April 6, 2006 | Read Time: 1 minute
FriendRaising: Community Engagement Strategies for Boards Who Hate Fundraising but Love Making Friends
by Hildy Gottlieb
Boards members should work at helping their organizations take root in the neighborhood they serve, rather than focusing solely on fund raising, writes Hildy Gottlieb, president of Help 4 Nonprofits & Tribes, a consulting firm in Tucson.
Using what she calls the “community-driven approach,” Ms. Gottlieb urges boards to promote the organization’s mission among people the charity serves and those who are best suited to help the charity, whether by giving money, volunteering their time, or taking other actions.
She recommends that board members recruit their friends to support the group by giving more than money. People who feel a true affinity for the group will contribute more than just cash—they may volunteer, offer free legal or consulting advice, or connect the group to other like-minded people, she writes.
Ms. Gottlieb uses the Southern Arizona Community Diaper Bank, an organization she helped to found that distributes baby supplies, as an example. The Diaper Bank, she says, owes its growth and success largely to the support of community members who care deeply about the cause, even if they can’t afford to give a lot of money.
“It is our goal that your community become so deeply integrated into the fabric of your organization’s mission and vision, that the community would never let your efforts die,” she writes.
Publisher: Renaissance Press, 4433 East Broadway Boulevard, Suite 202, Tucson, Ariz. 85711; (520) 321-4433; fax (520) 321-1997; orders@help4nonprofits.com; http://www.help4nonprofits.com; 209 pages; $29.95; ISBN 0-9714482-0-5.
