Werth-It Fundraising Blog

I was teaching fundraising recently and I was talking about insisting on best practices for your board, like having a rule that every board member donates money and that you have term limits.  One of the students said, “But a board member might leave!”  I responded with, “So?”

I think we’re too caught up in this society with being liked.  Now, it’s nice to be liked.  I’m a likable person, people like me, it’s nice that they like me.  But I’m not married to the idea of being liked.  Sometimes wanting to be liked gets in the way of things getting done.

If I’m too caught up in the need to be liked, it means I may not be as effective in running an organization.  For me, being liked is a plus.  It’s nice, but it’s not necessary.

It’s more important to me that the work of the organization continue and grow.  It doesn’t help anyone if I’m liked and the organization folds because I didn’t insist on everyone doing the best for the organization.

Yes, sometimes we lose board members.  Sometimes, if we insist that everyone donates, someone will leave in a huff, feeling that their donation of time wasn’t respected, or the organization is changing and they don’t like that.  I wish they wouldn’t leave angry.  I’m sorry about that.  But I’ve found that sometimes it’s necessary for some people to leave for the organization to grow and ultimately reach more people.  If the organization is doing good work, that’s more important than whether everyone is comfortable and feels good.

Of course, the best combination would be that I’m liked and that also everyone does what’s best for the organization.  However, if I can only have one thing, I care a lot less about being liked; I want the organization to thrive whether I’m liked or not.

If you have a question about fundraising or board development, please contact me, Katherine Wertheim, CFRE, at katherine@werth-it.com.