Institutional funders have an opportunity to strengthen the nonprofit sector in a way that extends far beyond individual grants: investing in the leadership, relationships, and fundraising practices that help organizations sustain their missions.
Many local nonprofits face remarkably similar challenges. Board members care deeply about their organizations but may be uncertain about their fundraising responsibilities. Executive directors juggle program delivery, operations, and resource development. Small development teams struggle to find time for donor stewardship, relationship building, and meaningful board engagement.
These challenges are particularly difficult for smaller organizations that cannot afford specialized training, outside consultants, or dedicated board development staff.
Traditionally, each nonprofit is left to address these needs independently. Yet much of the knowledge, education, and infrastructure required to strengthen boards can be shared.
A coordinated board development program offers institutional funders a practical way to invest in multiple organizations while helping expand philanthropic participation throughout the community.
Why Shared Board Development Makes Sense
Capacity building is often funded one organization at a time. A nonprofit receives support to develop a strategic plan, engage a consultant, or improve its fundraising practices.
These investments are valuable, but they may duplicate resources across organizations facing similar challenges.
A shared board development initiative takes a different approach.
Rather than asking each nonprofit to build its own training program and engagement infrastructure, a community foundation or nonprofit association can make common resources available to a group of participating organizations.
The benefits extend beyond potential economies of scale.
Organizations gain access to education and support they might not otherwise be able to afford. Board members develop a more consistent understanding of their responsibilities. Nonprofit leaders have opportunities to learn from peers facing similar challenges.
Most importantly, participating organizations can develop more deliberate and sustainable approaches to fundraising engagement.
The objective is not to make every nonprofit operate identically. It is to provide a common foundation of knowledge and support that individual organizations can adapt to their own missions, structures, and fundraising priorities.
Begin With a Shared Challenge, Not a Training Calendar
A successful program begins by identifying what participating nonprofits actually need.
Too often, capacity building initiatives are organized around a predetermined series of workshops. Topics are selected, presenters are scheduled, and organizations are invited to participate. Although the education may be useful, the initiative may do little to change organizational practices.
A stronger approach may begin with specific questions about capacity.
Are board members unclear about fundraising expectations? Do executive directors need help engaging volunteer leaders? Are donor stewardship and cultivation inconsistent? Do organizations lack reliable ways to coordinate board participation?
A short needs assessment involving nonprofit executives, development professionals, and board leaders can identify common challenges and establish realistic priorities. This initial work also helps determine whether a shared program is appropriate and which organizations are most likely to benefit.
The goal is to address a defined organizational need, not simply deliver more training.
Design a Program That Connects Learning with Action
Education is an important component of board development, but it is rarely sufficient on its own.
Board members may learn why donor stewardship matters without ever participating in it. They may understand the importance of introductions, but remain uncertain about whom to contact or how to begin.
Lasting improvement requires opportunities to apply what members learn. A well-designed shared initiative connects accessible education with practical engagement.
For example, participating organizations might receive foundational instruction about philanthropic relationships, donor motivation, stewardship, board responsibilities, and effective communication. They then have opportunities to translate those concepts into appropriate activities, coordinated by their own staff. These might include welcoming new supporters, expressing gratitude, making thoughtful introductions, participating in cultivation, or strengthening relationships with community partners.
The specific actions reflect each nonprofit's development strategy.
The central principle is that capacity building changes what organizations are equipped to do - not simply what their board members know.
Expand Participation Without Expecting Everyone to Become a Solicitor
One of the most valuable outcomes of shared board development is a broader understanding of philanthropy itself.
Many board members associate fundraising primarily with asking for money. Those who are uncomfortable soliciting donations may assume they have little to contribute.
But successful philanthropy depends on much more than solicitation. Cultivation, listening, gratitude, relationship building, introductions, and thoughtful follow through all help organizations develop and sustain support.
A shared board development initiative can help nonprofit leaders recognize and use these different methods. This approach also creates opportunities for board members with different backgrounds, experiences, and community relationships to participate meaningfully.
The objective is not to eliminate fundraising expectations or diminish the importance of financial contributions. It is to expand the number of people actively supporting the philanthropic relationships on which nonprofits depend.
For institutional funders, this creates an opportunity to strengthen not just individual fundraising programs, but participation in philanthropy across an entire community.
Preserve Organizational Independence
Shared infrastructure does not mean centralized control over fundraising. Every nonprofit has its own mission, relationships, staffing structure, and development priorities.
An organization preparing for a capital campaign needs a different form of board engagement from one establishing its first annual giving program. Similarly, individual organizations remain responsible for donor confidentiality, solicitation strategy, and the coordination of external relationships.
