from bored to blazing: fire up your board by gail perry

Gail Perry MBA CFRE

gp@gailperry.com

www.firedupfundraising.com

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Turn Your Board from Bored to Blazing!

7 Steps to Fire Up Your Board

Gail Perry MBA CFRE

gp@gailperry.com

www.firedupfundraising.com

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Turn Your Board from Bored to Blazing!

7 Steps to Fire Up Your Board

Who Am I?  

•  25 years as staff or consultant

•  Veteran of Duke and UNC-CH

•  Fired-Up Fundraising Blog 11,000 followers

•  Author, “Fired-Up Fundraising: Turn Board Passion into Action” (Wiley)

•  AFP Fundraiser of the Year 2011

•  International speaker and workshop leader

•  email: gp@gailperry.com

•  facebook: firedupfundraising

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Gail Perry gp@gailperry.com

Our Agenda Today How to Transform Your Board

•  A different philosophy and approach!

•  4 personal changes you need to make.

• 7 steps to change your board from bored to blazing.

•  An Action Plan for your trustees!

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A Different Philosophy and Approach

•  Assume responsibility for your board.

•  Take a motivational approach.

•  Give them a terrific experience.

And you’ll be amazed at your results!

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The Fired-Up Philosophy:

Transforming Your Board Requires Two Magic Ingredients

1. Emotion - fire them up

2. Action – specific to-do’s

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Change is Hard! Be Realistic and Aware

•  It’s hard for people.

•  It’s hard for boards.

•  It’s hard for you.

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"If you always do what you always did, you'll always get what you always got."    

Your Biggest Challenge?

The Pull of the Status Quo

Peter Drucker:

“Culture eats strategy for breakfast.”

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Why Invest the Time and Energy What’s at Stake?

“We All Get The Boards We Deserve”

True? False?

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4 Personal Changes to Make

1.  Take charge.

Don’t be passive!

Be willing to lead!

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4 Personal Changes to Make

2.  Be the cheerleader.

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•  Gung-ho

•  Cheerful

•  Encourage them

3. Model the

energy you want your board to have.

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Want Different Results?  

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Be the Change you want

to see in the world.

Start With Yourself: Embody the Change You Want to See  

~  The  interpersonal  neurobiology  of  leadership.    

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Energy and Emotions are Contagious

My favorite executive director:

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People  will  forget  what  you  said,    

people  will  forget  what  you  did,    but  people  will  never  forget  how  you  

made  them  feel.  Maya  Angelou  

Want Different Results?

4. Make it fun. •  Lighten up.

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Why You Should Lighten Up With Your Board  

Nobody’s having any fun.

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Why You Should Lighten Up With Your Board

•  Volunteers have plenty of places to put their time.

•  Why would they choose you?

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7 Steps to A Fired-Up Board 1. Ignite their passion.

2. Where does the $ go?

3. Mission moments.

4. Interesting meetings.

5. Give them what they want.

6. Social time.

7. Clarity on action items.

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How Do You Define “Fired-Up” for Your

Trustees?

Energy, commitment, action?

Engagement, accountability?

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Step 1: Ignite Their Passion

for the Cause

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How to Get Them In Touch With Their Personal

Story?

Ask Them To Share It!

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The Amazingly Powerful Mingle Exercise

Introduce this as a “messaging exercise.”

“Exercise” vs. “Hands-On Training”

How to Ignite Their Passion?

Why Do You Care About Our

Organization?

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“I didn't have time to write a

short letter, so

I wrote a long one instead.

~Mark Twain

Remind Them: Make it Short

 “If you can’t explain it simply,

you don’t understand it well

enough.”

~Einstein  

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Remind Them: Make it Simple

Remind Them: Board Members Do Better Than Staff at

the Elevator Speech

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They are at the 30,000 foot level!

Debriefing The Mingle Exercise

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Question #1: What did you hear that really resonated?

