While capital campaigns have historically been the province of large charities and major institutions like universities and hospitals, in recent years they’ve become increasingly common among nonprofits of all sizes.
These drives, intended to raise a large amount of money over a set number of years — often to construct a building or increase an endowment — have become far more ambitious and frequent. It’s not uncommon for an organization to begin planning a new campaign before the current one has ended. Though this may have drawbacks, like donor fatigue due to frequent appeals, these intensive campaigns remain popular and effective ways to meet fundraising needs.
Below we’ve collected a series of articles to help your organization plan, market, and complete a successful capital campaign.
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Advice
Are You Ready for a Capital Campaign? Steps to Take Before Deciding
Use anecdotal information and data to determine if your nonprofit is prepared -
Advice
How a Nonprofit Motivated Staff to Give to a Capital Campaign
Getting executives, employees, and board members to donate, a Philadelphia hospital generated buzz and then momentum among donors. -
News
Capital Campaigns Increasingly Common, and They Work, Study Says
About 46 percent of nonprofits were in either a capital or a special campaign during the first six months of last year, up from 12 percent during the same period of 2011, according to a survey. -
Advice
Shrinking Capital Campaigns Pays Off for 2 Hospitals
Getting rid of ambitious drives is helping to reduce fundraiser turnover in addition to raising just as much, if not more, money. -
News
Author Says Feasibility Studies for Capital Campaigns Are a Waste
A nonprofit official calls them the “crack cocaine of nonprofit consulting” in a book that is sure to draw controversy. -
Fundraising
Billion-Dollar Campaigns Roar Back
A growing number of nonprofits are holding capital campaigns, but some experts question whether they’re a good idea for all kinds of organizations and whether they will result in donor fatigue. -
Giving
Creative Math Makes Final Tally for Capital Campaigns Hard to Pin Down
The kinds of gifts a charity counts in a campaign and how and when it counts them can make a big difference in the final tally. -
Fundraising
Midcourse Reviews Can Improve Capital Drives
Nonprofits often raise more money than they expected when they take a full-scale review of what’s working and what’s not in an ambitious campaign. -
News
Why Capital Campaigns Fail
Not setting clear priorities and overly ambitious goals are among the reasons many capital campaigns fail, fund raisers say. -
News
In the Home Stretch: A Fund Raiser’s Capital-Campaign Challenge
How can a capital campaign appeal to everyone?