86. Nine Ways Your Nonprofit Board Should Be Involved in Your Annual Banquet

Summary

The Fundraising Masterminds Podcast: Episode 86 Summary

Title: Nine Ways Your Nonprofit Board Should Be Involved in Your Annual Banquet
Host/Authors: Jim Dempsey & Jason Galicinski
Release Date: March 26, 2025

---

Introduction

In Episode 86 of The Fundraising Masterminds Podcast, hosts Jim Dempsey and Jason Galicinski delve into the pivotal role nonprofit boards play in enhancing the success of annual fundraising events, specifically focusing on what they term the "Vision Dinner." This episode unpacks nine actionable strategies for board members to actively contribute to their organization's fundraising banquet, ensuring it not only meets but surpasses funding goals.

Defining the Event: Vision Dinner vs. Banquet vs. Gala

The conversation begins with a discussion on the terminology surrounding annual fundraising events. Historically referred to as "banquets" in the '70s and '80s, these events have evolved over time. Jim Dempsey remarks at [00:17], “Remember that your vision Dinner is one tool in your tool belt. No one should be putting all their eggs in one basket. But the Vision Dinner is a terrific way to surface new donors and to cultivate and to lift your current donors.”

The hosts acknowledge that while terms like "fellowship dinner" and "gala" have been used interchangeably, "Vision Dinner" encapsulates both the fundraising and vision-casting elements essential for sustained nonprofit growth. Jim adds at [02:18], “It conjures up the wrong feelings of what we want to do,” emphasizing the outdated nature of the term "banquet" and advocating for a fresh approach with the Vision Dinner model.

The Importance of Board Engagement

A recurring theme is the necessity for board members to move beyond passive roles. Jason highlights the isolation executive directors often feel when boards are disengaged: “the director kind of feels like they're on an island all by themselves” ([04:09]). Jim agrees, pointing out that nonprofits frequently neglect to incorporate development responsibilities into board expectations, focusing solely on governance and fiscal duties.

The Nine Ways the Board Can Be Involved

Jim and Jason outline nine specific ways board members can actively participate in the Vision Dinner, transforming it into a dynamic and effective fundraising tool.

1. Being a Table Host ([09:04])

   Jim Dempsey: “An effective table host, not just being a table host, buying a table, selling tickets, getting warm bodies, but getting the right people there, that can be one of the most effective ways.”

   Board members are encouraged to host tables by bringing in qualified individuals who are passionate about the cause, rather than merely increasing attendee numbers.

2. Recruiting Table Hosts ([10:22])

   Jason Galicinski: “One of the things that we do in the perfect Vision Dinner mentorship program, almost like week two, is we do a name storming session with the board.”

   Through collaborative brainstorming sessions, board members can identify and recruit potential table hosts within their networks, exponentially expanding the event’s reach.

3. Being a Volunteer ([14:22])

   Jim Dempsey: “In our perfect vision dinner strategy, there's four key positions. And certainly they can serve in one of the four key positions.”

   Board members can take on various volunteer roles, from dinner coordinators to greeters, ensuring the event runs smoothly and efficiently.

4. Recruiting Volunteers ([15:57])

   Jason Galicinski: “One of the other things, they might know people exactly who can do that.”

   Leveraging their personal networks, board members can recruit additional volunteers, bolstering the event’s manpower without significant additional effort.

5. Speaking at the Event ([18:30])

   Jim Dempsey: “One of the most effective MCs that I ever had was a board member who served with me on a pregnancy center.”

   Board members can enhance the event by participating as speakers, emcees, or by sharing donor testimonies, adding a personal and authentic touch that resonates with attendees.

6. Developing a Matching Gift Program ([19:48])

   Jim Dempsey: “If you can get your board members to agree to be the lead gifts, that would set a goal...” ([19:48])

   Establishing a matching gift initiative can significantly boost donations. Board members can either contribute themselves or connect the organization with potential major donors willing to match contributions.

7. Engaging with Major Donors ([20:47])

   Jim Dempsey: “They can be involved with major donors before, during and after your dinner.”

   Utilizing their community standing and relationships, board members can foster and maintain connections with major donors, ensuring sustained support beyond the event.

8. Casting Vision ([21:59])

   Jim Dempsey: “Scripture says without vision, people perish. And it's exactly that way... unless you've got a vision.” ([22:11])

   Board members play a crucial role in articulating the organization's long-term vision, inspiring donors by presenting a compelling future that funding can help achieve.

9. Assisting in Follow-Up ([25:06])

   Jim Dempsey: “...as before I got on the plane headed back to the Washington, D.C. area from Chicago was they always wanted to make sure that I got a thank you call myself from one of the board members.” ([25:29])

   Effective follow-up post-event is essential for donor retention and acknowledgment. Board members can contribute by personally thanking donors, reinforcing relationships, and encouraging future support.

Results and Success Stories

Jim and Jason share compelling success stories, illustrating the tangible benefits of board involvement. For instance, Rebecca Ray's organization saw its fundraising balloon from $250-$300 to $575,000 after implementing the Vision Dinner strategies ([07:00]). Similarly, Becky’s organization doubled its revenue from $150,000 to $300,000 by transitioning to the Vision Dinner model ([07:35]).