Debriefing The Mingle Exercise ~

Question #2: How Were You Being?

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•  Energetic •  Enthusiastic •  Authentic •  Honest •  Personal

Nothing great was ever achieved without

enthusiasm!

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

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 SNEEZE  (the  Viral  Message)  Wherever  You  Go!    

This is how you turn your board members into “sneezers!”

Debriefing  The  Mingle  Exercise:    

Ques&on  #3:  How  To  Turn  Your  Elevator  Speech    Into  a Conversation?  

“What  are  YOUR  impressions?”    

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How to Train Board Members in Conversation Skills

•  Listening skills •  Use the word “you” •  Pull out the donor’s story •  When in doubt, shut up!

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Debriefing the Mingle Exercise: Question #4: How Can A Board Member Followup

An Introductory Conversation?

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What kind of followup requests can you make?

How Can You Followup?

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1.  Come for a tour?

2.  Lunch with the ED?

3.  Advice visit coffee?

4.  Our next event?

5.  Something specific to your friend’s personal interest?

“Gail, I am putting some of your ideas into action….

At our last Trustee meeting, I asked, “What legacy do you want to leave from serving on this board?”

Well, you would have thought I had opened the flood gates. One man told us about his cousin in hospice . . . and how we helped his family through that terrible time.

This turned out to be the best meeting we've had so far on with this group in the last 3 years!

I can’t change them, but I can change me. Laurie Taylor, Lower Cape Fear Hospice Foundation

Try This Question To Pull Out Their Personal Story

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More Questions To Try With Your Board

1.  “What do you believe is your purpose or your contribution to the world?”

2.  “What kind of difference do you want to make?”

3.  “What do you do well, and how do you want to use that toward the highest good you can possibly imagine?”

A Deep Discussion

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Fire Up Your Board Step 2:

A Deeper Discussion  

What Are We Raising Money For?

A Broader Conversation    

Fire Up Your Board Step #2 Where Does The $ Go?

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•  A panel discussion or interview format.  

•  Why does it cost so much?

•  Program by program.

•  How much does it cost per person?

•  Story about someone whose life was changed.

Fire Up Your Board 10 Terrific Questions to Discuss with Your Board

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1.  “Why do we even need private contributions anyway? 2.  “Why does it cost so much? 3.  “Where exactly does the money go? 4.  “Why does it take so much staff to do this work? 5.  “How many students are we helping in this program? 6.  “About how much does it cost per person helped? (Or per center

that you operate? Or other measure relevant to your operation.) 7.  “What else does this program really need? And how much would

that cost? 8.  “How many kids are we missing? What happens to them if we

can’t help them? 9.  Can you tell me a story of someone whose life was changed thru

this project? 10.  “What would we do if we had an additional $100k? (or $50k, or

$500k or million – whatever is relevant to your budget size.)

Fire Up Your Board Step #3   Mission Moments:  Give Board Members a Direct

Personal Experience  

Try cancelling your next board meeting and take everyone on a field trip.

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A Word About

Nonprofit BOARDS

Is This Your Board?

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Is  This  Your  Board?  

Is This Your Board?

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Is This Your Board?

Or Is this Your Board?

Is This Your Board Meeting?

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“After all is said and done, more is said than done.”

--Aesop

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Is This Your Board? Is This Your Board? Is This Your Board?

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Is This Your Board? Boring Meetings = A Bored Board

High  Level  People    

Doing  Low  Level  Work?  

 Fire Up Your Board Step #4 Liven Up Your Meetings  

NOT Business As Usual

Convert Your Committees to

Task Forces

To  kill  Ame,    

a  commiCee  meeAng  is  the  perfect  weapon.                                      ~Author  Unknown  

A  commiCee  is  a  group  that  keeps  minutes  and  loses  hours.                                    ~  Milton  Berle  

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12 Ways To Liven Up Your Board Meeting

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1.  Focus on results. 2.  Be creative with the agenda.

