The members of your board of directors agreed to serve because they believe in your nonprofit’s mission. They know to expect certain basic board responsibilities, such as budget reviews and regular oversight meetings, but many are surprised and hesitant when it's time for them to ask a friend or colleague to give to the nonprofit. That hesitancy can have the greatest impact in December, when the year-end fundraising stakes are high.

The good news is that board member fundraising best practices can be taught. With a specific ask and a deadline, the same members who hesitate in October can become your strongest advocates by December.

Free webinar: Activate your board for year-end giving

To orient your board ahead of GivingTuesday and the December giving season, join Give Lively for Activate Your Board: Make the Most of Year-End Giving, a free webinar on turning nonprofit board engagement into year-end results.

Amy Truong, Give Lively member success and growth lead, will be hosting Claire Curley, founder and executive director of Broad Room Creative Collective, and Maris Kaplan, Broad Room's board secretary, for an hour-long discussion about board activation. They’ll present a ready-to-use framework, reveal how one community arts nonprofit built a board that follows through and answer your questions in live Q&A.

When: Thursday, November 19, 2026, 1–2 p.m. EST
Where: Online via Zoom
Cost: Free
Who it's for: Executive directors, development staff, board chairs and board members in search of nonprofit board best practices they can apply this giving season. 

Why the final 30 days of the year matter

December accounts for 37% of the average nonprofit's annual online one-time revenue, according to the 2025 M+R Benchmarks Report. The same study found that giving on December 31 alone made up 4% of 2024 revenue.

With that much giving packed into one month, a slow start is hard to make up. Organizations that finish the year strong plan their December campaigns in advance, giving themselves ample time to line up matches, ambassadors and partners.

Planning ahead

Truong will open the webinar with an overview of the core tactics that underpin successful year-end campaigns:

• Urgency and deadlines: December 31 is a useful natural deadline. A campaign goal with an end date gives donors a reason to act when prompted instead of a later date.
• Matching challenges: A matching gift makes donor gifts go further. A match that kicks in mid-campaign also serves as a fresh excuse to reach out.
• Email and social cadence: A planned sequence from GivingTuesday through New Year's Eve is a way to keep your campaign visible, which is better than relying on a single message.
• Donor stewardship: Prompt thank-yous and impact updates turn first-time year-end givers into repeat supporters.

With this foundation laid, the webinar will shift to the resource too many nonprofits leave untapped during giving season: your board.

Your board is your most underused year-end asset

Fundraising has ranked at or near the bottom of the board report card in BoardSource's Leading with Intent research, the sector's long-running national index of board practices. That ranking is less a suggestion that board members don't care than it is a reflection of how challenging fundraising can be, especially if it comes with vague asks or complicated tools, and feels like a task that's bigger than it is.

Nonprofit board responsibilities generally fall into three broad categories: setting direction, providing oversight and securing resources. The third duty is where many boards stall, especially in the weeks when it counts most.

How nonprofits can help their boards with fundraising

Nonprofits must work with their boards to address board fear of asking for donations. BoardSource’s Leading with Intent has reported 43% of board chairs saying their members are uncomfortable asking for money.

Of all nonprofit board of directors roles and responsibilities, fundraising is the one many members feel least prepared for. Governance and financial oversight come with clear procedures, but asking a neighbor for $100 doesn't. Nonprofit board training closes that gap by providing concrete asks, simple tools and shared goals.

The final 30 days of the year are a good place to start. The asks are time-bound, the campaign already exists and every board member can see a clear finish line. Importantly, a board that fundraises well in December carries that confidence into the new year.

What nonprofits will learn in the webinar

Truong will walk through how to engage board members in fundraising during the final 30 days of the year. The framework is reflected in Give Lively's guides to mobilizing your board for GivingTuesday and increasing board engagement at a nonprofit.

Key board fundraising tactics

You'll learn how to:

• Explain why board giving matters: It builds credibility with donors, extends your reach into new networks and creates early momentum.
• Set board member expectations: This includes 100% board giving before launch, five personal contacts per member and a plan for social sharing.
• Pool board gifts into a matching fund: A board match adds urgency to give now.
• Set up a Peer-to-Peer Fundraising page for each member: These pages can be combined for Team Fundraising and spark friendly competition through the Leaderboard. 
• Empower members to personally thank donors: This closes the loop by having members recognize the generosity of donors they brought in.

Manageable action steps

Each tactic bulleted above helps define discrete and doable board actions. Instead of a general request to "help raise money," every board member gets a fundraising page linked to the campaign, a reachable fundraising target, five prospective donor names and a deadline.

Board member fundraising gets easier when the work is broken into steps that fit into a busy week, and when members can see their progress next to their peers on a shared leaderboard.

An emphasis on gratitude

The personal thank-you is where donor stewardship and board member appreciation meet. It tells donors that their gifts mattered to an organization’s leaders and beneficiaries. They also show board members that their outreach worked, which makes the next ask easier.

Planning methodology

Truong will also cover the groundwork that makes board fundraising tactics hit home: 

• Brief boards prior to launch about both the big picture and the specific ask.
• Give board members ready-made materials, such as social templates and caption copy so posting takes minutes.
• Sharing previews of campaign emails, graphics and donation pages so they feel like insiders.
• Send a celebratory results email once the campaign wraps.

What an engaged board looks like

Drawing on their experience at Broad Room Creative Collective, Claire Curley and Maris Kaplan will share what an engaged board looks like from both sides of the table: how an executive director sets expectations and makes fundraising feel manageable, and how a board member follows through. They'll also cover how Broad Room recruits for its board, starting with the board member volunteer.

Together they'll walk through what has worked for Broad Room, especially setting clear goals, and what changes when a board pulls together. They will conclude with tips you can put to work before December 31.

You can still transform your board into your biggest year-end advantage. Register for the Activate Your Board webinar and bring your questions to the live Q&A. 

Looking for more nonprofit guidance? Browse past Give Lively webinars for on-demand sessions on donor stewardship, year-end fundraising and more.