The hosts emphasize that achieving at least a $100,000 minimum is essential for justifying the event's efforts, with many organizations surpassing this baseline significantly when the board is actively engaged.

Addressing Criticism and Proven Effectiveness

The episode confronts skepticism head-on, referencing criticisms from detractors who claim Vision Dinners are ineffective. Jim passionately rebuts these claims, stressing that misaligned expectations undermine the model’s potential: “If your dinner is just raising $10,000, you shouldn't be doing events. But our events, as a minimum, a basement, say, $100,000 or more” ([07:00]).

Jason corroborates these assertions by pointing listeners to their website for verified testimonies and data, revealing that "90% hit their goal and their goal is usually a hundred thousand or more" ([28:32]). Jim reinforces this by stating, “if you spend six months to do an event and all it does is raise $10,000, that's not a great return on investment for 3,000” ([26:34]).

Resources and Further Information

To assist listeners in implementing these strategies, Jim and Jason offer additional resources:

• PDF Summary: A downloadable document outlining the nine ways board members can engage in the Vision Dinner.
• Perfect Vision Dinner Mentorship Program: A structured program starting on May 5, 2025, encompassing live weekly calls, pre-recorded content, workbooks, and community support to guide organizations through the Vision Dinner process.
• $10 Million Story Series: Upcoming podcast episodes featuring organizations that successfully raised over $10 million through the Vision Dinner model.

Listeners are encouraged to visit fundraisingmasterminds.net or scan the provided QR code to access these resources and apply for the mentorship program.

Conclusion

Jim concludes with an inspiring analogy, likening the board’s role to biblical figures who supported leaders in achieving significant goals: “If you are an executive director, if you're in any leadership position in a nonprofit, you need your board members to come alongside you and help to undergird...” ([37:23]). Jason echoes this sentiment, urging nonprofit leaders to leverage the discussed strategies to transform their annual fundraising events.

The episode underscores that active board participation is not just beneficial but essential for the sustained growth and success of nonprofit organizations. By adopting the Vision Dinner model and embracing these nine strategies, nonprofit leaders can foster stronger board relationships, enhance donor engagement, and achieve their fundraising goals more effectively.

---

Notable Quotes:

• Jim Dempsey [00:17]: “Remember that your vision Dinner is one tool in your tool belt. No one should be putting all their eggs in one basket.”
• Jason Galicinski [10:22]: “One of the things that we do in the perfect Vision Dinner mentorship program... is we do a name storming session with the board.”
• Jim Dempsey [07:00]: “If you're raising less than $100,000 at your dinner, you've got to... Is this really worth it?”
• Jim Dempsey [22:11]: “Scripture says without vision, people perish. And it's exactly that way. It does not inflame the hearts of men and women unless you've got a vision.”
• Jim Dempsey [26:34]: “If your dinner is just raising $10,000, you shouldn't be doing events. But our events, as a minimum, a basement, say, $100,000 or more.”

---

For nonprofit leaders seeking to revitalize their annual fundraising events and fully engage their boards, Episode 86 of The Fundraising Masterminds Podcast offers invaluable insights and practical strategies to achieve "fully funded" status.

Transcript

[Jason Galasinski]

You're listening to the number one podcast for nonprofit leaders getting your nonprofit fully funded. This is the Fundraising Masterminds podcast. So this particular person who's on YouTube is saying, these things don't work.

[Jim Dempsey]

You know, it's just wrong, Jason.

[Jason Galasinski]

It's just.

[Jim Dempsey]

Just wrong. I hate to say I don't think they truly understand the difference between development and fundraising. Remember that your vision Dinner is one tool in your tool belt. No one should be putting all their eggs in one bas. But the Vision Dinner is a terrific way to surface new donors and to cultivate and to lift your current donors.

[Jason Galasinski]

Well, welcome back to another episode here at the Fundraising Masterminds Podcast. We're so glad to have you with us. My name is Jason Galasinski, and with me, my co host, Jim Dempsey.

[Jim Dempsey]

Hi, Jason.

[Jason Galasinski]

How are you today, Jim?

[Jim Dempsey]

Just great. It's a great day.

[Jason Galasinski]

Yeah. Well, we're going to be talking about nine ways your board members should be involved in your annual banquet. Now, Jim, before we get into this episode, we have a little bit of a problem with the word banquet.

[Jim Dempsey]

Well, I refer to it, Jason, as the B word because it is not my most favorite word in vocabulary.

[Jason Galasinski]

Yeah, well, I mean, we are referring to an annual event that involves a dinner, Right. It involves vision casting. It involves fundraising. So this. This event that we're talking about, you know, back in the 70s and 80s, it was called a banquet, right?

[Jim Dempsey]

Yeah, that was. That was a popular term in those.

[Jason Galasinski]

Way before my time. So then it moved to kind of fellowship dinner. Now it's moving to vision dinner slash gala.

[Jim Dempsey]

Right.

[Jason Galasinski]

I think gala is more of a popular term, but we prefer the term vision dinner.

[Jim Dempsey]

Well, we do, because it's a happy medium. I think sometimes when people hear gala, they think of it being a lot of pomp and circumstance and that everyone's wearing a tuxedo and, you know, gowns and ballroom gowns. But I mean, it still is a good term. And a lot of our dinners use the term gala. But vision dinner, the vision casting component, is what's important.

