Before the end of 2014 I had lunch with a colleague who said he'd be resigning from the Board of the well-known national organization he'd been serving for the last few years.  He had just completing serving as their Gala Chair which had exceeded its goals.  While they thanked him for his efforts, they also indicated they would be expecting a year-end gift.  The audacity of such an expectation when he had expended months of effort, soliciting donations from his company, his peers and making his own donation to ensure the success of the gala, angered him to point of resignation.

I've been working for nonprofits since 1991, and I believe in the work they do and want them to be successful. I have coached many organizations regarding committee recruitment and retention and I was very sad to hear my colleague tell me the story.    I immediately thought, the organization should have answered their own questions BEFORE the recruitment conversation with my colleague took place.  Would they want his event donation to be above and beyond his annual gift as a Board Member?  What If he couldn't do both? 

Next, I would have suggested that the organization have a frank conversation with my colleague about expectations.  Any committee member recruited should go into their committee service knowing what will be expected of them on the committee and beyond.  The committee member should have the chance to express his/her abilities and limitations. Unfortunately, in this case, these detailed and candid conversations did not take place.

Depending on how badly the organization needs the person to serve on the committee, they might have to let the annual gift go if the committee prospect can't do both.  It's better to keep the donor for the long-term.  My colleague who served as Gala Chair should now be helping to build relationships with the attendees and donors he brought in.  Now, not only is he lost, but so are those that came with him.

As nonprofits start this new year, I hope they will build up relationships with their board members, key committee members, important donors and others not tear them down.  

Another element in recruiting a strong committee is to set specific goals and be clear about them upfront. Without clear goals the committee members will not know what's expected of them.  Give them the expectations in writing.  It's easy to create a one-sheet flyer on event or organizational letterhead with a few bullets outlining the expectations.   Make sure to include a give/get fundraising goal, expectations regarding adding names/contacts to master prospect or mailing list, meeting calendar, and anything else you may ask of them.  Use a tracking spreadsheet if necessary and share that within weekly updates.

Here's a start to recruiting an effective committee for your next fundraising event. 

Recruit from your network.  Start with your Board. Have Board members as the nucleus of the committee and charge them with recruiting others.  Approach current donors.  Reach out to event attendees.  Create a wish-list of executives you'd dream of having on your committee and work to connect to them.  Continue to build on the committee and elevate the expectations year after year.