Capital Campaigns 101 and Fundraising for Special Projects

Whether you are raising money for a larger capital campaign or a smaller “bite-sized” campaign, it usually takes more preparation than you think. You need to clarify your organization’s strategic needs, recruit board members and key volunteers, engage your donors with your vision of the future, ensure the infrastructure to manage the work, and more. It’s not just a ‘bigger’ appeal, it means supporting a huge effort over an extended period of time. Capital campaigns are a lot of hard work, but they can pay off handsomely.

Matching your donors’ philanthropic goals with your organizational mission is what we in the nonprofit sector are called to do, and the result of a capital campaign – a renovated food pantry, a refurbished and accessible theater, a new bike path – is a hugely rewarding experience.

This interactive workshop will include handouts, lecture, dialogue, interactive sessions.

Learning Objectives:

We will share with you well-established best practices to make the work of campaigns and special projects organized, efficient, and effective. Through the training you will learn how to:

• Get your campaign team together to draft an initial case statement, identify interviewees, and either hire a consultant to conduct a feasibility study or do one yourself.
• Identify your most-likely donors by exploring past and long-term giving histories; philanthropic community members; possible constituents such as foundations and corporations.
• Organize your campaign infrastructure by creating a detailed task and timeline, reviewing your Gift Acceptance Policy, developing your printed and digital materials, building a Gift Table, and hiring a campaign counsel and additional campaign staff.
• Execute your campaign by establishing a meetings schedule, monitoring financial accounting toward your goal, understanding gifts and pledges for specific or unrestricted purposes, knowing when to celebrate success, and debriefing in preparation for the next campaign.

Target Audience:

Executive Directors, nonprofit fund development staff, and board members who are considering a campaign and/or anticipate a campaign within the next several years. This program gives you a comprehensive overview for what you need to know to get ready.