[Jason Galasinski]

Now, I still know, like, hundreds, maybe thousands of organizations that still use the term banquet.

[Jim Dempsey]

Yeah.

[Jason Galasinski]

Why do you think they're latched onto that term?

[Jim Dempsey]

Well, some popular, you know, nonprofit organizations, associations and things, still coach and teach their. Their member organizations to use the word banquet. And it, you know, I. I think it's just one of those old school things that just, they. They've latched and they can't release.

[Jason Galasinski]

So what. What is old school about the term banquet?

[Jim Dempsey]

Well, old school in that it Conjures up the thoughts of church basement and rubber chicken. You know, the old adage, what is the official bird of the Christian ministry? It's the rubber chicken. And it's chaining up the doors to make sure that people don't leave until they're bled dry with all the giving that they could possibly give. It just. It's just an old term that I, unfortunately, I believe is outdated, and it conjures up the wrong feelings of what we want to do.

[Jason Galasinski]

I've often been on the phone with people where they say, well, I know what a banquet is, and I know what a gala is, but what's this Vision Dinner thing all about?

[Jim Dempsey]

Right, right.

[Jason Galasinski]

And I think that's the idea of why we are going with a term that is less popular, because it causes people to just say, huh, what is this? I've never heard of that. And it kind of approaches. It gets them interested in something different.

[Jim Dempsey]

Right, right.

[Jason Galasinski]

So one of the things that we want about in today's episode, specifically about the board, is how a vision dinner can be used to unify the board.

[Jim Dempsey]

Right.

[Jason Galasinski]

Because so often we are working with nonprofits, and, you know, the director is trying to raise money, they're trying to do a ton, and the board is just sitting there, you know, going, well, good luck with that. You know, and they're just throwing in a couple little tidbits and things, and the director kind of feels like they're on an island all by themselves. And they're. And they're thinking, well, I'd love my board to be involved, but I don't know what they could do because they're busy and they got other things going on. So this episode, we really wanted to focus on why the Vision Dinner can really help to get your board engaged. And this is. These aren't just tic tac y things. These are literally nine ways that your board can get involved, that you can start today. Yeah, absolutely.

[Jim Dempsey]

Jason. I think the problem that exists out there is unrealistic expectations. I think that we don't, as leaders, when we are crafting the expectations for the board, we don't include development. We don't include working with major donors. We don't include working with events as part of the expectation. We talk about governance, we talk about management, fiscal responsibility, but we don't talk enough about the board's role in development and especially drilling down to their annual banquet. Those are the kinds of things we don't talk about enough.

[Jason Galasinski]

Yeah. And if you want to learn more about that, we have another episode I believe it's episode 45.

[Jim Dempsey]

Well, it's one of our highest rated, really good episode. A lot of views.

[Jason Galasinski]

So it's called 9 Ways your Nonprofit board should be involved in fundraising. That gives more of a high level overview of what the board should be doing from a nonprofit perspective.

[Jim Dempsey]

Right.

[Jason Galasinski]

You know, but this episode we're going to be drilling into the Vision Dinner specifically.

[Jim Dempsey]

Right.

[Jason Galasinski]

We often say that the Vision Dinner is part of our broader strategy of we're trying to win new partners for our cause, we're trying to keep them through cultivation and we're trying to lift them to higher levels of giving. And the perfect Vision Dinner is our winning event. You need to have some active way of constantly winning people to your cause. And if you're not, you're going to be plateauing. Right.

[Jim Dempsey]

Well, it's so important, Jason, to remember that your Vision Dinner is one tool in your tool belt. No one should be putting all their eggs in one basket, and especially not in a dinner or an event. Ultimately, your greatest return on investment is going to come from face to face relationships. But you'll find that the Vision Dinner is a terrific way to sur new donors and to cultivate and to lift your current donors.

[Jason Galasinski]

Yeah. And if you're a non profit leader, you're running an organization where you feel like number one, we have, we do an annual banquet, but it's kind of plateaued. You know, we've worked with a lot of pregnancy centers and homeless shelters who are doing annual banquets every year where they raise the same amount of money every year. They have the same people come in every year and it's almost like everything's been pre programmed. They know what they're going to be raising.

[Jim Dempsey]

Right.

[Jason Galasinski]

It doesn't really matter, you know, who the speaker is. They're going to write their $500 check and it's always the same and nothing changes. Yeah, we're trying to change that.

[Jim Dempsey]

Right? Absolutely. Yeah. If you're raising less than $100,000 at your dinner, you've got to. I think you ought to go back to the drawing board and to say, is this really worth it? Is this what I should be doing? Because that is really the minimum. That's the basement we see for so many dinners. It's a hundred thousand dollars or more.

[Jason Galasinski]

Yep. Or if you are raising 2 or 300, but you've been at 2 or 300 forever. Like, remember Rebecca Ray's?

[Jim Dempsey]

Sure.

[Jason Galasinski]

She was at. She came to us. I think they were raising an average of 250 to 300 which for some.

[Jim Dempsey]

Pregnancy centers, would be unbelievable. I mean, there's some that would, you know, give their right arm for 250,000. But like you said, they were plateaued. They weren't moving. They weren't growing at all. What was the end result with Rebecca? You want to remind me? Yeah.

