Personal Giving

If your organization does not rely fully on earned income or government grants or contracts, it most likely is involved in raising funds from individuals, foundations, and/or for-profit corporations. It is fair to expect board members to participate in fundraising.

A critical aspect of fundraising is personal giving. It is difficult for a board member to ‘make the ask,’ ask for donations or contributions from others, if he or she has not made a personal gift first. Each board should define its own policy on personal giving. Such a policy might indicate every board member must either:

• make a personal contribution according to his or her means
• give or get a certain amount
• actively participate in fundraising and make a personal gift

It is not always a good idea to state a specific amount for a personal gift as that may be too high for some board members and may lower the level of generosity of a board member who was going to give more.