Our board members hate asking for money and want us to submit a capacity building proposal for a development director to do it for them. How will you view such a proposal?

One of the essential functions of a board is to give and/or raise funds. Outside funders, including MMT, expect board participation in annual giving and other fundraising efforts, albeit all board members may not participate at equal levels. Without board involvement in fundraising, a development officer will have limited impact and a capacity building effort aimed at increasing individual donations is unlikely to have much success. An interim step might be to apply for Grassroots Grants from Meyer Memorial Trust or another source to hire a consultant to work with the board on fundraising. (Always check references before hiring a consultant; refer to the advice in What We Look For in Technical Assistance Proposals for more information about working with consultants.)