then someone eventually says, "Nope." And just like that, the conversation is over.   Ironically, everyone loses.   The Fastest Way to End a Conversation Here's the problem: "Any questions?" isn't really a question. It's permission to end the discussion. It's broad. It's vague. And it puts the burden on everyone else to think of something brilliant in the moment.   In my experience, silence rarely means agreement. It usually means people are still processing, they're unsure if it's the right time to speak, or they're wondering whether someone else should go first.   I've seen this pattern at organizations with $200,000 budgets and at organizations with $200 million budgets. The size of the nonprofit doesn't matter. Human nature does. Tune In to Learn More!

Many nonprofits believe their mission alone should inspire support. Unfortunately, donors are not mind readers. They cannot automatically feel your impact, understand your programs, appreciate your culture, or grasp the urgency of your work simply because your organization exists. That understanding must be communicated clearly, consistently, emotionally, and professionally. And that's where many nonprofits struggle. Some organizations are doing extraordinary work while presenting themselves with outdated brochures, confusing websites, blurry photos, weak messaging, and annual reports that look like they were assembled during a power outage with leftover clip art from COVID. Meanwhile, organizations with half the impact and twice the marketing budget are raising significantly more money because they understand something important: Presentation influences perception. That may sound shallow, but it's reality. Donors make judgments constantly based on professionalism, clarity, consistency, visual quality, storytelling, and emotional connection. Strong marketing materials signal competence, credibility, momentum, leadership, and trustworthiness. Weak marketing materials signal confusion. Tune in to learn more!

I've seen some beautiful strategic plans over the years. Thick paper. Gorgeous photography. Inspirational quotes. Color-coded priorities. One organization even handed me a plan that looked expensive enough to have its own insurance policy. There was just one problem: Nobody was using it. That's more common than nonprofit leaders like to admit. Organizations spend months creating strategic plans, celebrate when the board approves them, distribute a few polished copies, and then quietly place them on shelves. Six months later, somebody pulls one out during the next strategic planning update session and says, "Huh. I forgot we said we'd do that."   A strategic plan isn't supposed to document what you decided. It's supposed to help you make the decisions that come next. Tune in to learn more!

Preparation reduces anxiety It also increases confidence, clarity, credibility, and effectiveness. Unfortunately, too many nonprofit leaders and development staff walk into donor meetings carrying little more than optimism, caffeine, and vague hope that "something good will happen."  Then midway through the meeting, they forget key facts, stumble through the organization's impact numbers, contradict each other in group meetings, or launch into rambling explanations that sound like a hostage reading cue cards. Not ideal. Great fundraisers—the strongest relationship-based fundraisers—approach donor preparation very differently. They think strategically before every donor interaction. They anticipate questions. They rehearse conversations. They study the donor carefully. They coordinate messaging. They eliminate surprises wherever possible. In short, they prepare. And yes, occasionally they still sweat through their shirt anyway. But at least they sweat professionally. :-) Tune in to learn more!