12 Ways To Liven Up Your Board Meeting

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3. Focus on problems, challenges, broad issues.

12 Ways To Liven Up Your Board Meeting

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4. Look at trends within routine reports.

12 Ways To Liven Up Your Board Meeting

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5.  Plan big.

6.  Cheerleading sessions.

7.  Use consent agendas.

8.  “Interview” the ED.

12 Ways To Liven Up Your Board Meeting

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9. Set up one interesting item for a discussion.

10. Select a theme for each meeting.

11. Create “mission moments” in every board meeting.

12. Break into groups. Find this handout on my website:

Firedupfundraising.com

Fire Up Your Board Step #5

Give Them a Terrific Experience

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What Do Board Members Want?

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To get their hands dirty.

What Do Board Members Want?

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To work with people who are as passionate and excited about the organization as they are.

What Do Board Members Want?

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To feel that their time is used wisely.

What Do Board Members Want?

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To meet the other board members.

-June Bradham

“What Nonprofit Boards Want”

The Number One Reason People Join Nonprofit Boards?

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Who else is on the board! -June Bradham

“What Nonprofit Boards Want”

What Determines How Much $$ Your Board Members

Will Give?

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How much they enjoy their experience as a board member.

-June Bradham

“What Nonprofit Boards Want”

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7 Steps to A Fired-Up Board

1. Personal story.

2. Where does the $ go?

3. Mission moments.

4. Interesting meetings.

5. Give them what they want.

6. Social time.

7. Action items.

#5 Give Them Social Time Fire Up Your Board Step #6 Give Them Social Time  

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Down Time Together is Essential

Social Time For Board Members Builds

Trust and Collegiality

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And TEAM

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team  

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1.  Absence  of  Trust  

2.  Fear  of  Conflict    

3.  Lack  of  Commitment  

4.  Avoidance  of  Accountability  

5.  InaCenAon  to  Results  

Group Process  

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What’s Underlying Your Board?

Peer Pressure: The Best Motivator  

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Fire Up Your Board Step #7  Clarity

What’s Their Job?  

•  Champion – the cause and the case

•  Invite . . . others to get involved and engaged

•  Invest . . . to help fund the vision.

~ forimpact.org

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#7 Clarity What Expectations?  

•  They agree among themselves.

•  Staff can’t set it for them.

•  “If it’s to be. . . It’s up to me.”

•  Gotta have leadership. ~ forimpact.org

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#7 Clarity On Action Items!  

•  Give them something specific to do!

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#7 Clarity On Action Items!  

•  What do they need to accomplish in the next 2 months?

•  What is each individual board member’s action item?

•  Rule of THREE!

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Accountability?

"To  succeed  as  a  team  is  to  hold  all  members  

accountable  for  their  experAse.”  

 ~  Mitchell  Caplan     79

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7 Steps to A Fired-Up Board

1. Personal story.

2. Where does the $ go?

3. Mission moments.

4. Interesting meetings.

5. Give them what they want.

6. Social time.

7. Clarity on action items.

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Try These Ideas and This Is What You Will Get!

“It was such a thrill to see the body language and faces of our board members change

from reservation, reluctance, and uncertainty to smiles, laughs and excitement.”

~Abby Johnston, Director of Development, Saint Mary’s School, NC

Free  Handouts  and  Checklists  

153  Tips  to  Raise  More  Money  By  Mail  

20  EASY  Ways  Board  Members  Can  CulAvate  Donors  

10  Easy  Ways  Board  Members  Can  Raise  Money  

12  Ways  to  Liven  Up  Your  Board  MeeAngs  —and  Your  Board  

Advice  Visits:  Searching  for  Hidden  Gold  

Gail  Perry’s  Golden  Rules  of  Fundraising  

Ten  Basic  ResponsibiliAes  of  Nonprofit  Boards  

www.gailperry.com  

Get  Fired-­‐Up!  NEWSLETTER    gp@gailperry.com  

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