Capital Campaign Series, Part 2: Internal Capital Campaign Readiness
Welcome to part 2 of our Capital Campaign Series. If you missed part 1, catch up by reading: Capital Campaign Series, Part 1: How a Capital Campaign Can Help Your Nonprofit Create a Bigger Impact.
In part one of our capital campaign series, we discussed the transformative benefits a capital campaign can offer an organization. And we also talked about the amount of energy and effort that goes into pulling off a successful campaign long before it ever begins.
Now, it’s time to drill down into internal campaign readiness so you can decide the right timing of your capital campaign, and what to do between now and then to get ready.
How Do You Know if You’re Ready for a Capital Campaign?
I’ve encountered many organizations that have allowed the allure of dollar signs to trick their leadership into believing they were ready for a capital campaign – only to have their beliefs proven wrong.
The key to answering this question is to be objective and honest about what’s realistic.
There are two stages of campaign readiness to consider before launching a capital campaign: internal readiness and donor readiness. We’ll discuss donors and their readiness to embrace your campaign later in the series.
First, Let’s Talk About Organizational Capital Campaign Readiness
I once received a request for a proposal from an organization that wanted to conduct a multi-million-dollar capital campaign to renovate a new building in an area of their community that deserved investment. The project was worthy and necessary. The building was available. But the timing was tight, and they needed funds immediately.
Unfortunately, despite the urgency and need for capital, the organization wasn’t ready to run a campaign.
Why? First, it was a new organization that had zero fundraising experience with individual donors or corporations. Second, while they had some success in the past with public funding, they had very little involvement with private foundations. And third, they were a team of three employees – nowhere near the number of arms and legs needed to pull off a successful capital campaign.
Those who know me know I’m a glass-half-full kind of person. This is why I hate being the bearer of bad news. But I had to tell the founders of this organization that they would have difficulty being successful within their tight timeline because they simply were not ready.
They lacked three fundamental elements to campaign readiness:
A Well-Established Reputation
Having a strong, well-established reputation in the community you serve is crucial to your campaign’s success. And that goes not only for your organization but for each of your current board leaders and your Executive Director or CEO. Community leaders don’t invest in organizations; they invest in relationships. If your leadership team hasn’t built trust with the community, your campaign is at a severe disadvantage.
In the case of the nonprofit mentioned above, not only was it a new organization, but its leader was also a first-time Executive Director and didn’t have the track record of success needed to inspire and gain the trust of community leaders.
A Strong Donor List
Campaigns live and die by their prospect list. For every one realized campaign gift, you should have at least 3-5 donors capable of making a gift of that size.
For example, if you’re looking to receive a $3 million lead gift, you should have five highly engaged donors able to give that amount. Ask yourself: how many engaged donors do you have right now with the potential of making a gift of that size? Of those donors, how many do you know by name? How many have you met within the past six months? If you called them tomorrow, would they take your call?
The nonprofit from my earlier example – it lacked donors entirely.
If you’re thinking about a capital campaign but lacking donors, avoid magical thinking at all costs. One meeting with an influential philanthropist in your community is not going to open the flood gates of funding. It doesn’t work like that. It takes relationships rooted in trust built over time.
Think of it this way – if someone you never met pushed their way into your life with the express purpose of asking for a great deal of your hard-earned money, would you jump at the chance to write a check? Or would you block their number? (Me, I’d block their number.)
Ample Staffing
Adding a capital campaign to your to-do list literally means you’ll be doubling your workload. Without ample staff, your campaign is just a well-intended pipedream. As I detailed in article one of our series, capital campaigns require extraordinary effort beyond what is required of your staff daily. During a campaign, you need to maintain your day-to-day operations and fundraising while building an entirely new enterprise.Just like the rest of your nonprofit operations, capital campaigns require budgeting, staffing, communication, project management, and board and committee engagement. If your organization is super lean, it’s unlikely that you have enough bandwidth to double the workload without adding additional capacity. And not only do you need enough staff members to do the work, but you also need to have them in their roles for a significant period so they can keep up with the pace the campaign requires.
The nonprofit in today’s story only had three staff members. There wasn’t enough room in their busy workdays to execute the many tasks of a campaign.
The More Internal Preparation You Do Ahead of Your Capital Campaign, The More Likely You Are to Succeed
The saying, ‘anything is possible with enough time and money,’ is certainly true when it comes to campaign readiness.
Capital campaigns require an investment of time and resources to build the strong reputation, robust donor prospect list, and team you need. The more effort a nonprofit invests upfront in these crucial areas, the more likely the campaign is to succeed.
In the final article of our Capital Campaign Series, I’ll discuss how to make sure your donors are ready to support your campaign goal by conducting a feasibility study.
In the meantime, please join me for a free webinar via Zoom on April 28 from 12:00 pm – 1:30 pm EST /9:00 am – 10:30 am PST, where we’ll discuss more of what it takes to prepare for a capital campaign, including the most important arrow in your quiver: the capital campaign prospective donor list.
Register for the free Campaign Readiness webinar on April 28, 2022
I can’t wait to see you there!
Dani
About The Author
For the past 25 years, Dani has helped nonprofits at local, regional, and global levels find sustainable solutions to tricky growth and funding issues. She works with leaders and teams to optimize their approach to fundraising, strategic planning, marketing, and more! Dani is passionate about helping motivated people build vibrant and effective nonprofit organizations—so they can make a meaningful impact in the world!