Or, you might secure a major gift from a new donor who also wants to be involved in a volunteer capacity in some way. You could then assign them to lead a group of volunteers in event planning, social media content creation, or donation solicitation. A prospect research consultant will know their way around all of the necessary prospect research tools and how to interpret the markers they find. Plus, many prospect research consultants also have expertise in other areas of fundraising and can help you with your feasibility study and other aspects of your capital campaign.
- Your campaign will build on the sense of trust you have created in your community.
- Make sure that you take a holistic view of your campaign when finalizing your financial goal.
- You can use a capital campaign to renovate or build new facilities, fund special projects requiring capital investment, build capacity, and increase an endowment.
In addition to the typical indicators of capacity and willingness, don’t forget to include other aspects of someone’s identity that could support your capital campaign, like matching gift eligibility. If you have someone’s employer listed in their donor profile or can extrapolate from public information, you can look into their matching gift eligibility with a matching gifts database. To ensure your staff, volunteer, and board members’ time is being used as efficiently as possible, you’ll need to match each person with a capital campaign assignment that they’re prepared to excel with. In general, however, the largest gift in your pyramid should make up 10-20% of the total amount you’re planning to raise through major gifts. Your capital campaign will evolve as you get deeper into the planning process, and even in the early stages of the campaign as you’re gathering feedback and donations from major donors.
This quick review of capital campaign basics should set you up to take on the capital campaign planning process and be as thorough as possible in defining your goals, timeline, and key players. Use this section as a touchpoint to refer back to as you dive into the template below. If you plan your campaign correctly, it will not cannibalize your annual fundraising.
A capital campaign can last anywhere from one year to several depending on your fundraising efforts and your system for pledges. Pick a deadline that makes the most sense with regard to your project and how long you think the fundraising stages will be. For example, your campaign volunteers may think that the first thing you need is a fancy campaign https://simple-accounting.org/ brochure. But it’s much wiser to focus on a well-conceived communications plan first. Kristine Ensor is a freelance writer with over a decade of experience working with local and international nonprofits. As a nonprofit professional she has specialized in fundraising, marketing, event planning, volunteer management, and board development.
Hospice of South Texas (HoST) helps people with serious illnesses, providing them support, resources, and care. They also provide medical and emotional care to veterans, supporting them in their hard times. HoST decided to launch a Capital Campaign to expand their in-patient facilities to accommodate the growing needs of the community. For their first campaign to be successful, PDCD hired a full-time consultant living in Nebraska. The main challenge of the campaign was to convince company leaders to set up their businesses in the area. Having your gift chart ready will give you a clearer idea of how much each level of donor contribution will contribute.
A Capital Campaign Timeline: Understanding the Structure
These documents will help convey the professionalism and seriousness of your capital campaign, encouraging supporters to donate. As you review what has and hasn’t worked in the past, you can also formulate a plan for unforeseen circumstances during your capital campaign. These could range from small hiccups to large roadblocks that stall your project for several months. Your subcommittees and the main committee should keep each other regularly updated on progress to catch problems earlier rather than later so that you can effectively pivot and prevent past mistakes. To help find major gift donors and lead donors, conduct prospect screening, also known as prospect research, before you make appeals. But most board members and campaign volunteers have little campaign experience.
You may find that it works best to have a document that can be customized for each prospect or one document presented to all. But the case should be singularly focused on inspiring a donor to make a commitment to your campaign. Avoid laying out plans in extreme detail or going too in-depth on fundraising expenses of the campaign. Keep the focus on what the need is that you’re trying to address and on those whom your organization serves. If a specific donor has detailed questions you can always follow up with additional materials or resources for them to consider.
Small nonprofits can and do run successful capital campaigns that follow the same principles as campaigns for larger organizations. The goals will probably be smaller, but the power of the campaign model can work just as well whether your organization has an operating budget of $500,000 or $5,000,000. Just like marketing strategies, each donor will respond to your donor recognition strategies in different ways. A little thank-you will go a long way in building your relationships with your donors during your capital campaign and setting you up to retain their support for future campaigns.
Here are key elements that your case statement should include to create a donor-centered case statement. Capital Campaign Pro uses a different approach — one made possible by the accessibility of online and virtual communication. Through our Capital Campaign Pro toolkit, organizations gain immediate access to all of the tools and materials they will need for their campaign organized in a clear step-by-step process. They are given the option of working virtually with a very experienced campaign advisor (in a group or individually), to help them move through the campaign process. Learn how to hire a consultant and the key qualities to look for in our deep dive into capital campaign consulting. Once you’ve outlined the core plan and timeline for your campaign, think about incorporating extra ways to boost your revenue and donor engagement.
Capital campaign consultants are not just involved in helping you reach fundraising goals. By partnering with a consulting firm, you will be able to build a professional network and find new prospects. As a result, a consultant will benefit your organization in the long run. A campaign can take anywhere from 1 to 5 years to reach the fundraising goal, depending on the scope of the project.
Start with your mission, imagery, and a tagline
If you run out of prospects once you’re knee-deep in the quiet phase, a depth range chart will help you find where gifts can be made up. In addition, a gift pyramid can also be used to illustrate to your board the importance of their engagement and investment in the major gift solicitation process. Being able to visualize how much effort major gifts are going to require can help encourage them to be proactive in assisting your team with solicitations. Well, the same principle applies to nonprofits launching capital campaigns.
Assemble a capital campaign committee.
The case statement is one of the four essential elements of a successful capital campaign and must be carefully researched and crafted. Remember to keep the case persuasive and focused toward prospective donors in a manner that makes a compelling case for their support. Explore available resources to help your organizational leaders plan a campaign and stay on track for the duration. One great example of this is Capital Campaign Toolkit, a resource that guides nonprofit leaders through a seven-phase campaign plan. A combination of online resources and expert capital campaign advising, the Toolkit is a step-by-step path to campaign success.
Accounting for all of the expenses that you might incur during the planning and implementation process will help you stay on track to achieving your goals. Make sure that you take a holistic view of your campaign when finalizing your financial goal. The goal will be integral when making your donation appeal to major donors, corporations, and other individual supporters. Set a realistic deadline for your capital campaign, but account for unexpected events that could stall your fundraising and throw off your plan.
Be prepared to adjust your plan to make it the best it can be, but be as detailed as you can right now. Striking this balance will pay off in the end as you develop a clear picture of everything you’ll need to do to make your campaign a success. Your capital campaign capital campaign case statement plan is the blueprint that will guide you throughout your entire capital campaign. Planning now will save you stress and confusion down the line, and also illustrate your organization’s campaign readiness to your staff, board members, volunteers, and donors.
A case statement is a valuable tool for nonprofits to explain their purpose and impact. The point of these pieces is to show how your nonprofit is different and how donor gifts help you make a difference. Case statements can be used for major donor appeals, corporate sponsorship proposals, and even added to the website to appeal to a larger audience. Nonprofits may assume sharing their mission is enough, but they can tell compelling stories and share images using brochures, website pages, and annual reports with a strong case statement.
Thus, capital campaigns can (and should!) take a lot of time, attention, and strategy to plan, because they’re such big investments of your nonprofit’s finite resources. You have to do your due diligence with effective planning before committing to such a major undertaking. Since capital campaigns are extensive fundraising efforts for large projects, they need a robust team and community support. They are unlikely to succeed without the cooperation of board members, staff, and individuals.