All in Pre-Campaign Planning
Capital Campaign Stages and Stalls is a series of articles providing a simple overview of the stages a nonprofit will go through in its capital campaign journey, along with the most common times the process can stall. In Part 1, we explore Stages One and Two: Needs Assessment and Feasibility Study.
Capital campaigns are built on vision, mission and dreams – all strong motivators for people to give. People like to give for what could be. Debt reduction campaigns are based on financial statements, interest rates, and business plans – all rather boring and are actually de-motivators. People do not like to give to pay for something that is already there.
A capital campaign Case for Support is a document that outlines the needs and benefits of a nonprofit’s capital request. The very best Cases for Support weave together the image of the nonprofit, its role in the community, and how fulfilling that role benefits its users and the community.
Your donors are vital to your capital campaign success. While traditional feasibility studies determine whether your goal is reasonable, they may not give you all the information you need about your donors and their giving interest. A comprehensive pre-campaign planning study combined with a feasibility study will properly prepare you to launch a capital campaign.
