Contact: Matt Baxter, Mission Increase Foundation, 503-906-1622, mbaxter@missionincrease.org

PORTLAND, Ore., Sept. 17 /Christian Newswire/ -- A recent survey is challenging a commonly held myth by many small to midsize Christian nonprofits. Many think that their boards are the key to their fundraising success, adopting a wishful "If only..." attitude, looking for wealthy individuals to sit on the board and only focus on fundraising. However, new information from a survey conducted by Mission Increase Foundation reveals that board members do not think fundraising is their most important role. And many of the nonprofit staff members agree.

In late May of 2010, Mission Increase Foundation surveyed over 5,000 staff and board members of small to midsized (between $25,000 and $5 million in annual income) Christian ministries, ranging from homeless shelters and pregnancy resource centers to disaster relief and teen outreach programs. Over 500 people replied to questions regarding fundraising, board governance, leadership and other board related issues.

The survey revealed that 53% of board members and 51% of staff said that fundraising was not the most important role for their board members. And while board members were mostly almost evenly split as to their effectiveness, nonprofit staff overwhelmingly said board members were not effective fundraisers.

"These findings are helpful for board and staff as most ministry leaders have many misconceptions about boards, their purpose and practice." said Dave Farquhar, Mission Increase Foundation's president. "Ministries expect board members to function like super-staff and super-fundraisers. The truth is, most board members devote less than 20 hours per year to their cause. No one can achieve the false expectations of super-anything in that limited amount of time."

But while board members may not be the most effective at fundraising, the survey revealed that most ministries believed their boards provided effective leadership and bring other significant value to the organization. The survey revealed other key findings that tend to counter common misconceptions:

• Both board members and staff agreed that board chairs led effectively

• Boards seem to have found a balance between micromanaging the CEO (a common leadership complaint) and rubberstamping plans (a common staff complaint).

• Boards do not do a good job at investing in and improving their board skills.

The complete survey and results can be found at MissionIncrease.org. In addition, Farquhar is speaking at a number of workshops across the country encouraging board members and ministry leaders to keep fundraising in its proper perspective.

"Ministry leaders need to recalibrate the truth about boards." Farquhar observed. "Their boards are highly passionate and called by God. But they often lack knowledge about their role. When boards think that fundraising is their most important task, they lose sight of their true role as the champions of their ministry's vision."

Mission Increase Foundation is a national granting and training foundation that seeks to transform lives for Christ through effective giving and training. Since 1999, Mission Increase Foundation has provided Christian ministries with free training and has awarded $18M in matching grants. As a result, these ministries have raised over $100M in new funds.