Tracks to Success
Capital Campaigns: The Next Generation
Tom Ralser, Convergent Nonprofit Solutions
Part 1
Capital campaigns have been around as long as fundraising, and the mechanics of a campaign are well documented. One quick search on the Internet will give you everything you need to know, as will the thousands of books available (5,271 listed on Amazon.com) on the topic. We don’t need to reinvent that wheel. We need to move to an entirely new form of transportation.
Professional advice on how to run a capital campaign hasn’t changed in decades. The major steps of a successful campaign, first the feasibility study, then the campaign itself, are still the correct way to approach the raising of large amounts of money. The major components of a campaign are still valid as well: the case for support, the “quiet” phase, and the enlisting of campaign leadership. Even the keys to success, like ensuring the lead pledge is at the right level, and starting at the top and working down in terms of amounts, and from the inside out in terms of connection to the organization, are still sound.
Knowing the steps involved in something, though, is dramatically different than being able to do something well. Ask any chef, accountant, or bricklayer. Sticking to a system that is less effective than it used to be only makes the frustration level, and the number of failed campaigns, rise.
Some of this conventional wisdom has proven to be both less relevant and less effective in the last decade. It certainly is conventional, but the wisdom part is losing its luster. The refusal to move beyond these old ways may be rooted in some of the clichés heard most often from the conventional camp:
- People give to people, not causes
- When you touch an emotion, you open the purse strings
- A stranger can’t ask people for money
Obviously, people do give to causes. In fact, cause marketing is one of the fastest growing ways organizations raise money. People do give more if they are emotionally involved, but they also give more when they are shown that their money is actually doing good things. And the last point, that strangers can’t successfully ask people for money, has been proven time and time again to be less than accurate and even misleading.
What has proven to be more relevant in recent years can be lumped into three categories:
- The philosophy/terminology of funding a nonprofit
- The appeal to motivations beyond pure emotions
- The structuring of the campaign itself
First, the terminology: a capital campaign is not just bricks and mortar. It has come to stand for large amounts of money that are not business as usual, unlike an annual campaign that signals a continuation of what we were doing in the past and a reinforcement of the status quo. My guess is that this old characterization stems from the accounting profession, where the definition of a capital asset, something that has many years of use and can be depreciated, influenced the meaning. In today’s world, a capital campaign can simply mean a large amount of money, paid out over several years or at some specific point in the future. Most effectively, it connotes a plan that is not business as usual, something that strategically moves the organization forward, beyond what the existing funding structure can accomplish.
On a more important scale, though, is the terminology of the money itself. Two of the most common words in the nonprofit sector, and fundraising in particular, are donor and gift. These are the same words that work against how people think in this new normal in which we live, and they are what leaves money on the table in a capital campaign. They serve to reinforce the charity mindset, that we will take any money we can get, and that we need not be accountable. Investor and investment, on the other hand, signal a plan, accountability, and results. More importantly, they signal that we will deliver outcomes that are in line with our mission . . . which is why we exist.
The next article in this series will further explore the philosophy behind a more investment-driven model, the moving beyond pure emotional appeals, and how the structure of the campaign has become more effective. If this discussion sparks interest, or you have a capital campaign in your near future, join us for the Capital Campaigns: The Next Generation webinar on March 15 at 2:00 ET.
Other articles in this series:
Main Page
Part 1
Part 2
This article was edited by Julie Kaufman. If you have any questions, comments, suggestions, useful tips, or are interested in writing a series for us, please email our Research team, or call our toll-free number: 877-784-7268.