How to strengthen your capital campaign strategy
A very well-laid-out and thought-through capital campaign should help your organisation maximise fundraising success.
The same qualities that make a successful operating or revenue campaign successful—clear, compelling, and achievable goals; sufficient time to develop a strong base of donors; a well-designed written proposal and strong leadership—are also important in a capital campaign.
If your organisation needs a capital campaign strategy for successful fundraising, here are four factors that you should not forget.
- Approach Large Donors First
When doing capital campaigns, it is always best to first seek a donation from the most prominent donors. Doing so will help you get as much as you need while also building momentum and confidence for potential donors for your campaign.
The top-down approach to solicitation will eventually bring in funding from potential donors in higher income brackets than the average donor.
2. Plan Ahead and Plan Every Step
Planning your capital campaign will help you determine if you can raise the money needed. Doing so is vital because the more time you spend planning the campaign, the better the campaign will be.
In planning the campaign, you will be helping yourself in many ways. It will give you a clear view of what is an achievable target, identify your capital campaign timeline, plan a better fundraising strategy, and identify your future needs.
3. Let Potential Donors Join the Planning Process
When planning your campaign, be sure to include your potential donors. It will help you build trust with your donors, and you are more likely to raise the funds needed in your capital campaign.
You should have meetings with potential donors and ask their advice to help inform your campaign plan. For example, you can test your case for support with them and evaluate who they know who may consider supporting.
You should treat the potential donors as your partners by seeking their advice, utilising their existing networks, and involving them in any event you plan to use for the campaign.
Giving donors a sense of ownership of a campaign will make them feel important and, at the same time, will help them feel involved with the campaign.
4. Offer a Multi-year Pledge Payment Approach
One effective way to make donations in a capital campaign is to offer donors a multi-year pledge payment approach. You can do this by asking your donors to pledge their gifts for a certain period.
For example, you can ask them to pledge their donation for four years. By doing this, larger gifts are made more affordable and your organisation can plan ahead.
It is also a great way to make sure that your donors are budgeting for the amount they are donating. You can even offer to match the pledge donations for a limited period.
Offering a multi-year pledge payment approach is a vital step in ensuring that you will have sufficient funds at the end of your capital campaign.
Conclusion
Capital campaigns can be an important way to raise funds for your organisation. However, it’s best never to start a capital campaign without a plan. You should always make sure that you are committed to your funding goal, and you should try to figure out the amount of time you will have to complete the capital campaign.
You should be clear with your donors about your goals and your timeframe, and you should also be clear about your progress. It will help you get adequate funding for your capital campaign.
Read more about capital campaigns and what you need in place to start a campaign.
If you need help starting, you can always speak with a capital campaign consultant. Craigmyle Fundraising Consultants is the longest established UK firm in the field with a solid vocational approach to our work with charities and organisations. We provide fundraising expertise tailored to each of our client’s needs. Contact us at 01582 762 441 to know how we can help you.
