College Union

Board Development and Fund Raising

BY: TOM NISBETT

According to the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA), all fund raising responsibility and accountability rests with the board of directors. (The ECFA is an independent agency which regulates, advises, and trains leaders of member organizations on matters of financial accountability.)  Not only are ministry board members legally responsible for fiduciary concerns, board members must also raise the necessary funds to support the ministry, its staff and programs.  Questions easily arise:  Have we as a ministry board thought together about how we raise money?  What are ethical fund-raising practices?  Are there any Biblical guidelines for raising money? Which marketing and fund-raising techniques are acceptable and which ones are not?  Do we have a “Gift Acceptance Policy”?  Does our gift policy address “naming gifts”?  Do we have a written development plan?  What role does prayer play in meeting our fund-raising needs?

These questions raise our awareness of board development and board leadership issues.  How do we recruit new board members?  Do we ask for their Christian testimony?  Are they passionate about campus ministry?  How do we develop our board members?  Do we have written board member expectations?  Are they covered in person with each prospective board member?  Do we have annual board retreats?  Do we have a written strategic plan?  Do we have a process of identifying and developing board leaders?  How do we retire inactive board members?  Do we honor and recognize board service?

Some of these questions are addressed in THE BOARD GAME: Recruiting, Retiring, and Refining Your Nonprofit Board by Dr. Tom Nisbett.  Materials include:

•    Key Expectations for Board Members
•    The Five Rs of Better Boards
•    Items for the Board Member Packet

Other resources for effective board development and fund-raising are:

•    Nailing Down A Board…Charles C. Ryrie
•    The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People…Stephen Covey
•    Boards That Make A Difference…John  Carver
•    Lead On! … John Haggai

Dr. Tom Nisbett will be presenting a pre-conference workshop at Refresh in December on the topics of board development and fund-raising for campus ministries and nonprofit organizations.

Categories: Virtues & Choices
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