One thing The Hodge Group is laser focused on is the importance of building a culture of philanthropy among a nonprofit’s board members. Let’s face it—if you are unable to get your board to be generous with their wallets, how are you going to be successful in crafting fundraising strategies for prospective donors in your community? Here are some key strategies we’ve identified for building that culture:
Empower your board: sometimes a board member can feel disenfranchised because they can’t write a big check or they don’t have time to attend every meeting, or maybe their CEO or development director is so high functioning that the board is comfortable being less engaged. This is a big no-no from our standpoint. Having “signing parties,” where board members write personalized thank you letters to donors, or regular self assessments, allows boards to remain engaged with your donor base and appreciative of their own strengths and weaknesses.
Professionalize your board: when it comes to a board’s fundraising strength, more isn’t usually better. We can think of two situations in the last five years where having more than a dozen board members hindered fundraising more than it helped. Setting an expectation for members to make a “meaningful” donation to your organization annually, for attending 80% of meetings regularly, and for voting on items such as authorizing a capital campaign will set a tone that this is a board that values the work they’ve been entrusted with conducting.
Defer to your board: an executive director shouldn’t be calling the chairman of your board every day to answer basic questions about the day-to-day operations of an organization, but talking weekly about your charity fundraising strategy is quite appropriate. Trained properly and utilized appropriately, a strong board can effectively serve as a philanthropic fundraising service.
We hope the above is helpful. When a nonprofit board feels ownership over the organization they serve, the chances of succeeding with a major giving effort are better than even.
Turn Culture Into a Repeatable System (Not a One-Time Push):
A culture of philanthropy becomes durable when it’s built into the board’s “normal operating system,” not reserved for a year-end sprint. Board members don’t need to become professional askers overnight, but they do need clear expectations, a simple path to participate, and consistent visibility into progress. This is where strong fundraising strategies for nonprofits stop being theory and start becoming habit.
Make “Give, Get, or Help” Specific:
Many boards stall because participation is vague. A practical approach is to define three lanes of contribution and let each board member choose a primary lane for the quarter:
Give: make a personally meaningful annual gift and renew early.
Get: open doors, host a small gathering, or accompany staff to a donor meeting.
Help: steward donors, thank consistently, and champion the mission in the community.
This model respects different personalities while still protecting accountability. It also aligns well with how many charity fundraising consultants coach boards: clarity first, confidence second, and performance third.
Board Expectations That Don’t Create Drama:
The phrase “board give/get” can create tension if it’s framed as pressure instead of leadership. One way to keep it healthy is to document expectations during recruitment and then reinforce them during onboarding. Many governance resources emphasize that boards are responsible for ensuring adequate resources to advance the mission, which includes active fundraising support in most nonprofits.
A simple “Board Fundraising Agreement” can include:
A personally significant annual gift (amount varies by capacity).
Participation in a set number of donor touches per quarter (calls, notes, visits).
Attendance expectations for meetings and key fundraising moments.
A commitment to learning: 20 minutes of fundraising education per meeting.
This is also why experienced fundraising companies for nonprofit organizations often start with governance alignment before they touch tactics. If the board’s role is fuzzy, the staff ends up carrying the entire fundraising load.
Add Reporting That Board Members Actually Use:
Fundraising reporting should be short, visual, and decision-ready. If board members only see revenue totals, they can’t help you solve the real problem: what’s driving results and what’s stalling.
A board-friendly dashboard can include:
Pipeline by stage (Qualified, Cultivation, Solicitation, Closed).
Top 10 opportunities with “next step” and who owns it.
Renewal forecast vs. gap to goal.
A 12-month calendar for grants and major donor moments (ideal for CEOs and Development leaders).
This is where a nonprofit fundraising consultant can add outsized value: not by “doing fundraising for you,” but by tightening the system so the board and staff are pulling in the same direction.
