7-Word Question to Ignite Board Member Recruitment
Discover the 7-word question that turns passive nonprofit board members into passionate recruiters in 47 days
Today, I want to introduce you to the seven word question that will help turn your board members from passive to possessed. I've watched board members go from checking email during meetings to crying tears of joy when we hit our campaign goal. The transformation took exactly forty seven days and started with seven simple words. Who should we invite to join us?
This simple question transforms board members from recipients to recruiters and creates ownership instead of obligation. And it makes them feel like insiders building something exclusive. There are many types of board members, a time only board member that you can convert through personal stories, treasure only board members that activate through hands on involvement, and transactional members you can transform through mission immersion. Transformational board members, you can clone them through peer to peer recruitment.
I've seen traditional board training fail. If this were easy, you probably wouldn't be here right now listening to me. In my thirty years in the nonprofit sector, I've seen many failures that have taught me what not to do. How many meetings have you sat through that were death by PowerPoint?
This teaches us compliance and not passion. It focuses on liability instead of legacy and treats symptoms and not the disease.
We should be maniacally focused on capturing the hearts and minds of our board members. That's our job. But here's what you can do. Try the Gateway Ask technique.
Start with their network and not their wallet. First ask, who needs to know about this work? Second, will you introduce us? And third, will you join them at the visit?
Finally, will you match their gift? There's a social psychological trigger. People become what they publicly proclaim. Board members who recruit become mission evangelists, and peer recruitment creates psychological consistency. I recruited them, and therefore I believe in this mission.
Your board members are not lazy or disconnected. They're lost. Show them the map and they'll race to the destination.