Capital Campaigns

Capital Campaigns Are…

• Exciting and inspiring
• Time intensive
• Resource heavy
• Revenue generating
• Engagements
• Valuable efforts for increasing giving over the long term

Capital campaigns are often used to raise large sums of money for big visionary projects. They inspire the board and the donor base to give more, frequently pledging tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars to the projects identified.

They are also labor-intensive and expensive. But the returns on this project have not only short-term funding success, but implications on your long-term funding sustainability as well – after they are completed, campaigns traditionally raise overall annual fund numbers by almost 25%!

In order to effectively and efficiently achieve the short and long-term goals of a capital campaign, an effective strategy needs to be put into place. Harvest Development Group fully understands the importance of designing a solid strategy because our team collectively has led over a dozen campaigns totaling $134,000,000 just over the past decade.

Our partnership with your board, executive team, and development staff will guide and incorporate best practices through the complex process that can typically strain an organization’s internal operation. We will prepare and navigate your nonprofit to succeed at the highest level and maximize the campaign to its fullest potential.

Several factors need to go into a capital campaign’s design to ensure that your campaign has the best chance of executing and meeting its goals:

• Conduct a feasibility study
• Hire a reliable outside consultant (if you can’t lead or staff a campaign yourself)
• Build a campaign strategy that meets your project needs and your organizations capacity
• Identify, recruit, and lead a team of enthusiastic and engaged volunteers
• Bring awareness to organizational and community leaders
• Create an inspiring and energetic case for support that will justify your capital campaign
• Vet and craft a list of opportunities for lead and major giving
• Build a communications plan that will reach your target market with specific donor groups in mind

Capital campaigns can boost your fundraising goals immensely however, they also come with a big risk. We solidly plan for those risks and accurately navigate you through the complexities so your nonprofit can execute your plan successfully.