Campaign Readiness: Setting the Stage for Success

We’ve seen it before.

Nonprofit organizations jump into fundraising campaigns with a “ready-fire-aim” mentality. Without proper preparation, you run the risk of not hitting monetary milestones AND disenfranchising your key leaders/passionate volunteers.

To achieve goals and “hit targets”, it is critical to take time to properly “aim” before initiating a campaign. As Clemons- Associates has served 35+ clients and helped raise a collective total of $720M – usually surrounding program, project, capital or endowment initiatives – there are several critical aspects of any fundraising initiative which should be addressed in order to develop a useful and realistic campaign plan.

Clemons-Associates adopts the approach of customized, sequential step-by-step planning – grounded in Board/Staff consensus building to include both internal and external constituents. When C-A enters into a strategic planning process, we view ourselves as partners in the process and join in on the organization’s ultimate success. As such, we commit ourselves to honoring the values, principles and history of the organization...while also sharing our past experiences as well as counsel, tools, methodologies and best practice templates.

Having worked on campaigns ranging from NCAA to The Arts to Military to Faith to Greek to Private/Public Partnerships to International Humanitarian platforms, Clemons-Associates has a success record of a) designing and developing a visually-stimulating campaigns; b) training and coaching staff and volunteers; c) preparing and facilitating campaign meetings; d) and sharing those tools/tips/templates based on 2.5 decades of producing quality collateral and developing actionable strategic plans.

How long?

The best multi-million-dollar campaigns are designed for an 18-24 month window. Really, you say? Yes!

Therefore, it is imperative volunteers (serving on Campaign Committee or Campaign Cadre) know what they are signing up for. While the consultant will be working with Board/Staff to develop a compelling Case for Support, Campaign Brand ID, Visual Renderings, Pitch/Presentation, Fly-thru videos and all digital assets, you are charged with recruiting volunteers committed to lend their energy, time and networks to the campaign goal.

The good news?

When facilitated correctly (and leveraging strategic and beautiful campaign collateral), volunteers can hit the ground running at campaign launch and connect with their assigned prospective donors. They will have been educated on mission- critical campaign elements like the Case for Support, Marketing/Communications plan, Gift Acceptance Policy, House Party plan, Cultivation Tactics, Donor Solicitations, Naming Opportunities, and a Stewardship Plan. And the list goes on.

Goals? Phases?

What is your campaign goal? What % of campaign gifts will come from Leadership Gift(s) in the Quiet Phase? Does a 1:1 Match Challenge apply?

Can project(s) be phased and aligned with campaign phases? A typical capital campaign is organized in five different but connected phases: Planning, Quiet Phase, Kick-Off, Public Phase and Completion/Follow-Up. See simplified graphic outlining campaign phases:

Samples of Phases within a Major Gift Campaign:

Planning Phase: 6-8 Months

Audit/assessment of Organizational position (SWOT)
Set objectives and goals
Begin prospect research and outreach
Secure board buy-in
Consider initial Leadership Gift solicitations (pre-campaign)
Recruit volunteer team(s)
Choose a consultant
Design/Develop campaign (e.g., CFS, Naming Opps, Collateral, Stewardship)
Ensure Staff/Systems are market ready

Quiet Phase: 6-24 Months

Pending on the campaign goal, the quiet phase could take up to two years of ongoing major gift solicitation. During this time, you should:

Continue prospect research
Cultivate, cultivate, cultivate
Solicit major contributions
Refine goals and strategies

Organize and execute Campaign Meetings
Be consistent with stakeholder communication
Celebrate ‘Wins’ and achieved milestones
Thank and steward all existing donors

Kick-Off

Once you’ve reached a comfortable percentage in the quiet phase, it’s time to announce your campaign to the public. The Kick-off can be a fun event, celebration, gala or groundbreaking ceremony and often serves as the transition between your quiet and public campaigns. [Kick-Off can be more aligned with media involvement, public awareness and volunteer/donor appreciation vs. monetary impact]

Your kick-off event should engage your community and sets the stage for a successful public phase. Consider these fun and engaging kick-off events themes:

Groundbreaking Ceremony
Themed Gala
Virtual Kick-Off Celebration
Town Hall Event
Media Release
Syndicated Announcement
Top Donor Reception
Chairperson-hosted Event
‘Golden Shovel’ Ceremony

Even if you have a small staff or you’ve never launched a capital campaign before, you can tackle kick-off events with the right resources and determination. Idea: If recruited volunteers are intimidated by soliciting donors, they can be important additions to the Event Sub-Committee. Help them with budget, expectations, staff support, timing, venue...and let their drive, energy and bandwidth complement campaign dynamics.

