Give fundraising a standing ten minute item near the start of every meeting, not after the finance report. Open with one donor story, review what each trustee agreed to do since the last meeting, and close with one decision. Report income in the same format each time so the board sees donor retention as well as the total raised.
“Items at the end of an agenda are the first to be cut. Give fundraising ten minutes near the start: one donor story, a check on board commitments, one decision.”
3 practical tools and actions included in the PDF.
Agenda wording you can use at the next meeting
A tracker that shows which board commitments are done and overdue
A quarterly review that adjusts roles instead of repeating the same request
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Built for these roles and fundraising challenges.
Read the studies and guidance behind the recommendations.
UnderDeveloped recommends that boards include fund development goal-setting in their annual work planning and monitor their own performance regularly, and that goals be set together with the development director.
CompassPoint and the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund, UnderDevelopedNearly one third of development directors in the UnderDeveloped survey said they had been charged with unrealistic performance goals.
CompassPoint and the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund, UnderDevelopedBoards should monitor progress against fund development plans and goals.
BoardSource, Fundraising for NonprofitsCRA cautions charities against evaluating in-house fundraising staff solely or excessively on fundraising results.
Canada Revenue Agency, CG-013Because items at the end of an agenda are the first to be cut when time runs short. An early slot also signals that donor relationships are part of governing, not an afterthought.
That is the report. Record it, ask what got in the way, and adjust the role or the support staff give. Over a few meetings the gap usually closes.
The development lead prepares the donor story and the tracker. The chair runs the discussion, which keeps accountability with the board rather than the staff.
Keep working on the same fundraising challenge.
Ask every trustee to score the same 25 practices independently, from a written fundraising plan to personal giving and donor thank-you calls. Combine the scores at a board meeting and pick the two or three lowest dimensions to work on this year. Independent scoring matters because executives and fundraising staff often see the same organisation very differently.
Read the checklistEach trustee should choose one specific role for the year, such as thanking donors, making introductions, hosting, telling the story, joining asks or reviewing the plan, and record it with a name and date. Not every trustee needs to ask for money. Every trustee does share responsibility for overseeing fundraising and making sure the organisation has the resources its mission needs.
Read the guideUse this playbook to build a mid-level donor programme without adding staff. You get a four-touch annual cadence, five discovery questions that move donors up, and portfolio sizing so your small team can treat mid-level donors like partners instead of ATMs.
Read the toolkit4 cited sources, written for teams doing this with the staff they already have. No cost, no sales call.
Share your fundraising priority. Our senior team can build the plan, run the work and report on progress.