[Jason Galasinski]

Well, they. They came to us being stuck for a while, and then, you know, they went through the program they. They were doing, you know, I would say 70% of the stuff that we recommend, but they needed a fresh infusement.

[Jim Dempsey]

Little tweaks. Little tweaks.

[Jason Galasinski]

And we upgraded their. Their banquet experience, and they came in at 575,000. Their goal was 500. You know, they wanted to get to that next level. Yeah, but, you know, that's an extreme example. We had another example of Becky, you know, options now. Absolutely. They were kind of stuck at the 150 level, and we got them to 300. So I like to say, you know, if you're making less than 100,000 at your annual banquet, we can definitely get you past that number. But if you're kind of stuck at a certain number, implementing the Vision Dinner stuff, especially if you're going from the old banquet model to the Vision Dinner model, we believe we can get you 50% more than what you're currently doing.

[Jim Dempsey]

And if I remember right, Becky been doing dinners for maybe 40 years.

[Jason Galasinski]

Yeah, like 20.

[Jim Dempsey]

And so. Yeah, long time. Absolutely. And so. Yeah.

[Jason Galasinski]

So one of the things that we wanted to zone in on with this episode is how the Vision Dinner can be a unifying factor with the board.

[Jim Dempsey]

Yeah.

[Jason Galasinski]

So let's get into the nine ways.

[Jim Dempsey]

Okay.

[Jason Galasinski]

All right. Now, we're going to go through these pretty fast. Okay, so. Well, first, the Vision Dinner can get the board involved by being a table host, Right?

[Jim Dempsey]

Exactly. Well, Jason, you know, our model, of course, relies on filling a table. It's not buying a table. It's not selling tickets. We've found that providing an opportunity for people to come without a cost and also for a board member to not have to be buying a table just is so much more effective. But it's important as a table host that the board member bring the best qualified people. Individuals who have a heart for our cause are interested in at least hearing about an opportunity to give. So being an effective table host, not just being a table host, buying a table, selling tickets, getting warm bodies, but getting the right people there, that can be one of the most effective ways. And hopefully it will be more than one table that they might be looking at. 2, 3, 4, or even helping to recruit more table hosts through their network and their friends.

[Jason Galasinski]

Yeah. Well, and that leads me to the second point, which is that the board members should be recruiting table hosts. Now, like you said, you want them to be hosting a table.

[Jim Dempsey]

Right. Themselves.

[Jason Galasinski]

One of the things that we do in the perfect Vision Dinner mentorship program, almost like week two, is we do a name storming session with the board. And this is our.

[Jim Dempsey]

It's a game changer, Jason.

[Jason Galasinski]

This is a major, major.

[Jim Dempsey]

This is one of the things that are the foundation of what we do.

[Jason Galasinski]

Yeah. And having a name storming session with your board is such a great thing. It gets everyone a room. We give them a description of what your ideal table host should be.

[Jim Dempsey]

Right.

[Jason Galasinski]

And like, one of the things we tell you in the. In the program is we're not trying to get just 300 warm bodies in a room. We're trying to get 300 of the right people.

[Jim Dempsey]

That's right. I always say I'd rather have 250 people who love us than 500 people who could care less and are just there to hear a big name speaker.

[Jason Galasinski]

One of our goals in the Vision Dinner program is to add in, you know, new people.

[Jim Dempsey]

Right.

[Jason Galasinski]

Who maybe haven't been a table host before, but they're qualified.

[Jim Dempsey]

Right, Right.

[Jason Galasinski]

So you give them kind of this nice description of this is the kind of person that you want to be a table host. And as a board, we name storm, you know, 100, 150 names of people that would fit that description.

[Jim Dempsey]

Right, right.

[Jason Galasinski]

And the board gets involved in calling those people, inviting them to be a table host. And that's one of the ways that we really help to get new people involved in the organization.

[Jim Dempsey]

Jason, early on you mentioned about just bringing the same people back over and over and over again at your dinner. That is replication. That's what I refer to it. The tape, the name storming and the table strategy is about multiplication. It's about getting new table hosts every year and tapping into the network of those individuals. What's your goal of the name storming is to bring in networkers into one room all together. And people ask me, well, why don't we just send out a spreadsheet and let people add to it? There's a certain special dynamic that happens when you've got a handful of really movers and shakers in a room and they're all thinking about someone's name. One person throws out a name, the other person says, well, what about their business partner? What about their friend? I know this person better. I can contact this person. I have a better contact. It just builds a dynamic. So when you've got a board member that's giving 20, 25, 30 name of people and they're agreeing to contact all those people, you're getting into networks that you never got into. That's why our model is so unique and so different. That's why we see such dynamic growth is because of our name storming time.

[Jason Galasinski]

Yeah. And really, this is something that the board should be owning. Like, if the board is going to do anything.

[Jim Dempsey]

Right.

[Jason Galasinski]

This is like leading from example in the sense of like, the board technically owns the organization.

[Jim Dempsey]

They do.

[Jason Galasinski]

And they need to be the ones kind of leading the charge with like, hey, we're going to do this Vision dinner thing. Let me be the first one to kind of throw out some names and get some calls. And this is something the board can very easily do. It doesn't take a whole lot of time. You know, you're not getting into the weeds of, you know, graphic design or.