Public Phase:

Once your campaign is open to the public, you can:

Solicit mid-range and smaller gifts
Fill the 'bottom' of the Gift Pyramid
Focus on marketing and promotion

Campaign Close and Ongoing

After the campaign ends and you reach your fundraising goal, it’s time to:

Wrap Up and celebrate your success!
Thank donors
Honor Naming Opportunities; Create recognition displays
Share final reports
Plan long-term funding support for expanded operating capital Work with a consultant who knows when, how and why each of these elements will be implemented serving your campaign goal. They will help with seamless ‘hand offs’ between each phase. If this is a Capital Campaign, your board may even want to discuss and land on ‘monetary triggers’ associated with the campaign (see below); inputs/feedback from your consultant, architect, designer, construction firm, curators, exhibition specialist, etc. are welcome in this exercise.

Costs?

What are the ‘extra’ components that contribute to the increased cost of your project?While the assembled Architect/Designer/Construction team can give you project cost estimates (if a Capital Campaign), there may be ‘hidden’ cost which need to be accounted for. In post-construction, these can include associated staff expenses, operations, administration, overhead, and deferred maintenance. In many cases, a Capital Campaign can be adjoined to an Endowment Campaign so as to help cover these ongoing costs in a sustainable environment.

Consider one of Clemons-Associate former clients – a private catholic school – needing funds to address significant needs within their historic campus. Goals included a) add a baseball complex; b) renovate and expand performing arts theatre; c) update kitchen and cafeteria, etc. Ideally, these elements should be funded with Cap-X dollars as well as an endowment component to satisfy the inherent costs listed above. When campus-wide needs are combined, it is often called a ‘Comprehensive Campaign’.

Build Your All-Star Team

It is true fundraising is both an art and a science. It is also true fundraising is a cousin to ‘selling’...but you are selling ideas, concepts, vision, solutions, impact on human lives instead of traditional products and services. And it is true that the best fundraisers keep this simple point in mind: 'We are connecting Donor’s passions to the Institutional mission’.

Determined by many factors including the size of the organization and sophistication /goal of the campaign, organizations usually seek seasoned, experienced Development Specialists (to include consultants) to assist in planning/execution of the campaign. Complementing a professional campaign consultant to assist with Campaign Strategy, Design and Training Coaching of Volunteers (contractual partner for the duration of campaign), options include: Employ a full-time fundraiser (FTE) to compliment the President or Executive Director (e.g., titled Director of Development); hire a part-time fundraiser, administrator, grant writer, record keeper, event planner, systems operator, or researcher to assist with specific tasks associated with the campaign.

And, of course, you will want to recruit and educate a Campaign Committee to serve the organization during the tenure of the campaign. Having impassioned, well-connected volunteers serving on the Committee (several might also be on the Board of Directors) is a key strategy as their titles, energy, time, business connections, personal network and influence will be optimized.

Clemons-Associates likes to consider several Campaign Structure paths organized for success. One is based on an alumni-based platform and the other is based on an organization which does not enjoy a base of alumni.

Clemons-Associates likes to work with staff to schedule Campaign Sessions (e.g., two-hour meeting with volunteers, key stakeholders) to build TOP 100 prospective donor list in several ‘channels. Prospective donors are often ranked in CAPACITY, PROPENSITY and AFFINITY. Once lists are developed, it is typical to conduct an ASSIGNMENT exercise so as to align solicitor(s) with prospective donors within a window of time (e.g., make the Ask).

