Capital campaigns are no small task. They can be overwhelming for those with little experience. They usually run on a large scale, so planning a fundraiser is a daunting task.
Are you intimidated by planning a future capital campaign? Don’t lose hope! It seems complicated, but you can break it down into a few simple steps.
The planning phase is where you lay out the foundation for a capital campaign. Proper and thorough planning can make all the difference for your project.
These are some planning tips that will help you run a successful capital campaign.
Before Planning a Fundraiser, Establish Your Needs and Goals
Establishing your goals will give your team something tangible to work towards. Understand your capabilities and limitations when setting your goals. Look at your leadership, staff, target demographic, and strategy.
These will help you gauge your organization’s limitations and steer your campaign in the appropriate direction. If you find that you have a stark lack of experience, consider hiring a third party for outside help. Once you’ve got this part down, continue reading to learn some planning tips.
Conduct a Feasibility Study
Feasibility studies are those done to determine the chances of a successful campaign. They also give you a multifaceted view of your project. This will allow you to tweak certain aspects that may lead to better results.
A feasibility study will be pivotal to whether you should proceed with your capital campaign fundraising. It can tell if your method will raise money, and thus if it is worth doing. A negative feasibility study is not a failure, because then you can cut your losses.
Prepare Collateral Before the Public Phase
These are the black-and-white components of your capital campaign, the documents. Planning a fundraiser is not complete without the full development of these resources. Make sure you have these essential documents:
- Case statement
- Solicitation materials
- Proposal templates
These documents should always be within arm’s reach, ready before the campaign begins. Once you finish event planning, ready your marketing and communications collateral as well. These would be your brochures, event programs, flyers, and the like.
List and Analyze Your Prospects
Did you know that donors are more driven by personal experiences than the urgency of your cause? In this case, it is more important to choose your donor than to have a moving campaign.
When listing your prospect donors, it pays to do some reading about them. Consider their history and answer the following questions:
- What is their vision, and does it align with yours?
- What are their motivations?
- What organizations and projects have they helped in the past?
- Are they a major donor?
Consider excluding from your list donors that fixate on unrelated causes. It will be easier to approach those that that are already interested in your cause.
Need to Learn More About Fundraising?
No matter the scale, there is always a risk to consider when planning a fundraiser. Thorough planning is always good. Knowing the sociopolitical and economic climate is also important.
Being part of an organization means being part of something bigger than yourself. Keep learning to make the best decisions for your cause! If you want to read more about improving your fundraising campaigns, explore our blog.
