The staff of a nonprofit organization gathers energy from its board members and other volunteers. Those volunteers fuel the passion to energize the staff to keep going, explains Lisa Engel as former board chair of the Women’s Fund of Greater Birmingham after completing a successful $5 million campaign. Lisa shared her thoughts on active board engagement during a recent interview about the effectiveness of a board chair.

Nonprofit organizations work tirelessly for their charitable mission. And there is nothing more energizing than board members being ambitious for the charity.

A board chairperson is key – the ideal “instigator” of supportive activities.

Here are four easy ways a board chairperson can energize the board members to fuel the fire and support staff:

·      Have a gathering of all board members immediately following work hours to drop by and make 10 Thank You calls each to 2017 top donors. Set up phone banks, provide donor lists, and prepare a script. There is no asking for donations! Offer drinks and appetizers and an opportunity for them to network and engage. Make it fun!

·      Create a competition for board members to secure funds for the charity. For example, divide the board members into groups and see which group can reach a set goal — reach it first, with the most donors, with fewer donors, etc.

·      Weed out “dead weight” from the board. There is nothing that will drag a board down faster than fellow board members who never participate in meetings, attend events, or donate. Check your by-laws about attendance requirements. The board chair should contact the member to politely state that it seems challenging for him/her to participate. Give the member the option to step down.

·      Be a model board chair by giving and ask other board members to give and help with fundraising, not just have staff ask board members to help with fundraising.

When the Board Chair establishes activities like these and with a positive tone, everyone feels invested in the organization and takes pride in fundraising.

Nancy Rieves, Ed.D. is a fundraising advisor. She provides overwhelmed nonprofit leaders with a roadmap to maximize and sustain major gift fundraising. She prepares leaders to be confident and successful in raising money. Reach her at nancy@nancyrieves.com.