Best Practice: Before anyone asks for philanthropic funds, well-designed campaign collateral will have been designed/produced and volunteers will be coached on how to best use in a one-on-one solicitation or one-to-many situation for a high close rate.

See below visuals:

Inspiring Donors

Before you launch a campaign, it is a good idea to have your BEST leaders identified, recruited, educated and passionately involved. This includes the Board of Directors (Q: Is your Board fully behind the campaign?), an Honorary Chairperson, a Campaign Chairperson or Co-Chairs and Team Captains (see above visual reference). Determine which community leaders will step up and lend their name to a campaign. Procure their commitment relative to personally (and professionally) participating as donors, ambassadors and solicitors on behalf of the campaign.

Very often, a key to campaign success is the quality of the volunteer committee and staff leadership. Do you have the right people in place to achieve campaign goals? Will they have sufficient time to devote to the effort? If you do not currently have the right leadership, what are your plans to identify and recruit additional leaders and/or staff? See Clemons-Associates ‘recipe’ (building blocks) for a successful campaign:

Identifying Leaders

Will you be able to engage and obtain support from your existing donors base? Or will you rely on well-known ‘high-capacity donors’ in your marketplace which may or may not have affinity to your organization? What unique and significant campaign elements will you (and your consultant) create to attract, engage and ‘land’ prospective donors. Consultants should be ready to meet design deliverables so as to visually and compellingly stimulate/engage a prospective donor. The Clemons- Associates team promises, at a minimum, to deliver a) Organizational Assessment/Development Audit; b) Case for Support; c) Campaign Name, Branded ID; d) Digital Assets (Web, Blog, .PPT, SM as needed); e) Professional Presentation/Pitch Deck; f) House Party Plan; g) Foldering System (often used as a solicitation tool and a leave-behind piece); h) shared templated tools; i) professional training and coaching of volunteers. See representative image:

Internal factors

What are the internal factors that could impact your success?

Do you have the required internal systems, staff and back-office support? Do you have a solid Donor System which can manage gift processing, receipts, GIK contributions, multi-year pledges and donor reminders? Is your database ‘clean’, current and able to support your major gift campaign efforts? Do you have the initial capital and cash flow to support your efforts? What have you learned from your previous fundraising activities? What was the success of your last campaign(s)? Are you adequately staffed with the correct quality/quantity of talent? What mistakes have been made in the past that need to be avoided in the future and what needs to be done to improve on past fundraising efforts?

External factors

What are the external factors that could impact your success?

What has been the experience of other nonprofits (in your nonprofit channel) who have initiated similar campaigns? Can you easily leverage a significant Leadership Gift to immediately gain traction in your campaign? Are there competing campaigns underway or about to begin that could negatively impact your efforts? What is the image of your organization in the community? Does your Board include several ‘heavy hitters’ with market-wide name recognition and influence? Does your institution have any PR damage? What are potential issues that could derail your efforts?

See samples from a $3.3M campaign representing a Greek-based campaign at a Division One university.

Base of Support

Do you have a sufficient prospect base to achieve your goals? Have you drafted a Gift Pyramid? Are you working on an 80/20 or 90/10 model of gift levels? What 'gift conversion rate' are you aiming for?

Have you completed a Gift Table? What 'gift conversion rate' are you adopting? Who is tracking results? Do your volunteers understand the 'heavy lifting' part of the campaign and their specific roles and responsibilities?

Based upon your goal, how many prospects will you need at each level of giving to produce the results needed? How large is your prospect base? Can you build a TOP 100 prospective donor list in several channels? What are your anticipated ‘conversions’ or close rate metrics? What percentage of your campaign will need to come from Leadership Gifts? Do you have Leadership Gifts ‘in the bag’? If so, what is the percentage of these gift(s) against the overall goal? Do have a sufficient number of mid-level gift prospects to reach your goal?

Giving Landscape

Fact: Thousands of nonprofit organizations suspended their pre-campaign and/or campaign activities during the 2020 worldwide pandemic. Today, it seems many 501(c)3s – independent of their place in the nonprofit sector – is playing ‘make up’ as their funding needs have only increased in the last 2-5 years. In the eyes of many Board members, a campaign is ‘overdue’.

