My son just got his driver’s license and he’s inherited my driving confidence… and my lead foot. Seriously, I was glad he took his driving test on a closed course as he might have failed for speeding on the open road.
For me, the speed limit has always been a minimum, not a maximum. The limit – unless driving conditions are near blackout – is the slowest one should go. If the limit is 30mph, a speed in the higher 30s is good. 55mph means high 60s, 65 means up to 79, and so forth. OK, I will admit that my motto has sometimes been “80 is the new 50.”
You must be asking yourself what all this has to do with board giving! I promise, there’s a point.
For most of us, the speed limit is a minimum. While you might not be as crazy as I am, chances are you go at least a few miles over the speed limit.
However, when your organization sets a minimum gift for board giving, that’s not a signal to your board to give at least that and possibly a bit more.
What you set as a floor ends up being a ceiling barring any one-on-one conversations about giving. When you set a minimum of, let’s say, $2,500, your board members assume they are fulfilling their board duty by giving $2,500. They assume everyone else is giving $2,500 as well, and they’re team players by chipping in that amount.
Further, some wealthier board members will decide not to give more as it could look as if they’re flaunting their wealth. Seriously, I have seen board members give less because they thought it would be rude to fellow board members to out-give them in this situation!
Once you’ve set a board minimum, the only way to get most board members to give more is to ask them individually to do so. Once you’re asking everyone individually, why do you need a board minimum at all? Chances are you set it artificially low in the first place so most everyone can meet it. And chances are you still had to tell a few board members not to worry about the minimum, explaining you understood their circumstances or that they were on the board “for different reasons.”
Board minimums, unlike speed limits, do represent upper limits. If you want your board to shoot high, don’t set their sights low.
Makes me wonder…what if we had no speed limits?! Okay, I know that’s a dumb idea!
