Board Cheat Sheet: Five Roles for Your Board to Play to Boost Fundraising, 2025-26 Edition

We're all feeling it—the weight of uncertainty, with little relief in sight. It's hard to know where to focus.

For nonprofits, the list of challenges keeps growing: a volatile economy, federal funding cuts, canceled grants, staff burnout, donor fatigue, inflation, even natural disasters—and now, major tax changes on the horizon.

And yet, one challenge consistently rises to the top: board engagement. Depending on the study, anywhere from 60% and 75% of nonprofits report engaging their boards as a chronic problem, especially when it comes to fundraising.

How can you activate your board when traditional strategies aren't working? When what you need from board members is real-world insight and fundraising support, but what you get feels like avoidance or detachment?

Below are five ways to re-envision how to partner with your board. Nonprofit boards are constituted differently, so every suggestion on the list won't be apropos for every board member. But they're all productive roles you can ask board members to play to get the dialogue flowing, create deeper awareness, and inspire the action you need.

Think of them as avatars—personas your board members can inhabit to help you better understand your donor community and build fundraising capacity from the inside out.

Two additional roles your board can play are universal, but they couldn't be more relevant today.

The Strategy Partner

Board members have a responsibility to ensure that your revenue strategies are sound as part of their duty of care. But they can also be your best strategy partners.

Now is the time to roll up your sleeves together and dig into your business model and revenue plans. Justify your "whys" and other assumptions. Run through exercises where you play out different scenarios. Develop a relentless habit of asking, "What am I missing?" You'll gain valuable insights and identify vulnerabilities and flaws. And your board members will gain a deeper understanding of the real work behind the numbers.

The Cheerleader

Never underestimate the power of encouragement. A quick "thank you" or "you're doing great!" from a board member can go a long way in keeping morale high, especially in tough times.

So, too, can social time before or after board meetings, as well as active, intentional communication between staff and board members between formal meetings.