Ask a capital campaign expert: Can an inexperienced board achieve capital campaign success? Our advice: Take deep breath and follow the process. Capital campaigns find success by following a specific and very common process. A vital part of that process is recruiting committee members who can expand your reach to potential donors with whom you are not yet connected.
The Five Stages of a Successful Capital Campaign
There are five very basic stages to plan for if you’d like your capital campaign to be successful. If you are considering the transformative decision to embark on a capital campaign, study them now.
Honeymoons: The Marriage and Capital Campaign Varieties
Prospects assigned to a capital campaign’s quiet phase are all-in. They have the ability and willingness to support the vision, much like my wife did all those years ago. She was ready to marry me (yea!). All I had to do was ask. But from that moment forward, once we moved beyond our lovefest, complexity set in.
How to Make a Successful Capital Campaign Solicitation
If you hire a consultant to help plan and manage your campaign, that person should prepare and train you and your committee members to make professional and successful capital campaign solicitations. We’ve had the honor to see nonprofit leaders with the right direction and training raise millions more than they ever thought possible. Take a look at our process for preparing them.
Philanthropy: Is There a Magic Elixir?
Our team has partnered with more than 100 nonprofits. Some were sprinkling impersonal elixirs like special events, direct marketing, website or social media announcements on to their donors hoping to create one or two super-duper generous mega donors. That didn’t work. But let’s not completely dismiss alchemic philanthropy just yet. Maybe there’s still something to it… something beautiful.
Selecting a Capital Campaign Consultant
A critical component of successful capital campaigns is selection of the right type of counsel for your organization. Choosing the wrong capital campaign consultant can doom a campaign from the beginning. Follow this process to find the right counsel for you.