Are You Ready for a Capital Campaign?

By Peter de Keratry, CFRE
Petrus Development

Sometimes, ready or not, it becomes painfully apparent that your organization needs to raise a significant amount of money.  Ideally, the key elements of an annual fund are already in place allowing your organization to provide for day-to-day operations, lay an extensive groundwork for the future and begin generating excitement among benefactors, staff and volunteers for the road ahead.  However, sometimes what is really needed to significantly expand fundraising efforts is a capital campaign.  But how do you know if your organization is really ready for a capital campaign?

Capital campaigns are about momentum—they can create enthusiasm among constituents for a dramatic step forward.  They excite people about the big picture, or help them look at their organization within a larger context.  Most efficiently, they allow an organization to set a goal with a specific timeline and engage people in a very clearly defined scope of work.

In his book, Achieving Excellence in Fundraising (2003), Hank Rosso said, “A lack of realism and objectivity in pre-campaign planning will cause serious problems when donors test their desire to give to your organization against their acceptance of the strength of your case.”  Embarking on a capital campaign is a major step for any organization.  However, the rewards to be reaped from such a campaign are worth every effort.

With that in mind, it is best to step back before taking action and ask yourself a few questions:

• Is your development and ministry staff able and willing to withstand such an undertaking?
• Have you recently evaluated your current fundraising and stewardship plans?
• Is the internal organization operating at optimal capacity?
• Are there sufficient resources available to properly seed the investment in a campaign?
• Are there dedicated volunteers who support your mission and have a sense of ownership with your organization?
• Is the infrastructure, including people (staff and volunteers) and systems (database and gift acknowledgment), in place to support this endeavor?
• Do you have a history of asking people for support?
• Do we have a clearly defined vision that paints the picture of what it looks like when our mission is fulfilled?

If you answered “Yes” to most, if not all of these questions, then you are ready to take the next step towards a capital campaign.

After acknowledging that this is indeed the path you want to follow, there are a few basic steps that every organization must go through to set the wheels in motion.

Conduct a Feasibility and Planning Study

It is essential to hire someone to undertake a feasibility and planning study. The Study generally consists of 50 to 100 or more confidential interviews conducted by an outside consultant.  This process will: present the case to key constituents, solicit input on the case for support, determine potential campaign leaders, identify the frequency and scope of potential gifts, and provide important information for the campaign planning process.  By gauging support for the campaign case, leadership and plan, a realistic and achievable goal can be determined.  Without one, it would be exponentially harder (if not impossible) to successfully launch and realize a capital campaign.  Some of the questions that would be answered within such a study include:

• Do you have a well-developed scope of work and budget?
• Is the timeline and goal achievable?
• Are there identifiable donors for leadership gifts and major gifts to the campaign?
• Are the key project elements of the campaign appealing and reasonable?

Decide to Move Forward

Making the paramount decision of resolving to proceed with a defined case and plan is essential to the development of the campaign. Saying “Yes” is one of the hardest, but undoubtedly one of the most important, steps in the process.  Once you do, be ready to put the pieces into place.

Recruit Leadership

Leadership is arguably the most important component to the success of any capital campaign.  Recruiting a campaign chair and committee leadership should be one of the earliest priorities of the campaign planning and initiation process.  Campaign leaders should be people of influence, affluence, and faith, each capable and willing to support the campaign with substantial financial pledges.

Make a Commitment

It is important to practice what you preach, so to speak, by setting an example for all those the campaign will reach.  Every volunteer or staff member involved in the campaign should be asked to consider a gift in support of the effort.  For solicitation, it is vital that all who are involved in the asking process have made their own gift before asking others.

Consider Campaign Counsel

Capital campaigns can be intense for all size organizations, especially for those already operating with a small development staff. It is not uncommon for non-profits of all sizes to consider hiring outside counsel to assist in all aspects of the campaign such as: developing the overall campaign plan, guiding all phases of the solicitation strategies, conducting face-to-face solicitations, coordinating marketing and communications efforts, and many of the other tasks involved in conducting a successful campaign. The investment in experienced, professional counsel can mean the difference between realizing the campaign goals and falling short. 

Capital campaigns are never perfect.  There are many elements which will determine success or failure.  Campaigns are wonderful momentum builders, helping to build on past success.  The number one criterion for success is leadership.  If you are able to secure committed donor volunteers up front, the chance of success is greatly increased.

For more information about a Petrus Feasibility and Planning Study or Campaign Counsel, contact us at (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or 888-5-PETRUS.

Peter L. de Keratry, CFRE, MA is CEO and Founder of Petrus Development. He has over 15 years of professional development experience especially with leadership roles for campaigns ranging from $1 million to $100 million. Peter is passionate about helping Catholic organizations create and build sustainable development programs.