This week, Gail Perry of Fired up Fundraising and co-founder of Capital Campaign Masters joins me to discuss capital campaigns.
In this video interview, we focus on the pre-campaign and tips for making board members feel more at ease.
Interview Highlights (Transcript)
Watch the full interview above or read the highlights below.
Pre-Campaign Planning
AE: What does an organization that’s thinking about a campaign need to do first?
GP: It seems like the whole world is in a capital campaign right now, because the economy’s coming back. And, if they’re not already in a campaign, they’re planning one or they’re thinking about one.
Capital campaigns are scary times for organizations. There are many questions that need to be asked and thought through well before people start asking for money. Many times board members are overly enthusiastic… and they are rushing to make that first ask. And the fundraisers are going, I don’t know if I’m ready!
AE: Right! So what do they need to do to get ready?
GP: Andrea and I, on the Capital Campaign Masters website, are blogging a lot and doing free webinars on what you need to do during that very opportunistic pre-campaign time. Before I go into that, I want to share an image.
I want everyone to think about dominos stacked up…
Good, solid pre-campaign planning is like lining up the dominos.
Getting Your Board on Board
AE: What are the first three dominos?
GP: First, let’s talk about the board. We find that the board members are often scared of a big new plan that would transform the organization. They may be nervous about the plan and are often nervous about the fundraising, because many people on the board are not large money people, and are not campaign donors, and they cannot fathom how this is going to happen.
We love our board members, but we have to meet them where they are. They don’t understand capital campaign strategy. Strategy is the good old donor pyramid. I want to say firmly that the donor pyramid is not dead.
We really think board members need to learn the strategy behind the methodology… What’s the timing, why do we hold back? You’re got your planning phase, your silent phase, you kickoff, and then your public phase.
Engaging board members in discussions about strategy and the very basics is so important.
Watch the full interview for more on this topic.
Alleviating Board Member Campaign Fears
AE: What’s one thing you do to put a board member at ease, who is nervous about the plan?
GP: I think you need to listen to them. If you sweep it under the rug, they are going to be whispering in the parking lot. And then there will be a coalition that is working against.
If you’re going to change the world, you’re going to need everyone lining up.
If you’ve really got a board member who is intimidated about fundraising… I was a board member of the Carolina Ballet, and we staged a panel… and we brought in representatives of 3 other organizations who had done capital campaigns. We had a Q and A with the board. They were learning about it from peers.
AE: That’s a great idea. I love that — bring in some board members to help explain the process and how they felt.
Watch the full interview for more on this topic.
Putting Together a Campaign Plan
You mentioned a campaign plan. How does that get put together? And, is that before you hire a consultant or after you hire a consultant?
GP: It happens organically in many pieces. We think the campaign plan is composed over time and in many different pieces. Let’s look at a brief outline:
- Case
- Analysis of the donors
- Leadership and leadership committees
- Scope
- Timetable
Watch the full interview for more on this topic.
Final Capital Campaign Thoughts
AE: Is there a final thought you’d like to leave us with? What’s the one thing you want to make sure viewers take away from this?
GP: Vision. If you’ve got a vision that is exciting, that can get people sitting on the edge of their seats. That’s the energy it takes to mobilize the resources.
AE: Yes, when I’m facilitating a board retreat, I like to go around the room and ask board members, “Why do you think this is important? Why would you give?”
Watch the full interview for more on this topic.
Now, Gail and I would love to hear from you. Are you considering a capital campaign? What are you doing to convince and motivate your board members? What challenges have you faced and/or overcome?
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