Capital Campaigns

It’s a rare day that I don’t spend two hours or more on the phone coaching groups of three to six people as their organizations get ready for capital campaigns, which often involve virtual capital campaign meetings...

Your organization is working on a large project; maybe it’s a new building, a renovation or another ambitious undertaking. Projects like these are complicated, and one of the most important parts of the process is determining how to pay for it...

It’s a rare day that I don’t spend two hours or more on the phone coaching groups of three to six people as their organizations get ready for capital campaigns, which often involve virtual capital campaign meetings.  Befriend the Virtual Meeting A few years ago, when I began working with clients this way, I was […]

In applying for funding or recruiting executive leadership, nonprofits are acutely aware of the competitive landscape before them and the impacts of these processes’ outcomes. However, when navigating a critical moment in nonprofit real estate, a mission-aligned approach may not seem plausible...

As you know, capital campaigns rely on very big gifts for their success. In most campaigns, 10 big gifts account for more than 50 percent of the campaign goal. So to have a successful capital campaign, you’ve got to be able get some very big gifts from a few wealthy donors...

You’re planning a capital campaign to raise somewhere between $6 and $10 million. It’s based on a design of a building plan that’s just been finished. The costs are still a stab in the dark and it’ll take some time to estimate the real numbers. But on their way out of the meeting when the new building design was approved, three enthusiastic board members decided they wanted to make a big gesture of support...

Many of the concerns people have about capital campaigns—and the majority of mistakes they make during campaigns—can be laid at the foot of five common capital campaign myths...

Capital campaigns can be lonely and scary. It’s easy to wake up in the middle of the night, worrying about whether the big gifts that must anchor your campaign will come in as you have planned...

Capital campaigns fund projects that are special and often big—like a building or new programs—that will move your organization to the next level of operation, making a difference in more people’s lives...

Some capital campaigns feel like a long slog. They begin with a big burst of energy and some large gifts from truly committed donors. But a couple of years later when, perhaps, the campaign has reached 70 or 80 percent of the goal, and the same remarkable volunteers continue to gather once a month to strategize about prospective donors, it can be hard to sustain the energy...