A board member once read me the riot act because I never told her that a friend of hers had given to our year-end campaign. She was right. I hadn’t closed the loop, and her friend ended up asking her why nobody had thanked them. I still think about that call.
I’ve now worked with dozens of boards across the country, and I haven’t met one that didn’t care about the work. What I’ve met are boards that were never told what fundraising is, what happens to the names they hand over, or what they’re supposed to do next.
This episode walks through the six reasons I see most often, split into two groups.
Three are why board members hesitate: the money feels loaded, they don’t know what to say, and they’re afraid of looking foolish in front of their friends.
Three are why they stall: nobody gave them a specific role, nobody explained what happens after an introduction, and nobody closed the loop when a friend gave.
The emotional reasons take longer to solve. The structural ones you can fix this month. Here’s where to start. Replace the vague request to “help” with a menu of specific commitments and let each board member choose. Walk them through the process before they’re asked to trust it, so they know their friends can opt out at any point. And when someone gives, tell the board member the same day, then tell the donor what their gift does. Then look at your three most engaged board members and build from them. You don’t have to win over the three who are sitting back.
If your board nods along in meetings and then goes quiet, this conversation is for you.
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