Achieve Success with your Capital Campaign
8 Steps to Execute your Capital Campaign with Confidence
Extraordinary efforts by a group of people working together often result in extraordinary relationships.
However you choose to raise funds, the purpose of your organization is to foster meaningful relationships in service to a broader community, and when your organization needs major funds, a capital campaign is the first step in achieving your goals.
A capital campaign is a marathon, not a sprint. Therefore careful planning, preparation, and execution are necessary for your successful campaign.
1. Set a Goal
The best place to start your journey is to name your destination. You’ll first need to identify the needs to be met through your capital campaign.
Common goals for a major fundraising effort could be:
a new building
renovations on an existing building
creating community recreation areas
starting an endowment
Once you have set your sights on a goal for your organization, you can then define a financial goal that will cover the cost of the need you have identified. Be clear on what the benefits will be to your organization and what you hope to gain from this improvement.
2. Develop a Focused and Committed Team.
You will need members that are involved, committed, connected and working together to achieve the common goal. When you invite them to join you in the campaign, help them understand the big picture of how these efforts will benefit the organization for years to come.
To develop a committed team, you first need to pinpoint what roles your organization needs for the campaign, and who in your fraternity has the experience needed to fill those roles. This would also be the time to decide if your organization will hire a consultant to help you chart a path forward.
3. Conduct a Feasibility Study
A feasibility study, at its core, is a survey. This survey is a critical part of your fundraising efforts and can include gaining information through donor engagement questionnaires and wealth screenings to assess the interest and giving capacity of prospective donors.
The purpose of the feasibility study is to help you to know the viability of the project and reveal the degree to which your donors are aligned with the campaign.
The feasibility study helps you refine the path forward before you ask for donations. By presenting your case for support and proposed project in draft form, you offer your stakeholders a chance to give you their vision and advice.
4. Plan your Campaign
With your financial goal in mind, and the information you have received from your feasibility study, you and your organization can begin to develop a list of tasks to be completed and the order and schedule of completion for each.
These tasks can include:
Managing communication with your members
Writing a detailed budget for each task
Keeping updated records of your donors and their donation amounts
Be sure to schedule times to stop and assess the status of your campaign and make adjustments needed to stay the course. You need a good plan to keep you on target. However, it’s important to be flexible, respond to alumni input, and be prepared to adjust your course in order to achieve the goal.
Remember this quote from Dwight D. Eisenhower, “In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.”
5. Develop a Communication Strategy
Developing a communication strategy will keep your team and donors engaged and informed of the progress of your campaign. Think about what communication channels your donors currently use.
Your communication strategy may include a website, digital and print newsletters, direct mail, email, and social media posts.
The content of your communications ought to be designed and structured to build engagement within your community. Keep focused on the benefits the members of your organization will receive from meeting the goal of your campaign.
6. The Silent Phase
In this phase you can identify and court donors who will provide matching gifts to multiply mid-range and smaller donations through personal communications either via email or phone.
These donations will make up about 65% of the funds of your capital campaign. Keep in mind that obtaining these donations will likely take two or three meetings and extensive follow-up to secure your lead gifts. Once you have reached 65% of your funding goal, it’s time to bring the rest of your donors aboard.
Remember that while this can be considered the “silent” phase, be sure to thank your donors personally, publicly, and privately.
7. The Public Phase
Holding a kickoff event is a great way to open the public phase of your capital campaign. Start by telling the story of the successful silent phase to help inspire mid-level and smaller donors to get on board to finish the race, and to give another opportunity to show your support for those who have already donated.
During the public phase, fun, special events can help to bring more donors on board. This could be a golf outing, a picnic, or other event related to your members interests that can keep your donors engaged, interested, and entertained.
8. Maintain Strong Connections to your Donors
Be intentional about stewarding and maintaining the relationships developed during your campaign as your campaign moves to a close. Show your donors the results of the campaign and how their gifts have benefited the community by connecting the mission of the capital campaign to the larger mission of your organization.
There are many ways to celebrate and say thank you to both your donors and your volunteers, such as holding a campaign celebration event or creating a newsletter about the successes of the campaign. Whatever way you decide to say thank you, make sure it is
The takeaway?
Capital campaigns are a large, complex but doable endeavor. Following a well-defined structure helps you stay the course. While it takes planning, preparation, and thoughtful execution to complete a successful capital campaign, the efforts put in by you and your organization will make an impact felt for years to come.
READ MORE ON THIS TOPIC
