Capital Campaign 101 - How to Fundraise For Buildings, Equipment, & Vehicles

A Capital Campaign is a special kind of fundraisingidentifying the number of gifts and gift amounts that
campaign that raises money for capital items likewill be needed to complete the campaign. This also
buildings, equipment, and vehicles. It can take severalhelps to estimate how many donor prospects are
months to several years to conduct a Capitalneeded and at what levels.
Campaign from start to finish. Here are some basic5. Train the Board. The entire Board will need to
steps involved in a Capital Campaign.participate in the Capital Campaign. Good training will
1. Conduct Feasibility Study. In this preliminary stage,help everyone feel comfortable in identifying
an independent third party conducts interviews withprospects, ranking them, and making an Ask for a
various donors and community leaders to see if theygift.
would support a capital campaign for the organization.6. Identify the Prospects. This activity is done with
You can glean a lot of good information from theseBoard, staff, specific donors and community leaders.
interviews.It's a discussion of various donors done in a
2. Identify Campaign Leadership. A Campaign Chairconfidential setting to estimate the likelihood of giving
and committee are selected, usually from theof various donor prospects.
organization's Board of Directors and prominent7. Conduct the Campaign. Execute the plan! Cultivate
community leaders.the donor prospects, make the Asks, steward the
3. Develop Case Statement. This is a document thatgifts, thank the donors, etc.
answers the questions of how much money is8. Celebrate! Remember to celebrate the efforts of
needed, how it will be used, why it is needed, etc. Itthe individuals involved in the campaign and the
can be a brochure or a multiple-page document.generosity of the community.
4. Develop a Gift Table. A Gift Table is a tool for