The very words Capital Campaign can raise the blood pressure, bring on the dread, and even lead to the resignation of the most seasoned of nonprofit executives. 

Even the term “campaign” is defined by Oxford as “a series of military operations intended to achieve a particular objective.” It’s no wonder we cower when we hear the term!

But the results of a successful capital campaign can have exactly the opposite effect. A successful campaign can transform the health and vitality of an organization, reduce financial risk and anxiety, and catapult the confidence and capacity of its leadership. 

When God told Joshua to lead the Israelites around the walls of Jericho His instructions didn’t allude to a victory (Joshua 5:13-6:27). But for seven days the Israelites followed God’s instructions and silently marched around Jericho until the final day when they yelled for all they were worth. The walls tumbled down and an era of unfathomable abundance began for the Israelites.

At Brenda Moore and Associates we believe faith-based nonprofits — churches, summer camps, or outreach organizations — are capable of and should experience this abundance to amplify their important work. Strategically implemented capital campaigns can empower organizations to step into the next level of their important work. 

Consider this article your 30,000 foot view of the difference between a successful and unsuccessful campaign, as well as the four markers needed for a successful capital campaign. 

How to Have a Successful Capital Campaign

 Have you ever forgotten to grease the pan when making brownies and baked them anyway?

The brownies may have tasted good, but they fell short of what they could have been because you weren’t prepared to cook them when you put them in the pan. Instead of being shareable treats you had to dig a gooey mess out of your pan! Being ready matters. 

Similarly, readiness is why some capital campaigns are wildly successful and others never get off the ground.

Since organizations have started coming out of their COVID caves, not a week goes by in our small shop without an inquiry about a capital campaign. Most who call want to hit the gas and start ‘tomorrow,’ and they’re surprised when we consultants hit the brakes and start putting all kinds of obstacles in the way. While these obstacles may feel frustrating at the moment they are as necessary as greasing a pan before baking brownies. 

Being prepared for a capital campaign is critical to its success, and the preparation usually takes a great deal of time.

The four main markers of readiness for a Capital Campaign are: leadership, strategic choices, finance, and fundraising.

Readiness Marker #1: Leadership

Do you know what one of the first things Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, told Moses to do when he joined the Israelites after they crossed the Red Sea? 

Appoint leaders (Exodus 18). 

Jethro watched Moses diligently offer guidance and settle disputes between Israelites from dawn to dusk day after day. Finally Jethro told Moses, “What you are doing is not good. You will wear yourself out. Appoint leaders to hear complaints and settle disputes. Anything they can’t resolve can be brought to you.”

As a leader it’s easy to forget that other people are willing to support and champion our cause because you quickly get caught up in taking action and making sure the work gets done. But in doing so, leaders overlook how valuable team members are to accomplishing a big vision. 

A committed and forward-thinking team of leaders is vital to the success of a capital campaign.

When building an effective team for launching a capital campaign you need three things: an Executive Director or Lead Pastor who is ready and able to lead, governing board members who are committed and engaged, and volunteers who are ready to give and invite gifts. 

Here are a series of questions to assess whether you have the right people in place to lead your ministry into the future:

• Is your CEO, Executive Director or Lead Pastor ready and able?
• Are they widely respected and trusted among your stakeholders?
• Are they willing and able to dedicate the time and energy required to lead?
• Are they capable of making donor visits and unapologetically inviting gifts?

• Are your governing board members committed?
• Are they trustworthy, credible and influential among your constituencies?
• Do they individually have a track record of generous financial support?
• Do they own the strategic choices you’re making about the ministry’s future? 
• And will they support the CEO and provide the resources needed to fund the future of the ministry?
• Do you have volunteers who are ready to lead a campaign, make generous gifts and invite others?

Jim Collins wrote, “Great vision without great people is irrelevant.” And it’s extraordinarily true for capital campaigns. If you have a bold vision for growth you need bold people to champion it alongside you!

Readiness Marker #2: Strategic Choices

Have you ever planned a road trip only to run into construction that required you to take a detour?

You had a plan to get to a specific place and then you had to make a new plan to get to the same place! Your goal was specific but your plan required flexibility.

Specific goals and flexible follow-through are essential for leading a nonprofit organization. We call this approach strategic choices. Plans are great, but when the economic landscape is continually changing you need a way to adaptly quickly and effectively.

Strategic choices are a set of specific goals and boundaries for making decisions to reach those goals. Strategic choices include specific goals, steps to achieve goals, and a guide for making daily and pivotal decisions so that you honor your mission and continue taking steps towards your goals. They are actionable and long-term oriented.

