When you hear the term “capital campaign,” you may picture a university, hospital, or other major institution working toward an ambitious fundraising goal over a number of years. But nowadays, smaller nonprofits are running multiyear drives, too, though often with more modest revenue goals. A 2024 study by the consultancy Capital Campaign Pro found that groups with annual budgets of less than $1 million raised $3.3 million to $9.5 million, on average, from these efforts.
Small shops may launch capital campaigns with different goals in mind. Rather than aiming for a new building or an endowment, smaller groups might want to double their baseline annual fundraising, for example, or expand their programs and impact. (Such drives are often called comprehensive campaigns.)
People are going to be asking philanthropists for gifts. ... You may as well be one of those.
If you’re pondering a multiyear campaign, no matter the purpose, you may be wondering whether that’s a smart move in uncertain economic times like these.
Matthew Naylor, CEO of the National World War I Museum and Memorial, which is running a capital campaign that is on track to exceed its original goal of $50 million by about 50 percent, says the answer is yes. “My view is that people are going to be asking philanthropists for gifts. ... You may as well be one of those.”
While you should take the economic headwinds into consideration, he says, now might even be a “moment of opportunity,” as some donors may feel moved to help nonprofits affected by the federal funding cuts. “I’m talking just regular folks who want to be a part of something that matters,” he says. “And if you can demonstrate that their contribution is more significant now than ever, that’s even more reason for them to be a part of your work.”
Amy Eisenstein, CEO of Capital Campaign Pro, agrees that you shouldn’t let worries about a potential economic downturn stop you from starting a campaign. “You can’t time the market,” she says. Historically, recessions last about 10 months, and capital drives run for three or four years, she says, so it’s likely you’ll see both ups and downs before you’ve finished. But keep in mind, the wealthiest donors — who are crucial to the success of these campaigns — tend to get richer amid stock-market fluctuations.
Eisenstein offers another reason to stick to your campaign plans: “Lots of organizations are going to hit the brakes. So the ones that are brave enough to go [on] are going to have less competition and a clearer path.”
The Chronicle asked Naylor, Eisenstein, and Nicole Engdahl, a veteran fundraiser who is currently leading her fourth multiyear drive, what small nonprofits need to know to pull off a successful capital campaign and how best to start. Here’s what they advise.
Assess your nonprofit’s readiness
Naylor suggests conducting a “readiness study” to assess whether your group has the systems and capacity to manage a multiyear campaign, including staff to do the work, a culture of fundraising at the organization, and a donor database that enables you to track and steward supporters properly.
You should also evaluate your board’s readiness for a campaign, he says. Consider questions such as: Are they supportive of the drive and willing to help you succeed? And do they understand — or are they open to learning — how big-gift fundraising works?
Next, talk with your core donors to learn if they would support a campaign and how they feel about the organization and its leadership, he suggests. “All those things impact the willingness of a philanthropist to make a gift.”
It is much harder to get unstuck or go back than it is to plan a successful campaign from the beginning.
Hire outside experts
“If you don’t have the money to hire outside counsel to help you with a comprehensive campaign, then I wouldn’t take it on,” says Engdahl, who is vice president of individual giving at the African Wildlife Foundation. “That means you’re probably not ready for it.”
The organization started its first comprehensive campaign in 2022 and is now more than halfway toward its $300 million goal. Plenty of consultants specialize in this work, she says, and they can look at your fundraising data and advise you on your goals and strategies from a highly professional point of view.
Enlisting expertise early on in the process can also prevent you from getting stuck in the middle of your campaign. Eisenstein says she gets calls weekly from groups that have raised as much as 40 to 60 percent of their goal but find their progress has stalled. “It is much harder to get unstuck or go back than it is to plan a successful campaign from the beginning,” she says.
Craft a strong case for support
Make sure you have a compelling vision and case for support, Eisenstein says. You should be able to demonstrate long-term impact, such as scaling up programs, space, or services to meet a growing need. On the other hand, a milestone anniversary — raising $50 million dollars for your organization’s 50th anniversary, for example, without strategic planning or a vision tied to it — is a weak case for support.
Don’t strive for perfection or you may never start, but you should get organized enough so you can answer donors’ questions. Before you seek gifts, you must develop clear and focused talking points about why you’re running a campaign, Engdahl says: “That’s actually a lot of work, and do not skip that step.”
Ask donors for their feedback
Test your case for support with key donors to make sure it resonates, Naylor suggests, whether through questionnaires or in-person interviews. He has found it helpful to outsource this work so that supporters can remain confidential, which leads to more honest feedback. Ask them what they think about the strengths of your message, how you could make it more compelling and exciting, and whether they would find it persuasive based on their philanthropic interests.
