55 ways for Board Members to Raise $500- Kim Klein
All good fundraising plans have one thing in common: they show a diverse number of sources
for their income. The board of directors plays a crucial role in the selection, implementation, and evaluation of fundraising strategies. In addition to other ways that board members may
participate in fundraising, they individually commit to raising and giving a certain amount of
money, or commit to working by themselves on specific strategies with no financial goal
attached.
It is a good idea for board members doing fundraising on their own to write up their plans. This “contract” allows staff to know when they might be called on to help, ensures that events don’t happen on the same day, or the same donors aren’t solicited by several board members, and also helps to remind board members of their commitments.
In order for this method to work, the organization or the board fundraising committee should
think of many specific ways board members could actually raise money by themselves. The
fifty-five ways suggested below are by no means an exhaustive list, nor will they all work for
every group. Few board members could use all fifty-five ways, but almost any board member
should be able to use two or three of them.
All of these methods have been used by different volunteers in a wide variety of organizations.
Some methods are much more popular than others. Some depend on access to certain
resources. Presenting board members with fifty-five ways that would work for your organization helps counter the excuse, “I would help but I just don’t know what to do.”
Kim Klein is an internationally known fundraising trainer and has worked in all aspects of fundraising.
