Your nonprofit board members can help define and reinforce your brand—and have the potential to be an effective adjunct marketing / recruitment / fundraising corps. But not without thoughtful and strategic engagement, tools, and training.
Your board is an incredibly valuable resource. Members have a role in stewarding the trajectory of your organization and providing oversight on audit, finance, real estate, fundraising, marketing, and search committees. Managed well, they can encourage and empower staff to do their jobs effectively without intruding too much into day-to-day operations.
These roles, along with financial support, are usually what board members sign up for. But often, board members are tasked with another, less comfortable role: to go out into the world and be ambassadors for your organization. Even though most board members give their time and dollars because they truly believe in what you do, when asked to spread the word—to increase interest, open doors, and generate participation and support—eyes gravitate down to the table or up to the clock.
What’s the problem?
In our experience—working with dozens of boards and serving on many—board members are often uncomfortable being apostles (and even more uncomfortable starting a chat about giving) because…
- they don’t feel they have an “elevator” speech;
- they can talk about the aspects of the organization they support and care about, but are fuzzy on other bits;
- they may know “what” you do (mostly) but are less clear on “why”;
- they’re hard-pressed to prove your value and impact;
- if they encounter resistance or run up against misperceptions, they feel ill-equipped to counter them; and
- they just “haven’t done it before”… so they’re naturally uneasy.
That said, especially in lean organizations, you need your board to be your adjunct marketing / recruitment / development corps. You need them to help build your brand within their communities—and to increase your gravitational pull.
We see three areas of opportunity where you can learn from your board, deepen their engagement, and build their institutional knowledge—and a follow-on area where you can put that work into practice to build confidence and—ultimately, create informed, comfortable, effective board ambassadors.
Depending on where your organization is in terms of your brand, messaging, and fundraising strategies, you may not be able to take advantage of all of these opportunities—or guide your board through all the exercises we outline—but we’ve found success engaging them to help:
- define foundational brand elements: desired brand attributes and positioning, and where appropriate, directions for naming;
- evolve key storylines: key concepts that can roll up into high-level, “elevator” messaging; and
- identify “ways in” for donors: resonant points of connection.
(Of course, we’re not advocating for your board to be the sole driver—or the only source of input—for this work, but it’s important to include them in meaningful ways.)
With this work in place—revised and approved—you can then plan and welcome your board members to a fourth, invaluable opportunity: an interactive workshop where they can draw on what they’ve learned and put that learning to work.
The Sametz team worked closely and effectively with our board and management team to build consensus as we defined our core brand attributes, positioning, messaging, and visual expression. They listened, presented, refined—and we moved forward together. Their counsel has helped ensure our board can be powerful ambassadors for the HSO. Our new messaging and communications materials are valuable assets for our board members as we continue to focus on growing and diversifying our audiences and achieving financial sustainability.”
—Bob Bausmith
—Board Chair, Hartford Symphony Orchestra
Nailing your brand foundation
Your core brand elements—your areas of focus, mission and vision, guiding brand attributes, and desired positioning—may already be in place. If they are, snagging some time on a board agenda to review them is useful. If not, schedule time with board members—as a full board or in groups—to get their take on these essentials. This exercise will serve three purposes:
- you’ll learn first-hand how aligned or misaligned your board members are on these topics—and then find out how much work is needed to build shared understanding;
- you’ll get valuable insights—especially from the candid conversation and exchange of ideas; and
- you’ll be increasing board members’ buy-in and investment in your organization—always important.
Areas of focus
If your organization is involved in multiple endeavors—if you have a range of offerings for different, if sometimes overlapping, constituencies—then it’s likely your board members don’t have a clear understanding of the whole pie and / or some of the slices. They probably know the area they most care about and less about other areas. In your session, either present or probe for your primary areas of focus. Ask board members to talk about the areas they care about so others can hear first-hand why they’re important—to your organization and to them. Aim to keep the number of pie slices manageable: no one can remember—or be able to talk about—ten.
Guiding brand attributes
Brand attributes are those qualities (often adjectives) associated with an organization. They often accrue organically over time (for better or worse), but they can also be managed intentionally. We think of them in three dimensions:
- those that are owned: positive qualities you want to reinforce;
- aspirational attributes: what you’d like to be associated with—these may already be true, but not known externally, or they may take some work on the ground to achieve; and
- attributes to be managed away: outdated or misperceptions.
Using big Post-it notes in a group setting, brainstorm brand attributes in three columns. Then discuss and add / cull until you get to an agreed-upon list. This exercise will go a long way toward building a shared understanding of your organization—and what it has to work toward. The “owned” and “aspirational” attributes can then be elevated in conversations and written interactions. (A side benefit: your marketing and development teams will also learn from this exercise.) Note that you can’t just deny or wish away those attributes you want to shed, but you can tell stories and communicate your positive impact to dispel these negative perceptions.