Stewardship: The Quiet Engine Behind Major Gifts:
Boards often underestimate how much major giving is fueled by stewardship, not speeches. Donors remember:
How quickly you thanked them.
Whether you reported impact in plain language.
Whether they felt known, not processed.
If you want a stronger charity fundraising strategy, build a “touch plan” that board members can execute without anxiety:
5 handwritten notes per month (with prompts provided).
2 donor appreciation calls per month (no ask).
1 small mission moment per meeting: a story, a client quote, a program win.
These actions are simple, but they compound. Over time, they create the trust that makes an ask feel natural.
When Outside Expertise Helps (Without Becoming a Crutch):
Bringing in help doesn’t have to mean handing over your relationships. The best support strengthens your internal muscle:
Philanthropic consulting firms can help define board roles, set expectations, and design systems that match your organization’s maturity.
A strong Philanthropic fundraising service can coach board members through real conversations, especially around major gifts and stewardship.
The right charity fundraising consultants can help you create repeatable materials: messaging, donor journeys, and a practical case for support.
Think of outside help as a training plan, not a replacement. The goal is a board and staff team that can run the playbook confidently.
FAQ:
Q1) How do you build a culture of philanthropy on a nonprofit board?
A: Building a culture of philanthropy on a nonprofit board starts with three things: clarity, routine, and visible leadership. Clarity means every board member knows their specific role in fundraising—not a vague expectation to “help raise money,” but a defined lane: whether that is making a personally meaningful annual gift, opening doors to prospects, or stewarding existing donors through consistent communication. Routine means philanthropy is woven into every board meeting through a mission story, a pipeline update, or a brief fundraising skill-building moment—not reserved for a year-end push. Visible leadership means the board chair and executive director model the behavior they expect, give early, engage donors personally, and hold the board accountable through a written fundraising agreement established at recruitment and reinforced at onboarding. When those three elements are in place, fundraising stops feeling like an imposition and starts feeling like shared ownership of the mission. At The Hodge Group, we observe that boards with even a modest, consistent routine outperform boards with ambitious but vague expectations every time.
Q2) What is a board “give, get, or help” model and how should a nonprofit use it?
A: The give, get, or help model is a practical framework that allows nonprofit board members to contribute to fundraising based on their individual strengths, networks, and capacity—rather than forcing everyone into the same role. Give– means making a personally meaningful annual gift to the organization, demonstrating financial commitment that donors and funders notice. Get– means opening doors: introducing the organization to prospects, hosting a small gathering, or accompanying staff to a donor meeting. Help– means supporting relationships without making direct requests—writing thank-you notes, making appreciation calls, sharing mission moments in the community, and stewarding donors over time. The most effective way to use this model is to let board members choose a primary lane each quarter, document it in a simple board fundraising agreement, and review participation regularly with leadership. This approach respects different personalities while protecting accountability — and it prevents the common trap where a handful of board members carry the entire fundraising load while others quietly disengage.
Q3) How can board members help fundraising if they’re uncomfortable asking for money?
A: Most board impact comes from relationship-building, not direct asks. Assign members to stewardship actions like donor thank-you calls, handwritten notes, small mission moments, or hosting a tour. This supports your charity fundraising strategy and strengthens trust without forcing uncomfortable solicitations. Done well, it becomes a reliable Philanthropic fundraising service inside your organization.
Q4) When should we bring in outside support, and what should we look for?
A: Bring in support when you need structure, coaching, and repeatable systems (board roles, pipeline process, case for support, stewardship plan). Look for experienced fundraising companies for nonprofit organizations or a nonprofit fundraising consultant who trains your board and staff to perform better long-term, not someone who replaces your relationships.
Final Thoughts:
A board culture of philanthropy isn’t built by guilt or pressure. It’s built through clear roles, simple routines, and consistent stewardship that earns trust over time. When your leadership team treats fundraising as a shared responsibility and runs a disciplined charity fundraising strategy, you create stability that donors can feel.