 Good morning or good afternoon, good evening. Who knows what time it is with you joining us, but welcome. We're glad you're here for the non-profit show, another episode here. Today we have Micah James with us, and I've been nerding out with Micah already. So she has passed the nerds test, but Micah serves as the manager database coaching for Blumerang. And Blumerang is one of my favorite CRM systems and of course is a wonderful sponsors of ours. But Micah, you're here to talk to us about engaging your board with donors. So she's got a lot of great things to share with us. Julia Patrick is taking the week off, happy Thanksgiving and restful vacation for Julia. I'm Jarrett Ransom, your non-profit nerd CEO of the Raven Group. And we are honored to have the continued support, investment and trust from our amazing sponsors. So I wanna give a shout out to Blumerang American Non-profit Academy, Fundraising Academy at the National University. 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And in fact, I had a client today, Micah, that said, help, how do I get my board members involved in giving Tuesday? And I said, listen to today's episode. Yes, let's talk about it, yeah. So Micah James, manager in database coaching with Blumerang, welcome Micah. And if you would, tell us a little bit about yourself and a lot of like, there's alphabet soup behind your name. So tell us about that. Yeah, first of all, thanks for having me on. I'm super excited. And like you said, I could nerd out about fundraising forever. So this is a really exciting opportunity. Hello, everyone out there. And happy Thanksgiving and good luck on giving Tuesday as we head into that season. I am Micah James. I have been with Blumerang for a little over a year and a half. And I have the wonderful opportunity to manage the coaching team. And this wonderful group of humans helps people elevate and maximize their Blumerang software so they can be amazing fundraisers. And what that means for us is helping you really turn that CRM into the Ferrari it was meant to be, helping it be the really amazing tool that it was meant to be, taking those help articles that you read and really applying that knowledge for your particular organization. Me in particular, I have several years of nonprofit experience, lots of which is in the faith-based background. And most recently in human services here in Oklahoma City where I am. And so love nonprofits and what they do, how hard they work on behalf of our communities. That alphabet soup that you see is kind of a representation of my journey in nonprofit worlds. And so the CCA is a certified church administrator. So that's my learning in the church world of how to apply some of these strategies for faith-based organizations. And then CFRE is that certification of certified fundraising executive from AFP. So I hope that I bring some of those best practices from both of those communities to the nonprofits that we coach at Blumerang. So fantastic. Well, thank you for that. And for those watching, you'll see a lot of Texas behind her, originally from Texas. And as she's shared, she can move, but the Texas moves with her. So glad that you're here, Micah, and to share your time and expertise with us. So we have a lot to cover and we have a little bit of time to do it in. So let's dive deep, starting with board recruitment and setting expectations. Nerd out with us on this. Yeah, so I get a lot of questions in the organizations that I coach every day is, so I have board vacancies for this reason or that, how do I find the perfect person or the perfect fit for my board? And really, the old practices of asking your board to ask their friends really is no longer a best practice. We're not just trying to fill a seat to raise a hand to vote on policy anymore. Your staff does a lot of work, but your board really should be a working, supportive engine in your nonprofit. So really, you should do an assessment of the skills and needs and diversity that your board represents, and then you should back up a step and make sure that you are filling those seats so that you are filling the gaps that are represented on your board. And so even when it comes to fundraising, you have to back up a step. And so lots of us may or may not have set that expectation at the beginning that your board is part of the fundraising process. And so you really need to back up and start in the recruitment process, having those conversations that how do you feel about fundraising? How do you feel about talking to your friends and your colleagues about this organization? How do you connect with our mission? How'd you find out about us? Do you have a passion? I always tell the story of, we've all gone to the movies, right? We've all seen, you know, whether it's the most recent Black Panther or whatever, like the movie that gets us really excited. If you're a board member, can't talk with the same excitement about the nonprofit that they're about to serve on that board. If they can't say to their neighbor, like, you really should know about this nonprofit in the same way that they could recommend Black Panther and they probably shouldn't be sitting on your board. I love that. And I love also, like, not only because they might have made it through, you know, the stanchions already and they're on the board. But now if they're on the board and they can't speak with that passion, yeah, might be time to get them off the red carpet. Well, and maybe it's just an opportunity for education. We just assume that everybody comes like you put them in. You like voted them in. We just assume that everybody, like once they're a board member, is automatically endowed with all of the skills that board members require. You have to teach people how to be board members. Even if they've been a board member before with another organization, that doesn't necessarily mean they know how to be a board member for your organization. What does it mean to serve with your mission and purpose? What does it