Desired positioning
If you operate in a competitive landscape—for participation, dollars, and mindshare—evolving a position where you can win is critical. With staff and board input, work to understand who your competitors are, what they excel at, and where your offerings and vision can be differentiated and valued most. This exercise also builds a shared sense of purpose.
Evolving areas of focus and a compelling market position: The Rashi School
Naming
Most organizations are all set with their name. But if your name is clearly at odds with who you are, what you offer, who you’re becoming, your desired attributes—and the expectations of the market in which you operate—you might want to consider renaming. Your board will certainly be involved—and while developing a new name is a process unto itself, all of the above work can help guide you to the right moniker for your future.
Sametz Blackstone ran an inclusive process—ensuring our board was a productive, collaborative partner as we evolved our vision, high-level messages, and the different “whys” donors and prospects would support our comprehensive campaign. The work was critical to Rashi’s evolution, helping us continue to provide our students with an education that changes their lives and gives them the foundation to make the world a better place.”
—David Grossman
—Board President, The Rashi School
Evolving key storylines and a high-level “elevator” message
Storylines, as opposed to stories, are those key concepts an organization wants to have out there—and in constituents’ heads. In the aggregate, they communicate who you are, what you do, how you do it, why you do it, for whom—and why anyone should care, participate, and contribute. In tandem with staff, getting board input here both helps generate authentic storylines and, like the other exercises, builds board engagement and fluency with messaging. Start with big Post-its and markers, followed by discussion and editing—through to agreement.
Your storylines can ultimately be rolled up into a high-level message (with desired attributes providing the adjectives). Select storylines can also be deployed by board members to make the most of different opportunities. Talking to a prospect for planned giving isn’t the same as interacting with a high school student who might be a good fit for your school; engaging a desired community partner will require different storylines than encouraging a subscriber to renew.
Stamford Symphony had a bold new vision: expand beyond Stamford to better serve our core audiences, engage more diverse audiences, increase our educational offerings, deliver more music—from concert halls to classrooms, from libraries to breweries—and bolster contributed income. The Sametz team led our board through an inclusive and thorough process to arrive at our shining new name—and empowered all board members with new messages and materials to help turn our vision into reality.”
—Russell Jones
—President and CEO, Orchestra Lumos
Identifying “ways in” for donors
Nonprofits can have more complex business models than for-profit enterprises. If you’re in the business of making and selling screws, your financial health is a function of the cost of making screws, marketing the screws, and the price (and quantity) of screws sold. Nonprofits often have to keep multiple, quite different income streams healthy: earned income from services or offerings you sell; sponsorship income; grants; and contributed income from individual donors. Your board is likely to be more involved (and tasked with) the last of these.
As we all know, moving prospective donors to give (and current donors to increase their contributions) takes work. No one has to send a check to a ballet company after buying tickets, write a check to a school after paying substantial tuition, or support a social service organization with a major contribution. People have to be motivated to do so.
Unlike in decades past, when donors wrote checks to “charities,” major donors don’t write checks just “because it’s the right thing to do.” They’re looking to support organizations whose areas of focus, vision, offerings, and demonstrated impact align with their interests and passions. That said, your donor pool is not homogeneous: there is no one right pitch.
In a board group setting, go around the room and ask why different board members support your organization. An opera company example: someone might care deeply about presenting the traditional canon; another might care about commissioning new work. Another board member may be passionate about your educational initiatives, and another about your work in underserved communities. Yet another board member cares about maintaining and upgrading your performance space, and another about having the funds to hire the best guest artists.
This trip around the room will make clear the different reasons people support you—and your board will see what resonates with their peers. With a bit more work (there may be additional reasons to support), you’ll be able to build a menu of different “ways in” to your organization—multiple, meaningful points of connection that meet donors and prospects where they are.
Working with senior leadership, staff, and, importantly, our board, Sametz helped us understand, distill, and articulate Curtis’ brand promise and gave us compelling messaging and language to use across the school—so we can continue to attract the best students and be understood for who we are today and who we are becoming. They were a true collaborator and gave us the tools to connect with our many diverse constituents—and build engagement and deepen financial support.”
—Vince Ford
—Senior Vice President, Digital Strategy & Innovation, Curtis Institute of Music
Working with boards at Lyric Opera of Chicago and Neighbor to Neighbor Greenwich
Putting the work to work: board workshops
The exercises above will generate a lot of content: familiarity with your areas of focus, agreed-upon guiding brand attributes, storylines that can be used separately or rolled up into an “elevator” speech, and “ways in” for donors. And ideally, you’ve increased board knowledge, deepened engagement, and bolstered team spirit along the way.
Now, it’s time to put this work to work.
In a special board session—or within a substantial portion of a meeting agenda—review the output you’ve generated together. Then, in breakout groups, armed (again) with big Post-its and markers, work through these two (time permitting) exercises:
Exercise A: moving people to think and act in your favor
- Assign a different constituency to each break-out group. For instance, if you’re an undergraduate college, the constituencies might be prospective parents, students, donors, and recommenders / guidance counselors. For a ballet company, the breakdown might be current subscribers, prospective single-ticket buyers, prospective major donors, and desired community partners. Or you might get even more granular: older vs younger single-ticket buyers; major vs lower-level donors, etc.