[Jim Dempsey]

You know, administrative stuff, micromanaging the organization. This is a great way. You know, we talk about the board responsibilities being fiduciary responsibilities. That's what they need to have. And too often board members think that that translates into spending money. And it does. There's a component of that, but it's also their responsibility of helping to raise money for the organization. And really, there's almost no easier way to help raise money for your organization than just simply to invite people to a dinner, to have great fellowship, to hear a great program, and to be given an opportunity to give. Have no brainer y.

[Jason Galasinski]

So. So the first way that we mentioned was to be a table host. A table. Second way is recruiting table hosts. Third way is to be a volunteer.

[Jim Dempsey]

Yeah.

[Jason Galasinski]

Now there's a number of ways that you can volunteer as a board member. Jim, could you list off like four?

[Jim Dempsey]

Oh, absolutely. Well, first of all, you know, in our perfect vision dinner strategy, there's four key positions. And certainly they can serve in one of the four key positions. They could be the dinner coordinator, they could be the reservations coordinat, the volunteer coordinator, the table coordinator. But we've probably got a dozen other positions. Greeters, ushers, registration workers, counters. There's a whole network of individuals that pull off a dinner like this. And your board member can serve in any of those. No matter how busy they are, they can volunteer and be part of those things.

[Jason Galasinski]

I know. Yeah. And one of the things I love about the Perfect Vision that are program that we coach people in is, you know, there's really opportunities for someone who's super, super busy.

[Jim Dempsey]

Right.

[Jason Galasinski]

Or someone who is not busy at.

[Jim Dempsey]

All, they're looking to take on and another responsibility.

[Jason Galasinski]

So there's, there's really, there's no excuse. Like a board member really should not say, I'm too busy, I've got, you know, I'm not interested. You know, if that's the attitude. And they can't even show up to be a registration worker or a counter at the end of the dinner, like.

[Jim Dempsey]

Or just to stand in front of an eso with a sign that says, the dinner's down this way, registrations this way. You know, they're getting dressed up. They're coming anyway. Yeah.

[Jason Galasinski]

I mean, yeah. So if, if the board doesn't even want to do that, then you might want to question whether they should even be on your board.

[Jim Dempsey]

Agreed. Yep. Yep. Give. Get her. Get off, Jason. That's the. One of the old methods.

[Jason Galasinski]

Another way your board can be involved in the Vision Dinner is by recruiting volunteers.

[Jim Dempsey]

Absolutely. Yeah. It. Because there's such a broad network of people that, that, that are needed to help to run the dinner, getting your board members to recruit their friends and their family members is just a great way for them to help out that way as well. I oftentimes people will ask me, jim, do we need to recruit a whole mass of people for the event and bring those in for the night of the event? And I always will say, no, rely on the people who are coming anyway. Those people were going to come. They planned on giving. Why don't you just use those people as part of your volunteer base?

[Jason Galasinski]

Actually, that's a good point. I actually talked to an individual a few months ago and their whole reason why they didn't want to do a dinner is because they felt like, well, we don't know 50 volunteers. We don't know all these people. You know, the, the way that you guys talk about this thing, it sounds like this massive event and we're going to have all these, we have to recruit all these people.

[Jim Dempsey]

Infrastructure of people.

[Jason Galasinski]

Yeah. And it's like, no, you really don't need all that. All you really need is you need your board to get engaged.

[Jim Dempsey]

That's right.

[Jason Galasinski]

And if your board just does a fraction of these things, you know, if your board is involved in the name storming, if your board is involved in recruiting volunteers, if your board is involved in serving.

[Jim Dempsey]

Right.

[Jason Galasinski]

Every board member get involved in serving in some capacity, you're going to be fine, you know, because again, like, we like you said, the most of the people who help out at the dinner are people who, who are attending.

[Jim Dempsey]

They're coming anyway.

[Jason Galasinski]

They don't know that they're going to be volunteering. But you know, we, some people think that, you know, you got to have everything all figured out right before you even pick up a pen and get started. Right. And we, we, the way that we train is, you know, it starts with the director, you know, just getting the vision and then it moves to the board. Then we recruit the table hosts and then once we get that ball rolling, then we start looking for people.

[Jim Dempsey]

Yeah. Key four key roles to be in the leaders and then build from there. Yeah.

[Jason Galasinski]

And it's, it's more of a fluid process than I've got to get all my eggs figured out before. And then, you know, then it all like just flows from there. You know, it's more of like starts with one person, then moves and kind of trickles down and, and we've got a 21 week period of time. So we got plenty of time to recruit all these people. So, you know, it works really well. Another way that your board can be involved is by speaking at the event.

[Jim Dempsey]

Absolutely. Having a key role in the program. Yeah. I'll tell you, one of the, the most effective MCs that I ever had was a board member who served with me on a pregnancy center. He was our board chair at the time. I don't think I'd have any problem saying his name. Mark Joseph. I loved working with Mark. He's a dear friend of mine even to this day. And that was 20 years ago. But he was an unbelievable emcee. Polished. He was. He's a financial advisor by trade. Cpa. Now you would think a CPA is going to be a number cruncher, a boring guy. He's anything but that. He's effervescent, he's vivacious. He's just a great communicator with a very dry sense of humor that just made everyone laugh. And he was great in that position. But also we effectively use board members for our ministry update and appeal. They do a great job. And even board members to give the donor testimony as well too, because a lot of board members are givers and donors as well. So a lot of positions to be able to use your board members.

