Seeing your board (some) as heroes
File under: The hard part's done....
Fact: Your nonprofit board is thick with heroes
How to detect (and keep) them. Maybe start with this pep talk. Maybe start by giving each board member a copy of this inspiring book. If your board members don't yet feel like heroes, maybe they just need a fresh perspective?
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Reprinted with permission from David Lansdowne's frank, inspiring, best-selling book, now newly updated, even wiser ... and in its 3rd edition:
You’re a Hero
If you were asked to name a hero, who would come to mind?
Rosa Parks perhaps? who in 1955 refused to give up her seat to a white man on a Montgomery, Alabama bus. "People always say I didn't give up my seat because I was tired, but that isn't true,” said Parks, mother of the modern day civil rights movement. “No, the only tired I was, was tired of giving in."
Or maybe you’d single out Kyle Carpenter, the youngest living soldier ever to receive the Medal of Honor. He flung his young body on a live grenade to save a fellow Marine’s life. His heroism cost him his right eye and shattered his limbs.
Or, maybe as your hero you’d choose Candace Lightner. When her thirteen-year-old daughter was killed by a drunk driver, Lightner channeled this devastating loss into forming Mothers Against Drunk Driving, tirelessly working to enact stiff laws against drinking and driving.
These individuals are conspicuous heroes, fully deserving of the acclaim they’ve received.
Alongside them, miraculously, are legions of quieter heroes.
These individuals “are our parents and grandparents; our coworkers, classmates, and neighbors,” writes Valerie Jarrett, former White House Advisor. “They are the men and women in this country who have rolled up their sleeves, and laced up their work boots every day… to move this country forward.”
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As a board member, you already belong to a cherished group
Your job is a crucial one, raising money for a cause that touches other lives. Sick people, poor people, disadvantaged people, or people simply needing some enrichment – they’re all counting on you.
You are their hero.
There’s an adage in business that “Nothing happens without a sale.” Similarly, unless you and your board help gather the resources your organization needs, little of consequence takes place.
My hope is that this book, Fundraising Realities, makes your key responsibility a bit easier.
This book is intentionally brief, free of jargon, and intently focused on the do’s and don’ts of raising more than pocket money.
The ideas presented have been perfected over seven decades. By organizations large and small. From urban hospitals to local historical societies. From those raising $100,000 to eye-watering sums like $200 million.
It’s no surprise that you can’t raise amounts like this casually. There are prescribed steps to follow. Proven methods to adopt.
Still, there’s something that transcends technique ... and that’s YOUR doggedness to embrace the job, to persevere through frustrations, to succeed despite inevitable setbacks.
Heroes like you have grit.
And for that, you’re owed immeasurable respect and gratitude.
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Dear Reader: This is an excerpt from Tom Ahern’s e-newsletter. Did you miss crucial back issues of this how-to e-news? Immediately available! Just GO here. (And scroll down just a bit to sign up for Tom’s revenue-boosting tips and insights. In your inbox regularly. It’s free.)