Capital campaign architecture is like constructing a building. If you skip a step or build something out of sequence, problems usually show up later. Capital campaigns work much the same way from the ground work of a planning study through the finishing touches of the public phase. Build each part carefully and in sequence, and you give your organization the strongest structure possible for reaching its campaign goal.
Here is Campaign Counsel’s approach to capital campaign management. Executing a capital campaign is all about process. As we like to say, process creates potential. Most capital campaign consultants follow a similar process that revolves around five fundamental fundraising principles.
When should a nonprofit consider phasing construction? There are several scenarios in which phasing makes sense. Most of them circle around fundraising capacity and the need to raise and spend money in a way that is realistic for the unique organization.
The pressure from your board to take your capital campaign public can be overwhelming, but capital campaigns are won in the quiet phase, in the top handful of gifts secured one conversation at a time, long before the public hears the word “campaign.” Rushing the public launch doesn’t speed that up, rather, it skips the part that decides the outcome.
The Nonprofit Leader’s Guide to Capital Campaigns is designed to help organizations and their leaders plan for and complete capital campaigns and understand how successful campaigns actually work. Download your copy today!
What is a capital campaign? It’s a separate, time-limited effort designed to raise a specific dollar amount for new construction or a major renovation. The numbers are big and the way you raise that money looks different from your annual fundraising. They succeed because a small number of people give at levels they've never given before. Here’s where to start.