[Jason Galasinski]

Yep. The sixth way that your board can be involved in the vision dinner is by helping to develop a matching gift program.

[Jim Dempsey]

Oh boy. And one of the keys to the success of the perfect vision dinner strategy is the matching gift effort. It as I've said so often it's a game changer if you can get your board members to agree to be the lead gifts. So you would set a goal, say 25, 30, $50,000 is what you want to get in advance commitments. So that the night of the dinner you can say to people, ladies and gentlemen, I've got a great opportunity. A handful of friends of the ministry have agreed to match every gift up to $50,000 dollars. That is going to really make your organization soar. And your board members can be those people who effectively make those early commitments.

[Jason Galasinski]

Well, they can be those people or they might know people exactly who can do that.

[Jim Dempsey]

Right.

[Jason Galasinski]

So that's one of the other things, is they can engage with major donors.

[Jim Dempsey]

Great point, Jason.

[Jason Galasinski]

So that's our, that's our next point. And you know, board members tend to be leaders of other things. They tend to be community leaders. And so they're well networked with other people in same status.

[Jim Dempsey]

Yeah.

[Jason Galasinski]

So really, you know, they can, they can help raise the funds for the matching gift program as well.

[Jim Dempsey]

Right.

[Jason Galasinski]

They can either do it themselves or they can help find those people.

[Jim Dempsey]

Right. Well, I always say that they can be involved with major donors before, during and after your dinner. You know, the before. Certainly they can help to recruit major donors to your dinner. They can recruit them to be table hosts, they can recruit them to sit at their table, they can recruit them to get matching gifts, but they can just ensure that your major donors get there because of their relationship and their credibility. They can also be there to welcome and to warmly greet those individuals who are major donors, make them feel comfortable the night of the dinner. But afterwards, they can also be part of the effort to write, call and visit your major donors at the end.

[Jason Galasinski]

Yeah. The eighth way that they can be involved in the Vision Dinner is by casting vision.

[Jim Dempsey]

Absolutely.

[Jason Galasinski]

And that's one of the things of the Vision Dinner is we always say at the very, very beginning, I think it's like page nine in our workbook.

[Jim Dempsey]

Right.

[Jason Galasinski]

Is we help people develop a five year vision.

[Jim Dempsey]

Right.

[Jason Galasinski]

And our goal in the perfect Vision Dinner mentorship program is to help you kind of step away from the day to day and just think, well, why am I called to this? And what exactly does this organization exist to do?

[Jim Dempsey]

Right.

[Jason Galasinski]

What are we trying to accomplish? Are we trying to rescue babies? Are we trying to adopt kids into new homes? Are we trying to get people off the streets? And like, what is our dream with that? Like, what would that look like if funding was not an issue?

[Jim Dempsey]

Right.

[Jason Galasinski]

Someone were to just write a check for $10 million and, and anything was possible.

[Jim Dempsey]

Right, Right.

[Jason Galasinski]

Like what would be your dream? You know, a lot of us, we don't even know what we would do with the money even if we had it, which is maybe why we don't have it. You know, so what, what I've.

[Jim Dempsey]

The big issue that I've had for decades is that too many dinners I went to over the years, it just seemed like the organization was just asking for people to give to keep the doors open and just exist. Well, nobody wants to give to an organization just to exist. If they do, they're just giving a tip, in a sense. But if you really want those significant gifts, you've got to cash vision before people. Scripture says without vision, people perish. And it's exactly that way. It does not inflame the hearts of men and women unless you've got a vision. And so we need to, we get everyone who takes the course to dream big dreams and to think about what would this organization look like in three to five years if money was not an object.

[Jason Galasinski]

And it's a pretty big deal to, you know, pull away and to get a vision and to get re excited. I mean, how many people come into the program kind of thinking that they know where they're going, but then about halfway through when they finally realize, I think we actually could do this?

[Jim Dempsey]

Yeah.

[Jason Galasinski]

You know, I think this is possible.

[Jim Dempsey]

Yeah.

[Jason Galasinski]

You know, most people come into the program kind of skeptical. You know, it's a, it's an investment. And they're, you know, they're like, I don't know if this is going to work. But then once they kind of get in and they realize, wow, these guys really have this thing put together and they do this a lot and they realize there's a really good plan. Yeah.

[Jim Dempsey]

Well, their vision is probably no more than three to six months. You know, for a Christian school, it's September. And their vision for the future is may, you know, how do we finish the school year in the black? And so that's not a big vision. We're talking what's it going to look like? How many additional teachers do you want? How many additional classrooms? How many additional students do you want? Want. What do you, do you want to expand and build a chapel? Do you want to build a chemistry lab? Whatever it is, that's, that's what a vision is.

[Jason Galasinski]

Yeah. So the last way the board can get involved with the dinner is assisting in follow up.

[Jim Dempsey]

Right.

[Jason Galasinski]

So we have a big follow up process afterwards where we have six different kinds of thank you letters that go out, and we have an appeal process afterwards. And we do all kinds of things. Right. Probably a week or two after. And we see much money coming in, even after the Vision Dinner. The vision Dinner is kind of like the catalyst that kind of creates this, like, wake of momentum. Right. And then there's all kinds of things we do afterwards to kind of.

