Make Sure You Are Campaign-Ready

Can we raise this much? Is this a good time to get started?

Do we have the right staff and resources to take this on?

Are our donors ready -- and excited?

These are just a few of the questions we get asked by organizations considering a campaign. 

Whether you’re already asking these questions or wondering what it would take to raise funds for a capital project or initiative beyond your annual fund, there’s a lot to consider before diving into a campaign. 

Below are elements of a campaign planning study that can help you identify your top prospects and best leadership volunteers, define your campaign goal amount and gift range chart, and ultimately help you plan how to proceed. 

Pre-Campaign Planning & Leadership Engagement

Sometimes, funds for a successful campaign are evident within your stakeholder groups (current/past donors and Board members, volunteers, subscribers, alumni, etc.), but most often, nonprofits will need to expand their donor base to reach their goal. Guidance on campaign planning, including evaluating the willingness and readiness of your volunteers to turn their support into action, identifying those who could serve in key roles, and making recommendations for a campaign committee, will help ensure the results you’re looking for.

Data Analysis and Prospect Research

The success of your campaign will depend on securing donations at all levels towards your goal. To help set your goal amount and determine your likelihood of raising it, you must assess your donor data to see if your funders and supporters have the capacity and propensity to make major commitments. Typically, this is done through a targeted wealth screening and analysis of those findings. To identify who else outside of your current/recent donor base should be considered for cultivation, engagement, and solicitation to ultimately develop your campaign gift chart, you’ll also want prospect research that maps to your mission and fundraising goal.

Preliminary Case for Support

A preliminary case for support is one of the most important elements of campaign planning, created to inspire enthusiasm and motivate donors to make an investment. As the core narrative for the campaign, your case explains why your organization is embarking on a major fundraising effort, what the project will make possible, and why donors should invest in it. In the campaign planning phase, this document is designed to invite input from donors, prospects, and community members and to test and refine messaging that will shape your communications -- from proposals to presentations to a final, designed case for support.

Development Infrastructure

Do you have adequate internal resources to run a successful campaign over and above your current day-to-day development work? For a campaign of any size, you’ve got to make sure you have sufficient staff and systems to plan and implement. Examining your database, finance systems, executive and development staffing, administration support, etc., will help you know if you’re ready.

Interviews with Current and Prospective Donors

Pre-campaign interviews with your donors and stakeholders help to test your case messaging and your proposed campaign goal amount. Interviews are typically with individuals who could make lead gifts, potential fundraising volunteers who could connect you with major donors or who could positively influence the campaign in some way, and institutional funders who are strong prospects to make a campaign gift. We recommend 25-40 interviews to get solid input on your plans.

Once You’ve Completed the Assessment, Now What?

After this process, which typically takes 4-6 months, you’ll have clarity on a way forward, including interview summaries to better understand your donors’ perspectives and their willingness to support your campaign, as well as an analysis of your data that will inform your campaign potential. You’ll also have a gift range chart (also called a gift table), a planning tool used to map out the number, size, and distribution of gifts needed to reach your goal. The chart will give you a realistic picture of how your goal can be achieved and what your donor pipeline must look like to get there. Finally, you’ll have feedback on your case with suggested edits; a summary of prospect research findings and wealth screening data; and recommendations for next steps, including a timeline for campaign implementation.

If you’ve gotten this far and are still wondering if a campaign is in your future, consider reaching out to schedule a conversation. We love campaigns because they can be transformative and inspirational for nonprofits and donors alike; we look forward to hearing what you’re planning!