This article is a primer course on capital campaign fundraising counsel. Included are the different types of fundraising counsel, benefits to fundraising counsel, why paying a fundraiser a percentage is viewed as unethical and may not be in the organization’s best interest, and costs associated with professionally directed capital campaigns.
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.
All teams – capital campaign teams included – are best served when participants are focused on mutual goals that are larger than any one person can achieve on their own. Team building in capital campaigns is a vital process that can deeply impact a fundraising campaign’s success.
The benefits of conducting feasibility studies run well beyond establishing the viability of your capital campaign. They have a special way of generating interest and excitement and of capturing important data. You never know what they will produce, but when correctly run, they almost always open unexpected doors.
Like the Iditarod, capital campaigns for multi-use projects cannot be completed, much less won, by anything less than a team that understands and values individual strengths.
We’ve discovered the perfect metaphor for a capital campaign. Ready for it? Rowing a boat on a windy day through rough water. Read on.