[Jim Dempsey]

Yeah.

[Jason Galasinski]

Piggyback off of that momentum. And the board can be very involved with that.

[Jim Dempsey]

Yeah, absolutely. The. There was a dinner in Chicago that I did for years, and one of the things that they would always do was they wanted to make sure that, as before I got on the plane headed back to the Washington, D.C. area from Chicago was they always wanted to make sure that I got a thank you call myself from one of the board members. And that meant the world to me. To hear from a board member, it was one would have been one thing. To hear from the executive director, that would have been nice. But to hear from a board member, there's just another level of respect and credibility when you've got your board members calling, calling and thanking people.

[Jason Galasinski]

Now, I'm sure there's some people listening who are like, you know, I've heard like, there's other YouTubers out there and there's other people out there that are saying, you know, vision dinners don't work right here about these people who. Raising hundreds of thousands of dollars. And that's just pie in the sky thinking that doesn't just really happen. Are we really seeing that to be true?

[Jim Dempsey]

Well, it's. It's ridiculous. It really is. I. I just was reading an article. Fun. Someone who does, you know, professes to be an expert in fundraising, saying, well, if you spend six months to do an event and all it does is raise $10,000, that's not a great return on investment for 3,000. Well, if your dinner is just raising $10,000, you shouldn't be doing events. But our events, as a minimum, a basement, say, $100,000 or more. And, you know, you. We really need to be focusing in on what's important. Do events still work? They do. Jason, is that the only thing we should be doing? No way. It should be, as I said very early on, it should be one of the tools in our tool belt. But it's an important tool. It's an important tool for winning people. We see 60 to 70% of our people new at each dinner. It's great for keeping. We use it as a way to keep the base motivated and encouraged. We update Them, we share stories and lifting. What a great way for people to move from one level of giving to the next every year by being challenged.

[Jason Galasinski]

In fact, it does work and I can prove it to you right now. If you go to fundraisingmasterminds.net or you scan the QR code on the screen, there are countless testimonies of people. Even if you're on YouTube right now, we have a playlist for, you know, customer examples. And those, those examples are literally regular people. They're not hand selected. We have probably 50 to 60 organizations go through a program every year and we do a debrief call. That's one of the things that I do right after their dinner is I call them and I say, how did it go? How much did you raise? You know, we get all their numbers and we write it all down. And I would say 90% hit their goal and their goal is usually a hundred thousand or more.

[Jim Dempsey]

Yeah, Jason, one of the things that I appreciate, number one, is I think those numbers are very conservative because you're getting them right after their dinner and some people can get money in a week to two weeks or more afterwards. Number two, these aren't cooked up numbers, Jason. When you send people out to our website to look at a chart, other than changing the name of the organization to really help them with confidentiality, all the numbers are right there in front of us. We open up the books and say, here's how much is raised. You can add it up and you'll come up with $10 million. Because of all of our efforts.

[Jason Galasinski]

Yeah. All our class members from 2024, we had them all go through and, you know, collecting all the totals up, added up to 10 million.

[Jim Dempsey]

Yeah.

[Jason Galasinski]

We're actually going to be doing a, a, a series starting very soon called the $10 million story. And I'm really excited about that series because we're going to actually be bringing on people that went through the program. We're going to be bringing on someone from a gospel rescue mission. We're going to be bringing on someone from a pregnancy center, maternity home, CEF chapter, and we're going to be just hearing their story. These, these are just regular people, just like you listening to the podcast. And they just stepped out in faith. They said, you know what?

[Jim Dempsey]

Said, we're going to give this a try. We're going to trust God.

[Jason Galasinski]

Yep. And they, they did it and it was scary.

[Jim Dempsey]

Yeah.

[Jason Galasinski]

But they went through the program, they followed the recipe and yeah, they hit their goal. Absolutely. And so they're on our sheet now and you can, you can go to our website. When you go to our website, you can click apply now. And if you scroll down a little bit past the price and what's in it, there's a section there that says executive summary, summary. And the executive summary has in it this document where we have all the different organizations and what they raised before and what they raised after and the percentage increase. And we even have like how much they spent on the dinner. Right? So that's a lot. A lot of people say, well, it's okay if you raise a hundred thousand dollars, but what if you spend a hundred thousand dollars on your dinner? And I was like, you don't spend a hundred thousand dollars on your dinner. Okay. You spend about a tenth of what you typically raise, raise. So it's about a 10 to 1 return on investment is usually, you know, what we see.

[Jim Dempsey]

Well, and Jason, it's not all about the money. I know that sounds so trite, but it is about the relationships. And frankly, if that actually happened and you raised 100,000 but spent a hundred thousand, you still would be winning because of the relationship. You brought in new donors, you helped to keep the ones that you had and you lifted people up to another level. Level it, that's not what we're about. We're not about breaking even. But if, even if you broke even, you still would have a huge win because of those other things.

[Jason Galasinski]

Yeah, but we're not spending a hundred thousand on our dinner. It's not even close. Not even close. So, So, I mean, this particular person that we won't say her name on YouTube is saying these things don't work.

[Jim Dempsey]

You know, it's just wrong, dude. Jason. It's just, it's just wrong. I, I hate to say I, I don't think they truly understand the difference between development and fundraising.

