News & Views

Q. What role do board members play in a campaign?

A. Our work at EHL Consulting reveals that boards often under-estimate their role and value in fundraising. The connection between board vitality and involvement and campaign success cannot be overstated.

Board members are responsible for all campaign activities and should want to support the campaign in every way possible. This translates into two primary responsibilities. It is the board's responsibility to demonstrate its financial support for the campaign with 100% participation. Full participation gives the board and the campaign staff the right to ask others to contribute to the campaign. Anything less could weaken an organization's case for support. The other responsibility of board members is to be the public face of the campaign. Board members must convince others there is a compelling need for the sought after funds. They must be highly visible and enthusiastic about their commitment to this endeavor. Anything short of this undermines the legitimacy of the effort.

Every organization, constituency and campaign circumstance is different, but our experience confirms that in almost every situation, the board's impact on fundraising is immense.