Three essential questions to ask when establishing strategic choices for your ministry include:

1. Have we clarified the impact we want to make on the people we serve?
2. Have we delineated our goals and strategies to achieve that impact?
3. And THEN have we detailed the programmatic and capital investments required?

Without this step, you can’t make a truly compelling case for the financial support you’ll be inviting, and your constituency won’t be inspired to make their best gifts. Additionally, this step will equip you to adapt quickly and in the best interest of your goals and organization.

Readiness Marker #3: Finance

Do you remember the parable of the talents (Matthew 25)?

The Master asks three of his stewards to take care of different amounts of talents. When he asks the stewards for a status update on the talents he rewards the first two stewards who invested the talents. But the Master fires the last steward because he buried his talent in the ground. 

This story reminds us that the way we care for what we currently have matters to God. 

Before you begin inviting gifts for a capital campaign it’s important to make sure you’re being good stewards of what you currently have, that you’re positioned to finance the project you’re fundraising for, and that you’ll have the budgetary capacity to handle the year-round expenses that are an inevitable part of your expansion or new program.

Here are four questions you should ask yourself about the financial readiness of your church or organization: 

• Is the organization operationally financially stable? Are you building your house on rocks or sand? (Matthew 7:24-27). Your vision for a new building or program will only flourish from a strong foundation of consistent support. Your potential lenders and contributors will invest in your strategic choices from a place of trust and confidence, but not if you’re putting the entire ministry at risk by doing so.
• Do you have policies in place that provide guard rails for your financial decision making? Two of my clients — Nebraska Lutheran Outdoor Ministries and Green Lake Lutheran Ministries —  have a 95/50 policy that I recommend over and over again. Their Boards will move forward with a new capital project when 1) 95% of the fundraising goal has been pledged and 2) 50% of the fundraising goal has been received in cash. 
• Do you have the reserves or resources available to make the initial investments in planning processes and campaign counsel? Though capital campaigns typically produce some large upfront gifts early in the process, the costs of engaging professionals like architects and fundraising consultants require an early cash outlay.
• Do you have a line of credit or a bridge loan available for any planned construction periods? And are you planning realistically for any mortgage you might need? Many church bodies and some financial service organizations provide low-cost loans for ministry organizations. Some of my clients have financed their projects through the Mission Investment Fund, the Lutheran Church Extension Fund, or Thrivent.

Having the marker of financial readiness in place before beginning a capital campaign will help your team function more effectively, give your supporters more confidence in participating in your expansion, and prepare you for handling the challenges new growth inevitably brings.

Readiness Marker #4: Fundraising

When you’re learning something new, what do you learn first?  

The basics, right?! 

Whether you’re learning to read, play an instrument, or about a new friend you build a foundation by learning the basics. Once you know the alphabet you can learn to sound out words. After you’ve learned individual notes you put them together to make chords. When you’ve learned a little bit about someone you can share relatable stories. 

Establishing a foundation allows you to go on to more complicated and higher-return approaches. When embarking on a capital campaign a strong fundraising foundation is essential. 

A strong fundraising foundation will help you make a case for your capital campaign because you will have reasons to believe that your big goal is achievable. It will also give you the confidence that you can sustain your year-round ministry without robbing Peter to pay Paul. In addition, that strong foundation will ensure that you can support the additional costs of running your new facility or program once it’s up and running.

The following are three questions to help you understand the strength of your fundraising foundation: 

• Is there a history of receiving major gifts from a small pool of high capacity donors? 
• Can you readily identify the top 10 – 20% of the donors who will likely contribute 80-90% of a campaign fundraising goal?
• Can you identify people who have used assets other than cash to make gifts (e.g. stock, Donor Advised Funds, Qualified Charitable Distributions from IRAs) 

• Do you have loyal, consistent financial support from the remaining 80-90% of your donors? 
• Do you have organizational systems in place that can support a capital campaign?
• Traditional and contemporary tools that you use for communicating regularly with all of your constituents
• Staff who are capable and available to support the work of campaign volunteers
• A database system that allows for the tracking and management of donors, the production of reports and correspondence, and the recording and acknowledgement of gifts

You’re about to raise, potentially more money than you’ve ever raised. Knowing that you have a history of committed and generous donors as well as established tools to steward financial gifts well will empower you to make this journey with confidence and success.

How to Get Expert Insight on Capital Campaigns

Capital campaigns are A LOT, but they are far from impossible. In this webinar we took a deep dive into what makes a capital campaign successful. You'll learn the challenges leaders faced, how they set themselves up for success, what they wish they had known before they started, and what their campaign allowed them to accomplish. 

Watch the webinar replay HERE! 

And if you just can’t wait to get the ball rolling, schedule a call here to discover how my team can support you in your important work!