Q: What is the role of the board in fundraising?

A: Whatever the board decides it will be! Sounds like a smart-aleck response, but it is intended seriously.

It is the board’s responsibility to define its job, including fundraising, not the executive’s.
The board has three alternatives:

1. The board is entirely responsible for fundraising. The board positively describes its job within the Governance Process policies including a plan of action to raise funds..

2. The executive is entirely responsible for fundraising. S/he must find a way to raise the money or inform the board that s/he cannot do it. The board will then decide if they will accept some responsibility for fundraising or if they will find an executive who can do the job.

3. The board decides that fundraising is a shared responsibility. Then the board’s portion must be defined. It may include personal donations, capital campaigns, or assisting the development campaign.

If a board accepts a fundraising role, it must be clearly stated in their policies.

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