It’s time to be creative with your board members, and get them thinking about new ways to use their networks, their credibility, and their ability to open doors. This week, Museum 411 breaks down ways to help your board navigate these waters with confidence.
Clarify what fundraising actually looks like
There’s a baseline assumption that board fundraising means cold-calling wealthy friends for cash. In reality, most successful campaigns involve a series of action steps. Here’s your reminder to make sure board members are aware of the different efforts that contribute to fundraising:
- Making introductions to potential donors or sponsors/partners.
- Hosting or attending cultivation events.
- Lending their name to an initiative.
- Sharing stories about your museum’s impact or getting media attention.
- Writing thank you notes or making stewardship calls.
- Advocating for public funding or policy support.
When it comes to items on this list, not everyone needs to do everything. But everyone should do something. We’ll get to that in a minute.
In 2025, more museums are embracing values-based giving, and seeking support from younger donors, affinity groups, and online communities. That means your board’s networks might include activists, creators, educators, or small business owners in addition C-suite executives and such. All are valuable and all can open doors.
Modifying “Give, Get, or Get Out”
Although it ruins the alliteration, “advocacy” now demands a spot in the three Gs. It’s not much of a stretch either; we’ve said before that fundraising and advocacy go hand in hand. You want your board members to use their position in the community to bring your museum’s voice to public and civic and media spaces.
Recommended further reading: The Board’s Role in Advocacy
A note on soliciting funds from the board itself:
One of the great sticking points is who should ask whom. Don’t assign the board solicitation to staff: the status is too unequal. And it’s a rare chief executive who can solicit contributions from their own board without feeling that they’re asking for their own salary.
The best person to make the request is usually the head of the board. After they’ve already made their own gift. A solicitor of gifts who has contributed personally is always more confident and convincing about asking others, than a solicitor who is just ‘committed to the programme.’ If not the head, then the treasurer, who has a statutory interest in the outcome.
If giving by the group is far below potential, go to the biggest board donor. Ask for a substantial challenge gift that will match, one-for-one, every pound donated over the prior year’s gift. It’s a compelling incentive. People like to see their money matched. (Source: Ask Our Trustees for Money? Are You Mad?)
Addressing discomfort
A degree of advocacy or fundraising reluctance is natural, but there are things you can do to equip board members with tools they need to succeed. Confidence grows with preparation! If you don’t already have, you’ll want to create:
- Talking points specifically for board member use that clearly articulate your museum’s case for support.
- Basic training in donor cultivation and stewardship (see the “Fundraising 101” link below for more on this).
- Clear expectations (would be worth outlining these in onboarding materials).
- Realistic scenarios for practicing.
You and your team are there to provide much-needed support: answering questions, rehearsing those realistic scenarios, co-hosting meetings, etc.
Recommended deep dive: Fundraising 101 Guide for Nonprofit Board Members
Individualized engagement plans
To have a high-impact board, it must be deployed strategically. Just as you would with staff, identify each trustee’s strengths to determine where they’ll have the most success. Who would be good with the media? Who has business development skills? Who’s most relaxed when speaking to a crowd? Anyone with community organizing experience? From there, it’s about setting expectations and being organized about things:
Invite each board member to collaborate on realistic goals that match their capacity and comfort level. This will set them up for success from the get-go, and that collaborative approach will hopefully encourage buy-in. You can also support them by providing metrics and milestones (but these need to be shared as helpful guidance not performance pressure).
And, of course, you should revisit board-specific fundraising and advocacy plans annually. You’ll likely need to adjust for life changes, changing interests, new board members, or different museum priorities.
Be mindful that energy and time are different currencies in 2025. We’re not trying to contribute to burnout. A great story shared on LinkedIn, for example, could be more useful than a dozen unreturned emails.
Your good leadership skills are essential
A good leader identifies team members’ strengths and weaknesses. A good leader also highlights contributions with intentionality, so people feel seen and valued. Thank board members privately, publicly, and often. It’s so important to create a culture of enthusiasm around their involvement in fundraising and advocacy. Be flexible, celebrate wins (and remember that some contributions go beyond the dollar!).
