Capital Campaigns — Everything You Need to Know

There are three keys to a successful capital campaign and organizations that have learned the importance of these critical ingredients are always more successful than those who do not understand the wisdom of following the tried and true principles of campaigning.  

These critical requirements are:

• A Compelling Case for Support
• 100% Board Commitment
• Effective Volunteer Leadership

Developing Your Case for Support — Telling Your Story

A preliminary case for support needs to be developed before the planning study is begun. Consultants will need a written piece of information that outlines the organization's programs and the needs that will be addressed in this campaign to share with the people being interviewed. The preliminary case statement will then be refined during the study before being translated into a final case statement for the campaign.

Some of the key ingredients that will be in the case for support include:

• Mission
• Vision
• History
• Current Programs & Services
• List of Board and Staff
• Financial Information
• Need for Future Growth
• Plan for Addressing These Needs
• Opportunities for the Donor to Participate in the Vision

Perhaps the most important thing to remember when developing the case for support is that it should always be written from the donor’s point of view, not the organization’s need. What’s in it for the donor? How can the donor become involved? There should be various options for donor’s investment in the project—named giving opportunities, pledges over a period of years, planned giving opportunities, matching gifts. And donor benefits should be spelled out. Remember that to be compelling a case statement needs to have a sense of urgency, but should never appear “desperate.” Remember too, that the case needs to have both emotional and rational reasons for the donor to give. The donor will be drawn in first by emotion, but before writing a check or signing a pledge card, they will want to be assured that this plan has been carefully thought out and that it will work.

Board Commitment

Board commitment is one of the key areas that needs to be addressed before moving forward with a campaign. Has the board reached consensus that this campaign is needed, and have they agreed on a preliminary goal for the campaign? Does the board understand its role in the campaign and that their role will include a financial commitment as well as working on the campaign? All board members must be willing to support the campaign to the extent they can contribute both time and dollars. The presence of board members at key campaign events will be required in order to show their united support of this project. It will be helpful, although not always necessary, that at least some board members have the ability to make a substantial leadership gift to the campaign.

Volunteer Leadership

Volunteer leadership is, in this author’s opinion, the single most important element of a successful campaign. The board and staff alone should not try to run a campaign without support of key community leaders. Before recruiting people to serve on the Campaign Cabinet, the Steering Committee should review a list of potential donors and try to get those with the greatest potential to give to also become involved in the campaign. A list of corporate and individual donors will be developed through the planning study process and this can serve as the basis for recruiting campaign leadership. It will be vital to include key community leaders in the planning study process. It is much easier to invite these leaders to serve in a campaign capacity if they’ve been included in the planning process.

Assuring the Key Ingredients Are Present — The Planning Study

The Planning Study is an important step in the campaign process. Almost every organization needs to consider a study before launching their campaign. The study provides the organization with the means to assess both their internal readiness to do a campaign and the community’s willingness to support the campaign. The planning study helps “sell” the case to the key community leaders, strengthens the board commitment and identifies key leadership volunteers.

Average: Select ratingPoorOkayGoodGreatAwesome

Average: 3.5 (2 votes)