[Jason Galasinski]

I think if she signed up for the perfect vision in her mentorship program and followed our steps, she would raise a hundred thousand for her non profit. But last I heard she quit her non profit. So I don't know if she's still there.

[Jim Dempsey]

We're going too deep into who that is, Jason.

[Jason Galasinski]

Well, if you found this to be helpful, we've actually put together a PDF for you that summarizes these nine ways that board members can get involved. And really, you know, our goal with this episode is to just kind of give you a little bit of inspiration and helping you realize that there are things that you can do to get your board engaged in your organization. And every board member might be resisting to a certain degree. Because nobody wants to do something new. Right? It's always easier to stay where you're at, to be passive, to just kind of go along and do the same thing you've always done. Done. But how many board members have we seen actually attend one of our dinners? And they walk away going, wow, that was like, one of the best things we ever did as an organization, you know? So if you can, as a leader of your organization, if you can just really drive home why this is so important. And that's what we're trying to do with this PDF. So if you scan the QR code on the screen, it will take you to a landing page where you can download. Download this PDF. And we put together the nine ways your board members can be involved in your organization, as well as the nine ways that your board members can be involved in the Vision Dinner. So we've taken kind of both of these PDFs and kind of put them together into one email to both worlds.

[Jim Dempsey]

Huh, Jason?

[Jason Galasinski]

So I think it'll be a great resource for you, especially if you want to take that to your next board meeting. You could also print out the executive summary. We'll put that in the email as well. So we'll have the three different things you can download. You can print those out, take them to your board meeting, and say, look, the board should be involved in fundraising. The board can be involved in fundraising by doing a vision Dinner. And look at all the ways that the board can be involved. Now, the board might be pushing back and, oh, you know, we like just sitting and giving advice, you know, but really, if the board is serious about growing your mission and vision, they should be excited about this. And as the executive director, you can use these episodes, hopefully, to help them realize that they should be doing a little bit more. And we're really trying to make this as easy as possible because honestly, if you sign up for the perfect Vision Dinner mentorship program, we spoon feed you what you should do. All the work has been done. All you got to do is show up for a weekly call, everything, and. And watch videos and fill out workbooks, and we spoon feed it all to.

[Jim Dempsey]

You, give you even the slides for your presentations.

[Jason Galasinski]

Everything is done.

[Jim Dempsey]

Is done. Yeah. You know, Jason, one of the greatest compliments that I could get in working with board members is when the board member says, jim, I. We used to spend every meeting worried about how we're going to make payroll because of the Vision Dinner. Now we can start to dream big dreams. Dreams. One of the greatest compliments that I ever could get.

[Jason Galasinski]

Yeah, no, it's great. Well, if you've enjoyed this episode, let us know in the comments. We would love to know just what you thought of this episode. We'd love it if you would subscribe. If you're not subscribed to this YouTube channel or you are listening to us on Spotify or Apple, go ahead and hit subscribe because then you'll get notified of the next episode. So there's a lot of great episodes coming, so make sure you subscribe. And also we talked a lot about the Perfect Vision Dinner mentorship program. And if you are interested in that, we are five weeks away from our next program starting starts May 5, 2025. And we do this twice a year. Okay. So this isn't something that you can just sign up for whenever. It's more like a college program, you know, where it's like the best of both worlds.

[Jim Dempsey]

Right.

[Jason Galasinski]

There's. There's a live component. We do weekly live calls, you and I, and then we unlock pre recorded content where people go through and they watch all the content. And we have a workbook, we have a community. So we have a mobile app, you know, so there's a lot of things that we've put together for you.

[Jim Dempsey]

Like I said, only so many spots available, Jason. So it's really important.

[Jason Galasinski]

Yeah.

[Jim Dempsey]

That our listeners sign up.

[Jason Galasinski]

Very, very limited space because we're working privately with people. We can only work with so many.

[Jim Dempsey]

Yeah.

[Jason Galasinski]

So. So if you haven't done so yet, go to our website, scan the QR code, fill out the application. It doesn't cost anything to apply. But then once you fill out the application, one of our team members will get in touch with you because we want to make sure that you know what you're getting yourself into. And we only want people in the program that are committed to actually doing this model because we want to see you succeed.

[Jim Dempsey]

Yeah.

[Jason Galasinski]

We got a lot of people that have already filled out the application and we want. We only select the best of the applications. So definitely get your name in there and apply and we will take a look at that, book a call with you, and hopefully you will be selected to be a part of the next Perfect Vision Dinner mentorship program.

[Jim Dempsey]

Yeah.

[Jason Galasinski]

Well, Jim, any final words on this topic on boards and getting board members involved in the Vision Dinner?

[Jim Dempsey]

Well, it's just so important. I mean, board members are your first line of defense. If you are an executive director, if you're in any leadership position in a nonprofit, you need your board members to come alongside you and help to undergird, just as the. As the leaders came alongside Moses, as he was battling the Amalekites, as Joshua was battling down in the valley, in. In the book of Exodus. So it's so important that your board members come alongside and help you. And this is exactly one of those ways. Nine ways to be exact.

[Jason Galasinski]

Well, well, thank you for joining us. We look forward to seeing you next time.

[Jim Dempsey]

Take care.