Although your relationships with your current donors are of primary importance during a campaign, there is also a great benefit to having strong awareness of your organization within the community. Considering the external factors will also be important.

A capital campaign is the most public type...

If you find that your organization has difficulty attracting a particular category of donors--individual major donors, foundations, organizations, or businesses--you might want to plan some special cultivation events and activities to help build relationships with these donors.

You will need to...

Donor Records and Development Office Infrastructure

Having a single database that will track your campaign information, allow you to communicate with your donors and volunteers, and prepare campaign reports will be critical. If you’ve never run a campaign before, this might be the first...

During your feasibility/planning study, you may receive recommendations for strengthening or enlarging your board. The board’s role will be critical to the success of your campaign. Without a 100 percent commitment from the board, both in concept and financially, it will be impossible to...

Some people think that a table of gifts is only important in a capital campaign, but all of your fundraising efforts should be focused on the fact that 90 to 95 percent of your gifts will come from 5 to 10 percent of your donors. The table of gifts is important to help keep staff and volunteers...

Let’s discuss your organization’s strategic plan. If you’ve gone through the strategic planning process recently, the following components are probably in place. If not, you might need to work on your strategic plan. Carefully review the following list and determine what you...

The role of the development staff in your capital campaign should not be underestimated. Although not every organization will have a development staff with campaign experience, it is critical that staff can devote sufficient time to the campaign. If your staff is over-involved in planning and...

In my opinion, volunteer campaign leadership is the single most important factor in campaign success. The right campaign chair can inspire volunteers, donors, board members, and staff. Volunteers bring to the table contacts, cash, and clout. Choose your volunteer leadership wisely because...

If you’ve read my previous articles in this series and answered the questions posed, and you feel that you’re in pretty good shape to begin your campaign, what’s next?

First, you want to get the approval to launch a campaign from your board of directors. You need to think about...