Top 10 Ways to Get Your Board

on BoardHow to best leverage your board members to reach

your goals and find Giving Day success!

Your Giving Day Experts

Rebekah Casad - Customer Success Project Coordinator

Rebekah works with Nonprofits and Community Partners to help them make the most of the GiveGab platform. She enjoys working closely with GiveGab's partners and helping them with their online fundraising and giving day strategies.

Bridget Cafaro - Customer Success Manager

Bridget comes from a background of nonprofit fundraising for the arts and health services. She has worked on dozens of giving days across the country preparing nonprofits for successful engagements with their donors on giving days and beyond!

The Power of an Engaged Board

● Organizations with an engaged board raised 2-3 times

more dollars on their giving day than those without

● The most engaged boards attended planning meetings,

sponsored a matching fund, or acted as an ambassador

● Including your board members in your Giving Day planning

can have a greater impact on your Giving Day Success

Top 10 Tips for Board Engagement

1. Kick Off Your Giving Day Right

2. Establish Collective Goals

3. Share Giving Day Updates

4. Create Opportunities

5. Leverage Board Connections

6. Utilize A Match

7. Recruit Active Ambassadors

8. Celebrate The Giving Day

9. Have A Giving Day Debrief

10. Build Better Relationships

Kicking Off Your Giving Day

● Take 20-30 minutes at your next board meeting to introduce the event

○ What is it? When is it? Who is hosting it? Why does your organization benefit

from participating? What community is being served?

● If you’ve participated before, reflect on what you already know

○ How much did you raise? Did you acquire new donors? Did you secure a

match? What surprised you? What can you improve upon

● Stress the importance and value of your organization’s participation

Communicating Giving Day Goals

● Establish clear goals for your organization ahead of the Giving Day

○ Determine which goals are internal vs. external

● Include your board members in your goal setting

○ How can they help you reach these goals?

● Revisit these goals at your regular board meetings

○ What strategies are you utilizing?

○ What should your board be aware of?

Keeping Your Board In The Loop

● Share regular updates with your board throughout the planning process

○ Reserve time for Giving Day updates at your regular board meetings

○ Send out a bi weekly board newsletter with key information

● Important topics to include your board in:

○ Sponsorships and matching dollars

○ Event planning

○ Promotions and marketing

○ Important upcoming dates

Opportunities for Engagement

● Make it as easy as possible for your board members to get involved

○ Consistently utilize calls to action in your communications

● Set clear expectations and leverage their strengths

● Determine your needs, and how your board can help:

○ Soliciting sponsors and community engagement

○ Spreading the word about the Giving Day

○ Planning and marketing any Giving Day specific events

○ Stewarding Giving Day Donors

Your Board And Your Community

● Leverage your board members connections in the community

○ Spreading the word to prominent community members or groups

○ Cross-promotion with local businesses

○ In-Kind event donations and support

● Utilize existing relationships to foster new relationships

● Determine where you can develop the most mutually beneficial

partnerships with your organization, your board, and your community

Matching Motivation

● Matching gifts are a great way to motivate donors on the Giving Day

○ Increases dollar for dollar impact

○ Gamifies your Giving Day campaign

● Opportunity to highlight larger donors and community members

● Utilize existing recurring support as a match or challenge

● Emphasize to matching sponsors how using their gift as a match can

make a greater impact overall

Spreading The Word

● Encourage your board members to share their personal stories

○ Why are they passionate about your mission?

○ What first connected them to your organization?

● Provide them with clear calls to action and sample content

○ The link to your Giving Day profile

○ Social share graphics, sample email copy, calling scripts, etc.

● By utilizing their network your organization can expand its reach

Making The Most of The Day

● Arm your board members with everything they need to help you

succeed ahead of the Giving Day

● Provide regular updates throughout the Giving Day

○ Especially when you reach your goals!

● If hosting or participating in any live events, make sure to include your

board so your organization has a strong showing

● Encourage social sharing and active participation

Reflect on Lessons Learned

● Include your board members in an internal debrief

○ What worked well? What can you improve upon next year?

○ In what ways did your board support your goals?

○ How can your board better support you next year?

○ How can your organization better support your board?

● Determine your ideal timeline for next year’s Giving Day

○ What did you want to try this year but couldn’t?

○ How can you make the most of the time and resources you have?

Foster Strong Relationships

● Include your board in your donor stewardship plan

○ Call major donors to thank them for their gift

○ Send personal notes from your board

○ Invite them to your next stewardship event

● Don’t forget to acknowledge your board for their support!

○ Personally thank them for their help in your Giving Day success

○ Recognize how their support made an impact on your team

Key Takeaways

● Every nonprofit board is different, and so are the ways in

which they can participate and help you reach your goals

● Educating your board about the importance of the Giving

Day early on can make a big difference in your success

● Providing clear calls to action and steps for success can

motivate your board members to actively participate

Helpful Resources

● Join us for our next live webinar:

○ Creative Giving Day Engagement Ideas

Thursday, March 29 at 1:00 PM EST

● Visit gvgb.co/NPGivingDayToolkit to sign

up and view more helpful tools

○ Suggested email templates and timelines

○ Sample Social Media Posts

○ Board Engagement Tips

○ Free Ebook on Giving Day Success

Thank You!

Have questions? Email us at customersuccess@givegab.com