Today, challenging economic environment makes thoughtful planning for a campaign even more important than it has ever been. The pressure to meet increasingly high expectations (Board, volunteers, donors, constituents...) is real and establishing ambitious but realistic goals is the most effective path to successful fundraising. Due to much activity in the post-COVID fundraising environment, many non-profits and educational institutions in cities across America are witnessing ‘donor fatigue’. For this reason, your organization needs to be very well positioned in order to execute a first-rate community-wide campaign. And your campaign needs to be professionally prepped with strategic, visual and storytelling components. These initiatives work together to a) attract, inspire and engage donors; and b) make the ‘selling’ role easier for your staff and volunteers.

Messaging

Will your campaign message compelling enough to connect with prospective donors?

Consider...

How will lives be impacted? How will the campaign complement organizational Vision, Mission and Values? Why are funds needed and how will they be deployed (use of funds)? What will be accomplished with gifts to the campaign? How will it improve your organization and your community/constituents? Will it provide better service delivery, serve more constituents, deliver greater return on investment, improve facilities, increase traffic, raise awareness, improve quality, increase opportunities to generate revenue, etc.?

Campaign Collateral & Digital Assets

How will your campaign be presented to the donor community?

With Fortune 500 background (and experience with launching, managing nationally recognized brands trading in the billions), members of the Clemons-Associates team believe each campaign deserves rigorous inputs of best-in-class design work, storytelling, digital assets and solicitation tools.

Goal: A campaign volunteer (Board or Campaign Committee member) can walk into a meeting with a prospective donor...and let the campaign collateral ‘carry the burden’ of compellingly deliver the case for support, funding need, project impact, associated naming opportunities and invite them to participate philanthropically. Clemons-Associates prides itself on this signature feature: creatively designing campaigns which thread a professional and compelling brand ID through all elements...which inspire the prospective donor into action. See below samples representing a nonprofit client in Kansas City committed to end homelessness of Veterans.

Case for Support:

Fly-Thru Video and/or Messaging Vignette:

Foldering System:

Timeline: Pledge Card:

Branded Presentation/Pitch Deck:

Story/Values:

Vision/Plan:

Naming Opportunities:

Website:

Blog/E-Newsletter templates:

Campaign Communication

Successful capital campaigns prioritize transparency, and the old antidote is true in this space: 'there is no such thing as over communication'. Communication will be key before, during, and after your campaign. Follow these best practices:

Communicate with major donors personally during the planning phases of your campaign to show them you value their input and that their buy-in is instrumental to driving your mission forward. This exercise may impact how they position gift(s) in their annual giving plan.
Present your case for support in multiple appealing ways, including one-on-one presentation, House Party(s), and digital assets included a dedicated website. The consultant will you give campaign a compelling name, branded ID, slogan, “story” and visual renderings which shows donors that it’s worth their attention and engagement.
Communicate with volunteers regularly during ALL phases of your campaign. They are committing 18-24 months of their energy, time, network and advocacy and you want to keep them updated on every front. While digital updates are today’s norm, well- planned (and infrequent as possible) in-person campaign meetings lend energy, collaboration, education and shared enthusiasm.
Plan a highly visible kick-off event. Actively share your goals and current progress, and continually tie contributions back to the on-the-ground impact funds will have on your mission.
Create a solid communications schedule, laying out when you’ll launch various marketing efforts using social media, email, townhalls, legislative events and more.
Provide regular updates throughout the length of the public phase. Share them with media figures, elected officials, city managers, chamber of commerce executives, community leaders, lobbyists. Expand your base of endorsers (and future supporters?) by way of ‘storytelling’ on a community-wide basis.
Begin thanking contributors immediately after they make their contribution or first gift in a multi-year pledge. Remember the ‘7 Touches’ best practice. Investing in proper Stewardship and Donor Recognition is often the key to your organization’s future undertakings.

Bonus: Clemons-Associates has successfully used a CAMPAIGN STATE OF THE UNION piece serving nonprofit clients going back to 2002. In our opinion, this is a PRICELESS tool for quick, easy and efficient communication to organizational stakeholders. See below graphic -- we wrote and entire blog piece on this important subject.