mean to fundraise for your organization? How do they talk about your fundraising goals? And so you have to train them. Like, I mean, and not in a way like you're teaching them like the alphabet ABCs, but like you have to give them talking points and you have to like walk with them. You can't just be like, okay, good luck. And then when they fail, go, why did you suck at that? And like, we have to equip people and show them how to do it or of course they're not gonna do well. Yeah, I love that you say, talk about it in the recruitment phase because there's so many board, well, there's so many people that are scared of asking for money, right? They're like, oh, no, no, I'm not a fundraiser. And when I tell people like, I love asking for money, and people are like, that is such a talent. They're like, you're so weird. Yeah, I get that a lot as well. But at the same time, it's like, we should all be ambassadors for this organization. And so I think, you know, taking the fear away from it because it's really just having a conversation about Black Panther. And I love that you said that because it's like, hey, we're just sharing the good news and the good work and the, you know, the mission of this organization. So I love that you share that. So Giving Tuesday is right around the corner. And how can we get board members to be confident in fundraising? And I'm adding that Giving Tuesday layer in there, Micah, because it is so relevant. Had a client asked me about that this morning who might actually be watching right now. So like, yeah, hello. What is a great way for us to engage our board members and be confident in their fundraising abilities? Well, I think it goes right back to that fear statement that you just brought up. I think we have to prepare them for the things that they're most afraid of. And one of that is rejection. I think one of the reasons that people don't participate in fundraising is because nobody likes rejection. Right. Nobody likes like going up to their friends and being like, I have this great thing and they're like, no, and being shut down. And so we have to prepare our board members not only in education and training and those kinds of things. We have to prepare them with the just culture of accepting no, like being okay with no. And a no doesn't mean never, right? And I mean, going back to my whole thing about Black Panther, if you told your friend to go see Black Panther and they said, no, it's not for me. You wouldn't be offended. You wouldn't be shut down. Like, cool, that movie's not for them. But for some reason, we've attached some different weight to the ask of fundraising, to the invitation to give and those kinds of things. I think it's because it's more personal and we're attached to that mission a little bit more. But just because you made the invitation, you've extended it. But if they say no, that's their, you know, that's their right. That's their opportunity. Like that doesn't shut down the relationship. That doesn't shut down the conversation. That doesn't even shut down the ask future, like in the future. And so we have to prepare our board members to be great fundraisers in the most scary, frustrating moment so that when they are successful, like they're like, great, awesome, let's go. I think we only set them up for the positive outcome of fundraising. So that when they put it out there on Facebook and they're like, I want to raise $500 for Giving Tuesday and they only raised 25. Right. Then they're just like, oh my gosh, I did something wrong. Something's wrong with me. Like you raised 25 bucks. That's 25 more bucks than I had yesterday. Like I'll say, I'll never do this again. You have to celebrate your wins. I love that. One of the things that I recommend for board members before we even get them into fundraising is the stewardship piece, you know? Like make some calls to say thank you. You're not asking for any money. You're simply saying thank you for the money that you've already contributed to the organization. And that I think starts to, I don't know, grease the wheels a little bit because it takes away some of the fear. And it actually injects a lot of fun. And what I hear from board members is like, that was amazing. I had the best conversations. I learned so much about this person. And I just think that's a great, you know, like put them in the baby pool, let them play there for a little bit and then we'll take them to the slide that you have to be a certain height for. 100%, you know, I have been in more meetings than I care to admit, where they've printed off the list of people that need to be called and we pass it around the room and everybody's like, do you want to take 10 names? Like please stop that. Please just please stop. And what we really need to do is back up, again, back up a little bit and talk about like who are the people in your circle? Again, that you just wanna be excited about what you're connected to and just tell them a story about why you're serving on the board in the first place. Start there, then move to the like, hey, do you wanna come with me to the like organize the pantry day? And then, you know, like it is a cultivation process. Again, I think we ask ward members to go from zero to a thousand miles an hour sometimes when we pass around the list and say, will you call this major donor? Or you don't know and ask them for a thousand dollars and you're in giving. Like we've missed six steps when we do that. We really need to invite them to engage their own circle, be passionate about the story they're telling and cultivate relationships. And I think that will be a hundred times more fruitful than calling, cold calling a major donor on a list. Absolutely. You had mentioned earlier, like let's give them some talking points, let's give them some fast facts. What are other things that we need to equip our board members with to be successful? Yeah, I hate the title elevator speech just because it's overused, but I do think we need to give our board members