A foundation sponsored program therefore provides common education, resources, and support while allowing each nonprofit to determine how those resources are used. The sponsoring foundation can establish program objectives and evaluate aggregate progress without directing individual donor relationships.
This distinction is essential to creating a program that participating nonprofits view as genuinely useful rather than another external reporting obligation.
Make Participation Practical for Smaller Organizations
The nonprofits most likely to benefit from shared capacity building support may also have the least time available to participate. A small organization with an executive director and a handful of staff cannot necessarily devote significant hours to training administration or additional reporting.
Programs should therefore be designed around realistic organizational capacity.
Short educational resources, flexible learning formats, straightforward onboarding, and limited administrative requirements can help make participation more accessible.
Funders can also consider whether organizations need implementation assistance, not simply access to educational materials or technology.
The objective is to reduce barriers to engagement rather than create new ones. A successful shared program should make it easier for nonprofit staff to involve their boards in fundraising - not increase the amount of coordination they must perform.
What a Foundation Sponsored Initiative Might Look Like
Consider a community foundation that invites 40 local nonprofits to participate in a shared board development program.
If each organization has an average of ten board members, the initiative could reach approximately 400 volunteer leaders.
The foundation can underwrite access to a common educational and engagement framework while providing an orientation for participating executive directors and board leaders. Each nonprofit would identify its own fundraising engagement priorities, clarify staff responsibilities, and establish a baseline for board participation.
Over the following months, board members receive opportunities to learn about philanthropy and contribute through appropriate cultivation, stewardship, introductions, and relationship building. Nonprofit leaders coordinate participation within their organizations, while the foundation assesses progress across the participating cohort. Regular opportunities for peer exchange could allow executive directors and development professionals to discuss challenges and share effective practices.
This model combines the advantages of shared resources with the flexibility needed by individual organizations.
Measure More Than Attendance
One of the weaknesses of traditional training initiatives is that success is often measured by the number of people who attend.
Participation matters, but it does not necessarily demonstrate stronger organizational capacity.
A shared board development program examines whether participating nonprofits are changing how they engage their volunteer leaders.
Useful measures include the proportion of board members participating in fundraising related activities, the consistency of engagement over time, changes in fundraising confidence, improvements in staff-board coordination, and the adoption of more reliable stewardship practices.
The most useful evaluation combines evidence of learning, changes in practice, organizational experience, and longer-term results.
Build for Sustainability From the Beginning
A capacity building initiative can be designed with the end of the initial funding period in mind.
Will participating organizations retain the knowledge and practices developed through the program? Can they sustain board engagement without excessive staff effort? Will the resources remain affordable?
Funders can consider how ongoing participation might be supported after the first year, whether through continued sponsorship, cost sharing, or individual organizational subscriptions.
Equally important, the program can help nonprofits establish internal expectations and routines that can continue independently of a particular funding arrangement.
The most valuable capacity building investments create organizational habits and capabilities that endure.
How BoardSpring Can Support Shared Board Development
BoardSpring offers a practical platform for connecting fundraising education with ongoing board participation.
Its Learning Hub provides accessible resources on fundraising concepts and practices, while manageable monthly activities help board members contribute through gratitude, introductions, listening, cultivation, and relationship building.
Nonprofit staff can coordinate participation, provide guidance, and monitor engagement within their own organizations.
For community foundations and other institutional partners, BoardSpring can support foundation-sponsored cohorts, allowing multiple nonprofits to benefit from a shared engagement framework while maintaining their individual fundraising priorities.
Aggregate cohort reporting helps sponsoring organizations understand participation and assess how engagement develops over time.
BoardSpring is not a substitute for executive leadership, fundraising strategy, or professional development staff. It is a way to help organizations translate fundraising knowledge and good intentions into consistent, coordinated participation.
Investing in a Stronger Philanthropic Community
A shared board development program offers an institutional funder the opportunity to accomplish something larger than providing training to individual organizations.
It helps more volunteer leaders understand philanthropy, participate in cultivating and stewarding relationships, and contribute to the sustainability of the nonprofits they serve.
Across dozens of organizations, that participation strengthens connections across charitable institutions and their communities.
The long term value lies not simply in the number of board members trained, but in whether organizations become more effective at developing relationships, engaging supporters, and sustaining philanthropic participation.
By investing in shared board development, funders can strengthen individual nonprofits while helping build a broader, more engaged, and more resilient culture of philanthropy across their communities.
Learn more at www.boardspringgroup.com.
