The 4 Fundamentals of a Capital Campaign

Busy team of office employees in a group meeting discussing a capital campaign plan

Wondering what you and your colleagues can do to prepare your organization for a major capital campaign? You’ve come to the right place! There are 4 fundamentals of a capital campaign. Read on to learn more about each one!

1. The Case for Support

Define what is unique about your organization. How is it transforming the lives of the people you serve? Beyond general and often vague mission statements, define specifically how your organization is making an impact on the lives of your constituents:

  • Prepare several individual profiles to illustrate successful program outcomes.
  • Prepare a fact sheet with statistics on who you serve, where they come from, what types of programming they seek and why, success rates, etc.
  • Identify your opportunities for program expansion and/or improvement and the added impact they could make. Quantify your statements with informed projections.
  • If new or renovated facilities are a part of the plan, take steps to select an architect and begin discussing conceptual plans.
  • Improve the appearance of your facilities and grounds. Show good stewardship of past giving and pride in your appearance—it matters.

2. Leadership

As with any project, you must have the right timing, the right plan, and the right people behind you to be successful. Encourage trustees and select staff to begin identifying leadership candidates for each constituent group you serve. Promising leadership candidates should:

  1. Be well-known and connected among their peers
  2. Be well-regarded
  3. Be sympathetic to your organization’s work and approving of your successes
  4. Have the capacity to make a generous gift

Never forget, this is a capital campaign to raise millions of dollars, your leader must be able to inspire peers with active involvement and generous financial support. Celebrities and star athletes are no exception (you are running a capital campaign not an advertising campaign!). Your leader must have all four components to be successful. Identify leaders from among your board of trustees, key volunteers, constituent groups, and community leaders. Remember, you are identifying your “dream team” to lead the campaign. Keep it real, but think big!

3. Donor Prospects

Maybe you have 30 years of solid donor records or maybe you are starting from scratch. In either case, you should improve your records as much as you are able and seek additional information. Trustees, staff, and select volunteers should undertake the following steps:

  1. Update donor records and mailing addresses. Is the information you have complete? Is it easily accessible, accurate, and informative? Can you run reports? Do you need a software upgrade or just software?
  2. Identify current and potential donors capable of making generous major gifts. Who are they? What is their association with your organization (if applicable)? What types of organizations are they involved with? Who knows them? What other types of general information would be helpful? 
  3. Make a list of your top 5, 25, 50, and 100 donor prospects. Include addresses and telephone numbers. Who would be a good contact? This will give your campaign director an immediate starting list of people to interview in the Feasibility and Planning Study while helping prepare your trustees and development staff (if applicable) for the campaign work ahead.
  4. Consider seed money for your campaign. If you don’t have as much as $50,000 to $100,000 in cash reserves, identify several people close to your organization who might be capable and open to providing the start-up money you will need to hire architects, fundraising consultants, etc.
  5. Step up your stewardship activities. Have key staff and trustees visit with current and past donors to thank them for their support, to talk about the good work that you are doing, and to discuss the organizations vision of the future. Strengthen your existing relationships—they will be the foundation of all future ones.

4. The Campaign Plan

Every successful campaign begins with a plan. The capital campaign plan is a detailed set of procedural guidelines for campaign leaders and volunteers. For more detailed information on what to include in your capital campaign plan, check out our related article, Capital Campaign Plan: A Road Map to Success.

Summary

If you want to increase your fundraising potential, begin making preparations now. Whether you are a small community service office or a large international relief organization, your fundraising success will depend on the 4 fundamentals of a capital campaign as described above. Make conscious steps to improve your knowledge of your organization and those who could help you realize your vision for tomorrow. You don’t have to have every detail in place to proceed with an effective capital campaign. But the more you are able to prepare, the more dollars you will be able to raise in the course of your campaign.


CDS has been a leader in nonprofit fundraising for the past three decades. Contact us for more intensive help with your major gift fundraising, strategic planning, or preparing for a capital campaign.

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