the space to practice how they talk about, why they're connected to the mission and how they got involved in those kind of things kind of in a safe space. Because it's scary being vulnerable and telling someone, I'm really passionate about homelessness and what it's doing in our city and how I can be a part of the solution and being able to practice that story and a group of friends or even fellow board members before you go out there and tell it to a friend for the first time is really helpful. And so in addition to having the statistics and facts and things that people might ask about, how many homeless people are there in our city and how many dollars does it take to care for a person in that situation? Equipping them with those kind of things in addition to providing them the space to just practice. That's great. What about LinkedIn? I know you are active on LinkedIn. I always recommend, and this is so simple, Micah, but for all board members of every board to put that in their volunteer engagement piece on LinkedIn, any other tips, tricks or nuggets of information that we can use social media-wise for our board members? Yeah, I think authenticity is the winner of the day when it comes to social media. And so agreed, like highlighting it as a part of your life, sharing when news articles or something strikes you and not just sharing it, but sharing why it's passionate or connected with you. So there's something going around in Oklahoma this week and people are advocating for it. And so, I will grab a news article but share why it's connecting to me personally and why it's connecting to the nonprofit that I serve on. And so people will respond to that and be engaged with that a hundred times more than the like reposting of the post from a nonprofit, right? And so you will get more comments and conversation, which is really what social media is about, conversation and community. Then you will about like the nonprofit posted like this newsletter link and you just reshared it. So authenticity always wins the day. I love that, that's great feedback and think something tangible that we can do. Now, let's say the board member has taken the step, now they're meeting with the donor either in person, perhaps over coffee like this image on our shows shows. How can a board member really listen to their donors? What do you advise on for this? I'm gonna tell you to be real quiet. I think sometimes we go into these meetings and we, I mean, like we've done the preparation, we've done all the things that we've talked about here today and we are so anxious to tell you all the amazing things and we want you to like jump in that we forget to listen, period. And so I think the best thing you can do in those situations is take like a folio and a notepad and take more notes than you say words. And, you know, listen, learn about their kids, they're like, where they grew up, like all of those things are gonna pay way more dividends in the end than telling them about like how they can give today or when they can participate tomorrow. Because if you remember that their first kid just went to college or, you know, they just lost the family pet and you send them a card or like something like building relationships is going to be huge. Cause you're not just there to impart something, you're there to invite them to participate in really a community, cause nonprofits are created to solve a problem in the community. And we're trying honestly to work ourselves out of a job. And so you're inviting them to be a part of that solution engine. And so like this is a community process. And so you have to know people to make that invitation. And so really getting to know them, not just as a number, not just as a donor, but like seeing the human that is sitting there in front of you is huge. And then from there, you can know better how to invite them to engage. That's right. I love that you mentioned, you know, ask about their family, ask about, I mean, before we even went live, you know, what did I say? Like, oh, where are you joining us from? Then you talked about Texas, kids, I learned about the children. Like all of this is great intel, especially as you're cultivating donors. I mean, trust me, Mike, I'm not putting that into my donor database today, but if you were a donor, I absolutely would because that is institutional knowledge that then another board member could pick up the phone or have coffee and say, oh, I saw that you met with, you know, Ken on our board and this, you know, Ken had a lovely conversation. He shared with me even, you know, you've got two beautiful grandkids. How are they doing, you know, and just you start with that level of trust, you start with that level of rapport and, you know, there's just so much insight that takes place in a very casual conversation. 100%, 100%. And, you know, even in my job here at Bloomerang and in coaching, you know, the relationships that we build, I have people that are just like, oh, it's so good to see you again. My daughter got married and like all that's like, so I mean, like relationships connect people, you know, no matter what you're doing and it just helps people like be more successful in general. And so just, you know, the more that we can be human with one another, the more successful we'll be, I think at anything, but. No, I agree. Another thing that I used to do and I know I've shared this on the show before, but, you know, I learned that someone was really big into sailing and so the next time that, I don't know, something sailing came across my, you know, internet or inbox or something. And I was like, this made me think of this donor, you know? So I sent them the link to the article, not an ask, nothing, it just had everything to do with, I heard you, I saw you, you're into this. This made me think of you and I just wanted to share, you know, like those touch points and they cost nothing, they cost time. Yes, exactly. Yeah, I have somebody in my universe that is a big, big fan. See a