They are volunteers, too!
Look here for information and the latest techniques to develop your board or committee. The purpose is to help those who work or serve on nonprofit boards of directors or committees.

~ February 2005 ~ Topics

We always expect boards to be involved in fundraising, but we sometimes don't give them the tools they need to help.

One important way to motivate boards to fund raise is to involve them in brainstorming the case statement for the organization. "Case statement" means the case for support, i.e.,why should anybody want to support the organization?

At a board meeting ask the board for their answers to the following questions:

	Why is it important that this organization exist?
	What would happen to our community if the organization didn't exist?
	What is unique about the organization?
	What does the organization do particularly well?
	What are its important plans and dreams for the future?

In this way you get the board energized to use their responses to these questions when they talk to potential funders.

This exercise also helps the staff person who will write the case statement. Too often the staff person writes the case statement without board input and, while it may be a very good case statement, the board is not involved and therefore does not have ownership in it.

Jeanne Bradner can be reached at Jeannebrad@aol.com.

See our online bookstore for Jeanne Bradner's book on boards: The Board Member’s Guide: A Beneficial Bestiary and Leading Volunteers for Results: Building Communities Today, and Passionate Volunteerism.

Jeanne H. Bradner

Jeanne H. Bradner is an author, consultant, trainer and speaker on volunteerism, board development and leadership. She is the author of three publications, The Board Member's Guide, A Beneficial Bestiary and Leading Volunteers for Results: Building Communities Today and Passionate Volunteerism. She served as director of the Illinois Governor's Office of Voluntary Action, Midwest Regional Director of ACTION, and Executive Director of the Illinois Commission on Community Service. She is the volunteer program specialist for Illinois' Harper College Volunteer Management curriculum.

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Plan an EDU-VACATION - April 26-29, 2005 Training for managers of volunteers, leading to a certificate, is being held April 26-29, 2005. Sponsored by Washington State University, the Volunteer Management Certificate Program will be held in Port Hadlock, Washington, in the shadow of the Olympic Mountains. Topics include: Recruitment Evaluation Training Management and Supervision Recognition Risk Management Diversifying the Volunteer Pool The Internet as the Manager's Next Best Friend Interactive Case Models based on student process is the focus of Learning Activities. For more information, visit the website at: http://www.emmps.wsu.edu/volunteer.

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