- Ask each group to list what they want their constituent group to think and do. For current ballet subscribers, the group might want them to think that the ballet company and its offerings are their preferred entertainment, that their subscription is meaningful and worth the investment, that it’s an important component of their social life, and that they believe in the vision of the company. What would you like these folks to do? Renew their subscriptions, bring their friends, act as advocates, donate above and beyond their subscription, etc.
- Then, ask each group to identify which storylines might be most appropriate to deploy to encourage their group to “think” and “do” as desired.
- Using what you’ve just generated, ask each breakout group to write an email to an imaginary person in their constituent group that will encourage that person to think and act in your favor. Each group will build their email case, marshaling your storylines, areas of focus, and “ways in” for donors (if the constituent is a donor prospect.) Brand attributes may come in handy as adjectives. Each group should elect a scribe and a presenter.
- When complete, each group presents to the assembled board and asks how their pitch might be improved. (Wine helps!)
Exercise B: overcoming obstacles and resistance
- Identify a set of challenges and the audiences for whom they’re real barriers. For instance, we’ve certainly heard in sessions: “I don’t know much about art. Why would I go to a museum?” Or: “I can’t go to the opera. I won’t understand anything, and I don’t have the clothes.” Or: “There won’t be anyone who looks like me at ____ school.” Or: “I’m pretty sure there aren’t any food-insecure people in my neighborhood so a food drive isn’t a priority.”
- In the breakout groups, come up with “arguments” to address the identified challenges. Are there storylines to use? Or is the best route to tell a specific story—and what is that story?
- Again, groups can make notes (or draft bits of stories), present, and discuss—to everyone’s benefit.
- You can add an element of fun to this exercise by setting up role-playing: one side of the table is the recalcitrant resister; on the other, the board member determined to parry whatever obstacles. A third board member takes notes to present to the group. (Again, wine can help.)
Elective: collecting and sharing stories
There are two ways for a board member to move someone closer to your organization and get them thinking and acting in your favor: starting, top-down, with the big picture—your high-level message and storylines—or, alternatively, bottom-up, by telling actual stories that demonstrate and prove your storylines. Of course, these two approaches can be used in tandem.
If you need an aid to help board members structure their stories, here’s a template:
- Let me tell you about ____: who is the protagonist in the story (individual or larger group)?
- Some back story about the protagonist: why should we care?
- Existing conditions: what is the challenge or opportunity?
Then bring your organization into the story:
- What role(s) did your organization play?
- Who in the organization was front and center in this story?
- What programs or services were essential to moving the story forward?
- How did the condition of the protagonist change for the better?
- Can you conclude with a concrete example of the difference your organization made?
Stories can then be shared within your board—and ideally, collected for use in your print and digital collateral.
An interactive “messaging fridge” helped staff and board to stay on message and tell compelling stories at Project Bread
We had a large board, and while all of them believed in our mission to end food insecurity, most of them could only talk easily about our Walk… and not about our other innovative programs. Group exercises, aided by our Sears Coldspot Messaging Fridge helped all to communicate our messaging points—and tell proof-point stories—that made the most of different opportunities… all to advance our mission.”
—Ellen Parker
—CEO Emerita, Project Bread / The Walk for Hunger
Becoming effective ambassadors is a process, not an event
Gaining comfort and fluency takes time and hands-on practice. Through these exercises, board members will become more confident representing your organization; they’ll significantly augment the paid horsepower of staff; they’ll increase your reach and awareness; and, in our experience, become more committed board members. They’ll also be able to more easily pivot in a conversation: if they’re talking to a donor prospect they think is interested in X, but who, it turns out, is really interested in Y, they’ll have the knowledge to talk confidently about Y.
But one flight of exercises shouldn’t be the end. Schedule a refresher session each year—either in the normal course of meetings or at a retreat—and come up with new exercises where board members have to both evolve and use what they know to advance the organization.
It might just end up being the board meeting members most look forward to each year.
Building shared knowledge and fluency with workshop participants at Segerstrom Center for the Arts and PS21: Center for Contemporary Performance
It can be incredibly challenging for board members to tell a cohesive story about their institution and its mission—yet it is our board who are our ambassadors! Roger’s board workshop reconnected each of us to the reasons we support PS21 and, more importantly, helped us to identify why others might support us as well. We evolved storylines to address different key constituencies, participated in exercises that connected us both to our diverse audiences and to each other, and left feeling more invested in our organization and more confident in telling our story. Roger’s skill in planning and facilitating our workshop left us a more coherent group, with heightened camaraderie and the skills to talk both to the parts of PS21 and to the whole. And we had fun.”
—Alice Kocis
—Board Co-President, PS21 : Center for Contemporary Performance