Jane Trenaman: The true value of the board in empowering fundraising

This month, Jane Trenaman, managing director of The HX Consultancy, shares her view on how to build more effective relationships between boards and fundraising teams, including tips on recognising and playing towards each side’s strengths.

With over a decade as a fundraising leader, and experience on a number of nonprofit boards, I’ve sat on both sides of the proverbial fence, including a lot of time immersed in the world of fundraising leaders through chairing sectoral networks. And my observation is that while the strategic challenges facing senior fundraisers remain consistent, they require new framing.

Here’s why.

Hills & waterfalls

As ‘nonprofits’, we define ourselves by what we’re not ­­– and thus from the outset undermine the opportunity of holistic organisational culture and strategy, where income fuels mission. Too often we have ambitious wishlists for services, but how to fund them comes as an afterthought. We strive for the resilience of our service users, and yet resist investing in our own. And if we do integrate income as a core strategic pillar, we seldom back it up with the necessary focus on culture.

Fundraisers therefore find themselves pushing their rock up a hill, championing income generation as a cause in itself. We try to convince upwards that being service-user led or supporter centric is not a binary choice. What other role spends more than half their time asking permission to do their job, or protecting their team from the same fate? How do we move the conversation from overhead to investment?

I dream of a world of holistic thinking, where (business-cased) business plans flow from the top down and back up again. Where they are supported by clear integrated metrics and performance management. Where bravery in delivery matches the bravery of our core mission.

How do we move to a world where instead of rolling that rock up a hill, strategy flows effortlessly from the top down, like a vibrant waterfall?

‘Everyone’s a fundraiser’

While not incorrect, this phrase keeps fundraising leaders where they are ­– championing their job as a cause and pushing that rock up the hill. It also devalues their expertise ­– is everyone an accountant? A programme manager? Quite simply, no. So this phrase continues to feed a risk already present – namely, that anyone who once organised a coffee morning, self-proclaims sufficient knowledge to run a regular giving programme.

Does that mean that board members don’t have a role when it comes to leveraging their networks, and maybe even supporting financially themselves? In short, no. But the true value of the board in empowering income generation lies far beyond being seen as an annual income stream. Rather it is about viewing the board as a strategic enabler and often symbiotically educating and equipping them to do so.

I’ve seen so many examples where the challenges being faced by the executive just simply couldn’t be resolved without board sponsorship and support. From governance structures and SLAs to fragmented strategies and risk aversion, many issues by definition need board escalation to overcome. These big-ticket items don’t move quickly ­– but without board involvement, they won’t move at all. Worst case, they may even remain unidentified.

Board perceptions, behaviours & investment

So let’s explore this from both sides of that proverbial fence…

Fundraisers, how do you perceive your board? 

Do you view your board as an inconvenience or an ally? I regularly witness two extremes.  At one end of the spectrum, the executive regards the board as ethereal all-knowing beings. Hours are spent preparing board packs and sweating over presentations. Employees face this group of oracles to hear their future and their fate. Sure, you can push back… but not too much – it’s the board! At the other extreme, board sign-off feels like a time-swallowing formality.

Much perception is of course driven by the performance and culture of boards themselves.  Often a fundraiser’s goals centre around ambition, impact, innovation and investment, while the board’s goals centre around risk management and governance. The reality is that this is a necessary and healthy tension. But it can morph into a dysfunctional relationship that impedes partnership, collaboration and progress.

We all know that active engagement and strong relationships are at the heart of all fundraising. So too we need to invest time in our board relationships. Seek sponsors and champions at board level for the projects you are most passionate about. Enter into this with explicit agreement on how involved – or not – your board members will be in delivery. After all, they are there to be a project sponsor and sounding board, not an extra pair of hands.

Your CEO is a key stakeholder in helping you navigate this. And to work with you on the case for investing in board make-up and recruitment. Make sure that this is not being neglected and that decisions are being driven by clear objectives. And avoid recruiting board-level fundraisers to do a professional’s job for free. You might see some short-term gains here but it is not sustainable and can become fraught with issues around conflicts of interest.

Some food for thought for board members.

Were you aware of the time commitment before you signed up? Have you made the time to visit your charity, to meet with the team? If you’re considering becoming a board member, be clear on how many meetings per year are involved, whether online or in person, working hours or evenings and weekends – ask these questions up front and only get involved if the requirements align with how much you can afford to give.

If you’ve come from the commercial sector, maintain care in how theory, frameworks and skills translate to a nonprofit context.  My advice is a very healthy dose of pragmatism. Take the time to understand what is and isn’t possible ­– or even advisable – in a resource-stretched context. The most powerful formula will be your wealth of experience combined with humility. Enter this board role with an appetite to learn as much as you impart.

Do you prepare for board meetings and are you prepared to stick your neck out to ask the tough questions? It’s hard to challenge the status quo. Board culture and ways of working were established long before you joined. It will be difficult to push for a longer-term investment-driven view of income in an organisation where annual budgets have reigned supreme. But this is where you balance the risk and push the executive for well thought-through pilots and business cases.

One last question though for the executive team. 

Have you ever put yourself in the shoes of a bunch of volunteers who shoulder legal responsibility for your organisation’s governance? Should boards be volunteer-led at all?  Perhaps a question for another time, but in my opinion countless issues lead back to this.

Is your funding model serving you?

Finally, what does your organisation’s income pie-chart look like now, and how do you want it to look?  But more fundamentally, is your funding model supercharging your impact or limiting it?

So how will your funding model look three, five or even ten years from now?  Will it change in size and shape and how will this enhance your impact?  Is your income mix too heavily weighted towards labour intensive funding streams? Ones that restrict capacity to invest or scale and hold back the pace of delivery?  What if you had a social enterprise arm that gave you the freedom to generate unrestricted income through new and innovative products and cultures?  How much potential lies outside of traditional ‘fundraising’ streams and might a siloed mentality be holding the organisation back?

Big questions?  Yes.  Ones to equip a board to get involved in, I’d say.

Jane Trenaman

About Jane Trenaman

In 2023, Jane Trenaman founded The HX Consultancy specialising in leadership, fundraising, insight and experience – the culmination of a 25-year career with customer experience and social impact at its heart. Her services include board level training to empower income generation.

Jane’s heart has been squarely in social impact for the past 14 years as a nonprofit leader, mentor and consultant in fundraising and public engagement. She has worked in and for nonprofits, large and small, at different stages in maturity, in diverse parts of the sector. Jane currently chairs Fundraising Director Networks in the UK and Ireland and has served on boards and advisory committees for Christian Aid Ireland, Samaritans Ireland, and the National Opera House. She is a non-executive director with Common Purpose Ireland.

Main image by Cottonbro Studio