Benevon Weblog

"Passion Retread" by Terry Axelrod

Remember those dear friends of your organization who served as Table Captains merely because you asked them? While they may have had two or three empty seats at their table, they did the job, like good soldiers. Perhaps their passion for your organization was not naturally transmitted to their guests, yet once they got to the event, the passion was rekindled.

An effective strategy for increasing Table Captain passion—and therefore Ask Event^™ size and results—is to focus on a Passion Retread for these trusted insiders. If you have ever been a long-term board member or volunteer with an organization, you will know how your initial passion can wane, and being asked to fill a table at another event feels like a burden and an obligation, rather than a privilege.

A method for rekindling their passion is to do this simple Passion Retread exercise at your next board or committee meeting or retreat. When people introduce themselves at the beginning of the session, have them tell their story of how they got involved or what keeps them involved with the organization. While many may say they got involved before they really understood the work being done, their reasons for staying involved now will be very moving. Often they will have a personal story or incident that instantly reconnects them.

This is also an excellent team-building exercise for boards or committees. I remember doing this exercise at a board retreat where one of the most outspoken and critical members told his story briefly. The organization had saved his son's life, thanks to one of their special programs, for which this man remained a staunch advocate. Just hearing him tell his story gave everyone a deep sense of compassion for his commitment to the program. You can bet that this man made an excellent Table Captain with a full table of people who understood the value of the organization.

"The Benevon Golden Rule" by Terry Axelrod

Above all, treat your board members as if they will become your most cherished major donors. That sounds simple, but when you scan through the list of your board members one by one—if you tell the truth—there may be a few members who you've already written off in your mind, either because they are annoying or troublesome to you in some way, or because you have predetermined that they do not have the capacity to become a major donor. That is a violation of the Golden Rule.

Think about your list of major donors, at whatever dollar level you define as "major." Think of all the special things you do or try to do for those donors—special events, letters, calls, and meetings. Think about the respect and humility you bring to each interaction, regardless of that donor's quirky personality. You have a great deal of tolerance for your donors, knowing their capacity to give.

Why, then, do groups discriminate when it comes to their board members? These are people who are giving their own time to do something you invited them to do: to serve on your board. That is a great gift unto itself.

Furthermore, the statistics show that 90% of people who volunteer in the United States also give money. That doesn't mean they necessarily give money to the same organizations where they volunteer. It just means that "volunteering" people are also "giving" types of people.

And here, in your board members, you have the most dedicated volunteers. Why not assume they will become your most passionate major donors? Even if they do not have the capacity to give a large gift now, odds are they will be making charitable gifts either now or at the end of their lives to one or more organizations.

Where else would they rather give that money than to an organization that has treated them well throughout the years—an organization whose work they know and love and perhaps has benefited them or their families personally?

What systems do you have for cultivating and engaging your major donors? You have a plan for talking to them several times a year, personally and face-to-face. You invite them to selected mission-focused Free Feel-Good Cultivation Events^™ each year. You consciously continue to deepen your relationship with them, finding out at every opportunity how else they might like to become involved, what more they need from the organization, and who else they might want to introduce.

These are the same sorts of systems you will want to put in place for your board members!