After you start your campaign, you might find that your testing was wrong about which message would work best, Engdahl says, because it partly depends on which donors you asked for feedback. “Check yourself along the way,” she suggests, and be prepared to change course, especially if you’re doing a campaign for the first time.
If you don’t have the money to hire outside counsel to help you with a comprehensive campaign, then I wouldn’t take it on.
This is why a lot of the work happens before you make a campaign public — usually after you’ve raised about 60 to 70 percent of the goal — including polishing your message and framing, she says. “You have to be constantly tweaking your efforts so that when you get to that last third or that last quarter of the money that you want to raise, you have it kind of all down.”
Set your campaign budget and goal
“The campaign goal should directly correspond with the case for support, the vision, the needs,” Eisenstein says. Whether you’re planning to construct a building, expand your programs, or grow in some other way, try to determine approximately how much that will cost over the next few years and beyond, she says. Then add related expenses such as fundraising, contingencies, and maintenance.
You’ll also need to define your campaign budget, which Eisenstein says should be roughly 10 percent of your fundraising goal as a starting point. “If a campaign goal initially is $10 million, they would add an additional $1 million to use over three years for things like donor recognition, campaign events, campaign materials, consulting expertise, additional staff, or infrastructure for their development office,” she says. “And 10 percent ROI is some of the best in fundraising.”
The larger your fundraising goal, the smaller that percentage will be for your budget, she explains. A $100 million campaign, for example, might only need a budget of 6 percent, but smaller groups typically have to cover additional costs, like new staff or infrastructure that large organizations already have in place.
Prioritize your most committed donors
Donors’ giving capacity is important, Engdahl says, but you need to pay at least as much attention to their passion for your cause. “Just because somebody has a lot of money does not mean they’re going to give it to you,” she says. “What you really want to find is that sweet spot, that Venn diagram of both — the capacity and the affinity.”
The campaign goal should directly correspond with the case for support, the vision, the needs.
Donors who have a strong interest in your mission will be easier to get on board and could also become “ambassadors” by sharing their story and helping to attract other donors, she says. To identify these supporters, look in your database for signs of loyalty, such as a long history of giving or a high volume of donations. Then run a wealth screening to find that overlap between affinity and capacity, Engdahl suggests, and focus on those individuals first.
Create a campaign cabinet or advisory group
If you want to include peer-to-peer fundraising in your campaign, which typically yields larger gifts, Naylor says, you should create a “cabinet” to help with that. The right approach will depend on your organization’s size and needs, but a traditional model is a group of community leaders and board members who might make introductions to donors, help ask for gifts, or serve as “hosts,” meaning their name and presence alone will inspire support.
Just because somebody has a lot of money does not mean they’re going to give it to you.
A cabinet can have a formal structure in which members meet regularly and help with everything from identifying prospective donors to cultivating and soliciting them. Or you could have more of an ad hoc group of advisers who play the same roles but on an as-needed basis.
But be careful to prevent this group from getting “campaign fatigue,” he adds, especially if you are asking for a lot of their time or pressuring them to reach individual fundraising goals. “What you don’t want, in my view, is that toward the end of the campaign, people are saying, ‘We’ve got another meeting. … Oh my gosh, I just can’t wait for this to finish,’” Naylor says. “What I want is for them to finish the experience saying, ‘Look what we accomplished. How great is that?’”
Be sensitive to this issue when thinking about how you structure and lead the group, he suggests, including making sure to celebrate successes along the way and allow time for rest.
You might also consider asking for an initial time commitment that is shorter than the campaign duration and letting them assess whether they want to stay involved after that. That’s a way to give them an “honorable exit,” Naylor explains, so they can celebrate what they accomplished and leave without feeling like the only way out is to ghost you. “You want them still to be your supporters and friends at the end,” he says.
Build momentum before going public
Try to get as much support as you can from key donors before announcing your campaign to everyone, says Naylor, who explains that this first stage is often called the “quiet phase” of a campaign. “People want to be a part of something that’s achievable and successful, and so therefore getting those earlier commitments is really important before you go to the next level of donor,” he explains. “But ultimately, you want as many people as possible to be part of the success.”
His museum typically would wait to hit about 60 percent of a campaign goal before reaching out much more widely, he says. They might not go fully public to attract small gifts — at the $50 to $100 level, for example — until they already have as much as 90 to 95 percent in the bank. “And then you can say, ‘Here’s what we’ve accomplished. We’re almost to the end. You can help us get there.’”