big foot sticker, stick it in the mail. Yeah, so, yeah. That's just the big thing, it's, you talk often about return on relationships and, you know, how that has really come into play during the pandemic's plural. But really looking at, you know, past the return on investment, how are we investing in relationships and where are we asking our board members to play in that space, maybe our staff members, because going back to our conversation, beginning conversation, like I truly believe that we're all fundraisers. We might not want to use that F word or that term, you know, it gets a little taboo, but we're really all ambassadors and we should want to shout from the rooftops about the amazing Black Panther movie if we love it so much. I'm not going to forget that analogy because I think that is so relatable. Yeah, and again, I think authenticity wins the day and I think somebody will 100% know if you are sitting down at the table ready to be transactional or if you are sitting down at the table ready to be relational. And I don't know about you, but transactional interactions, I am disengaged 100% faster than a relational conversation. Absolutely, yeah, it's a big turn off for me as well, you know, like just having that. So one of the things that I like to ask is, you know, if you as a wrapping up, if you had a crystal ball, which I'm sure you do, I just assume everyone now has their own crystal ball. What does 2023 look like for the fundraising landscape, nonprofit landscape? I mean, it's, you can go far and wide, but what does your crystal ball tell us for next year? Yeah, I mean, as I talk to lots of organizations, I think there is a little bit of, I won't say fear, but I think there is a little bit of that looking at the edge of the mountain and seeing, is there a herd of horses coming over the mountain top or is it just a couple? I think everybody is trying to plan for something they don't quite understand when it comes to the economy and when it comes to, you know, what's happening out in the universe just in general. And so lots of people are being more strategic and having lots of in-depth conversations as organizations. I think COVID prompted us to think more creatively and I think some organizations are really leaning into that while I'm seeing others really try to push themselves back into the boxes that we once were and their constituents are really pushing back. And so they're like, so they're really going, no, we don't want to like, we don't want to go to a big Gallup event anymore. So it's really going to be interesting about this like give and take about what we learned during COVID and what, you know, what we want to keep during COVID and the uncertainty of, you know, what really is coming in the, you know, economic future of 2023. So I'm excited. Nonprofits always rise to the challenge. They always are right there in the midst of it all. So I'm just really excited to see what they can expect. Well, I'm excited. I'm excited to see as well. I know there's so much philanthropy out there. There's so much giving year over year after year, giving USA put out a report and, you know, every single year it increases. The amount of giving increases. So there is money out there. There's 1.8 million registered non-profits in the US, but there are so many people that want to support you. So I think, you know, the biggest mistake would be not to ask. The biggest mistake would be to sit on the sidelines, keep that pause button pushed. It's like, we can't do that. And everything that you shared with us, Micah, has been phenomenal. And your energy, your passion, like I know we can nerd out for hours. How much more time do you have today? I know, unfortunately not much, but we definitely want to get you back on. Bloomerang is an amazing sponsor of ours. He's been a sponsor from the very, very beginning. So each and every month, we always have an amazing Rockstar representative from Bloomerang. So today, the amazing Rockstar representative is Micah James, CCACFRE, manager of the database coaching. Check out Bloomerang, bloomerang.co, fantastic system. I have used it with many of my clients and just really appreciate all that it offers. The bells and whistles, the customer service is bar none. I cannot say more good things about their customer service and that it's relational. It's fantastic. Yeah, it's really good. So Micah, thank you for joining us. It's been a pleasure. Again, Julia has the week off. So I wish her well. And I'm Jared Ransom, your nonprofit nerd, which nerded out totally with Micah. We were just right there together. So we want to give a shout out again to our amazing sponsors that allow us these amazing opportunities like you just heard here. So thank you to Bloomerang American Nonprofit Academy, Fundraising Academy at National University, Be Generous, Your Part-Time Controller, Staffing Boutique, Nonprofit Thought Leader, as well as the nonprofit nerd. Now is a good time to check out these companies. Now is a good time to Google them and see what they offer because they are here to help you forward your mission now and tomorrow and next year. So Micah, thank you. You're like my new best friend. I love that you speak this language. I can tell you eat, breathe, sleep, but you coach it. So thank you. Yes, it's been a pleasure. And yes, happy Thanksgiving everybody and happy Giving Tuesday. Good luck on your end of your fundraising. Yeah, absolutely. Well, you heard it here. I know you're going to want to share this episode with many others. So it will be on our archive channels, which I shared earlier, in just a mere few hours. So probably three, four hours from now. So you'll want to share that. But until then, we want to make sure that you join us again tomorrow. So tomorrow, our guest is with Be Generous, another amazing sponsor to talk about their platform and other ways to engage for your end of your fundraising. But join us back here tomorrow. And until then, stay well so you can do well. Thanks, Micah.