Capital Campaigns

10 Tips for Conducting Virtual Capital Campaign Meetings
September 17, 2018 at 12:04 pm

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...

Organizing a Capital Campaign: The Essential How-to Guide
August 23, 2018 at 11:28 am

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...

Wealthy Donors (and the 'Ick' Factor)
August 6, 2018 at 12:36 pm

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...

3 Board Members Make a Collective $1M—What Could Go Wrong?
July 23, 2018 at 11:49 am

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...

5 Capital Campaign Myths Debunked
July 2, 2018 at 12:41 pm

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...

The Simple Truth: What Your Donors Really Want
June 4, 2018 at 12:35 pm

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...

How to Reach Your Goal By Reframing Your Capital Campaign
May 21, 2018 at 1:08 pm

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...

Try This Simple Activity to Engage Your Campaign Volunteers
May 7, 2018 at 11:18 am

If you work with campaign volunteers, you probably wrestle with how to keep their work fresh and exciting. Here’s an exercise you can use to overcome two different challenges you’re likely to face...