The Philantrepreneur Journal Vol2 Spring2016 | Page 27
Creating a Fundraising Board
Linda Lysakowski ACFRE
Linda is one of just over 100
professionals worldwide to hold
the Advanced Certified Fund
Raising Executive designation. She
is the author of Recruiting and
Training Fundraising Volunteers;
The Development Plan; Fundraising
as a Career: What, Are You Crazy?;
Capital Campaigns: Everything You
NEED to Know; Are You Ready for a
Capital Campaign? workbook, Raise
More Money from Your Business
Community; Raise More Money
from Your Business Community:
The Workbook, Fundraising for
the GENIUS 1st and 2nd editions,
a contributing author to The
Fundraising Feasibility Study—It’s
Not About the Money and YOU and
Your Nonprofit Board, co-editor of
YOU and Your Nonprofit and The
Nonprofit Consulting Handbook; and
co-author of The Essential Nonprofit
Fundraising Handbook, The New
Donor, Nonprofit Strategic Planning,
and The Leaky Bucket: What’s Wrong
With Your Fundraising…And How
You Can Fix It. Reach Linda at www.
LindaLysakowski.com or cvlinda@
cox.net.
ne way to build capacity for your
organization is by strengthening the
fundraising ability of your board. Okay,
I know what you’re thinking: “We can’t get
our board to help with fundraising; they
aren’t the ‘movers and shakers’ in town.” If
this is a statement you have heard in your
organization, read on!
While some organizations do not
set fundraising as a priority for its board
members, most nonprofits can benefit from
having a board more actively using their
connections to benefit the organization.
The key to getting your board to embrace
fundraising lies in three simple steps—the
recruitment process, assuring that board
members are committed to the organization,
and removing the fear of fundraising that is
inherent in most people.
Recruiting the Right Way
Often, boards are reluctant to fundraise
because they have