How to Find the Right Donors for Your Capital Campaign
Your donors should check three boxes: interest, access, and capacity.
Before you make the ask for your capital campaign’s first dollar, you need to ask yourself, “Which donors are the right donors?”
Sure, it’s easy to prioritize large-dollar donors or the organizations that you believe have deep pockets. The right prospective donors, though, come in many forms. Identifying which ones are right for your organization’s capital campaign fundraising efforts starts by looking at each donor objectively against three key criteria.
The right donors will check three boxes: interest, access, and capacity.
How many times have you heard a board member, volunteer or team member say something like, “We should ask Bill Gates to support our project.”
I’ve lost count.
Many well-intended nonprofits assume that because a foundation, business, or donor has the money to donate, they’ll want to funnel money to their cause. It simply doesn’t work this way.
Pursuing these unlikely donors who have no connection to your organization is a waste of time and resources, taking away efforts that could otherwise be spent on asking donors ready and willing to support your organization.
There’s a formula I use with every Beam Consulting client when creating a target donor list. To make the list, we first ask if the prospective donor checks three boxes: interest, access, and capacity.
Interest.
Going back to Bill Gates, it’s well known that he and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation fund specific causes such as gender equality, health products and services to the world’s poorest communities, and sustainable economic development projects. Causes such as the performing arts, history, or animal rescues don’t make their list. Bill and Melinda’s foundation is laser-focused on the causes they most care for and is simply uninterested in supporting causes that fall outside these parameters.
This is an important reminder that philanthropists are extremely sophisticated when it comes to deciding which causes to support. They give tremendous thought to which organizations they believe will use their dollars to create a meaningful impact. And, because you’re unlikely to change the minds of the Bills and Melindas of the world, it’s important to first identify a high level of interest among the donors you approach.
Access.
Let’s say, on the other hand, that your nonprofit aligns with The Gates Foundation’s funding priorities. Therefore, you can assume a high level of interest. That’s great!
The next donor box you need to check is access. Do you have access to someone within the foundation? And can you schedule a meeting?
To gain access to The Gates Foundation, you must first have a legitimate connection to the organization. Grant applications are accepted by invitation only. Yet, while The Gates Foundation is more explicit about how they invite nonprofits to apply for funds, the question of access is universal.
Your organization should have a legitimate connection within one to two degrees of separation from a donor, business leader, or person within every foundation you approach. (No, your cousin who knows a guy who used to work there does not count as a legitimate connection.)
The point is that relationships are key to your ability to secure donor dollars and run a successful capital campaign.
The question to ask yourself is, “Can we, in one to two steps, secure a meeting with this donor?” If the answer is no, then you don’t have the necessary access to consider that donor a strong prospect at this time.
Capacity.
Capacity is the dollar amount a donor is capable of giving. While many organizations believe that this is the most important element of the three-legged donor stool, I can tell you it’s not. That’s because organizations need donors capable of giving many different dollar amounts.
Why? Because nonprofits must prioritize different-sized gifts at different times. For example, during the principal gift phase of a capital campaign, nonprofit leaders focus on large gifts; i.e., hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars. During the public phase, however; a campaign seeks many smaller gifts.
Understanding a donor’s capacity will help you prioritize them based on the goal you’re looking to reach. So, if a donor can only give a few hundred dollars and you’re actively seeking multi-million dollar donations, you’ll want to hold off on cultivating that donor until a later time so you have the bandwidth to work with higher net-worth donors.
Qualify Your Existing Donor List and Identify the Right Targets Before Kickstarting Your Campaign
With interest, access, and capacity as your guiding light, identify your list of priority targets for the various stages of your campaign.
Remember, if a donor has interest and access but no capacity to give at the level you need, then they’re not the right prospect at this time.
If a donor has high capacity and you have access, but they’re not interested in your cause, it’s a non-starter.
And if you have a high-capacity donor who you know supports missions like yours but you have no way of connecting with them, a gift is likely to remain a pipedream until your nonprofit can build closer connections.
Qualify your donors based on these three criteria and you’ll be well on your way to a successful capital campaign.
Happy fundraising!
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!