See sample:

Campaign Close

Regretfully, this is an area which is sometimes forgotten or under-planned at the end of a campaign. Yes – staff and volunteers are somewhat fatigued, but it is important to celebrate campaign success for a myriad of reasons. Many clients of Clemons-Associates pick a campaign milestone (e.g., 80% of funds secured through gifts and pledges) and plan a celebratory OPEN HOUSE or DONOR APPRECIATION event on-site at the new or refurbished location. Consider three ways to maximize the Campaign Close.

Celebration Event: Physical

As mentioned, a Campaign Close event presents an amazing opportunity to not only celebrate reaching an important milestone, but to deepen donors’ emotional commitment, engage a broader constituency, and sow seeds for future philanthropic support. Use this platform to thank and recognize development professionals, organizational staff, campaign volunteers, and donors who have all worked together to advance the institution’s priorities through their participation in the campaign (their efforts deserve to be honored). An end-of-campaign event is the perfect time to celebrate meeting—or exceeding—the campaign’s goal and to publicly announce the final sum of contributions and pledges.

Considerations/Questions:

What venue will best showcase the accomplishments of the campaign?
How can you best recognize key contributors and celebrate their efforts?
Where do you want attendees to be emotionally when they enter the venue?
Where would you like them to be when they leave? How will you get them there?
What keynote speaker or elected official can convey campaign highlights/future impact? Celebration Event: Digital: Leverage today’s digital world (we are all connected) to announce achievements, recognize key contributors, recognized key volunteers and properly close event. E-platforms are affordable and a solid way to showcase the impact the funds raised have on people, programs, and facilities of your institution. Film speeches from students or faculty. Film feedback from impacted Veterans. Film feedback from a scholarship student enjoying an Arts Program. Videos can easily be utilized to feature more voices and areas impacted.

Considerations/Questions:

Which messages/narratives are the most important for public consumption?
Which people and programs best represent the impact of the campaign?
What is length of film/video?
How can you use the available resources to demonstrate this impact?
Is there a local media agency that can assist with this project as a GIK contribution?
Do the speeches, videos, and performances move people along on the emotional journey and connect them to your organization?

Wrapping Up

Remember, major gift campaigns intensive. They are marathons, not sprints. By following the above information and unifying your internal and external teams around your organization’s collective goal, you will not only be able to complete your project, but also make significant strides in your organization’s mission fulfillment, growth and constituent impact.

IMPERATIVES:

Seek proven, experienced Campaign Consultants
Properly prepare for the key phases of a Campaign
Properly structure your stakeholders (Board, Campaign Committee...)
Ensure your Board, staff and volunteers are property prepared for campaign dynamics
Ensure campaign has a compelling Case for Support
Ensure campaign will leverage professionally brand printed and digital assets
Ensure campaign has an exceptional plan for communication (internal, external)
Ensure campaign has planned, budgeted themed events (e.g., Kick-Off, Ground Breaking, Ribbon Cutting, Celebration)

Bottom line:

Nonprofit organizations can enjoy tremendous fundraising campaigns with a “ready-aim-fire” plan. Without proper preparation, you will achieve monetary milestones AND amplify the relationship with your key leaders/volunteers/passionate volunteers.

A Clemons-Associates team member is available to help you/your organization is this important exercise. Upon request – and without charge – one of our associates can present to the Board/Executive Staff: a) Elements of a Successful Campaign; b) Gift Table and Gift Pyramid examples; c) Sample exercises in Donor Profiling/TOP 100 list building; d) Training/Coaching tactics which prepare volunteers for the marketplace (campaign execution); e) campaign budget/cost campaign considerations.

Craig Clemons with Friend, Philanthropist and President/Founder/Board Chairman of Express Employment Professionals, Bob Funk, Sr.

Seeking expert assistance from seasoned professionals?

Contact Craig Clemons at craig@clemons-associates.com or one of our rock star associates for more details. Clemons & Associates is on standby to help you with brand identity, strategic messaging, campaigns, digital assets, staff/volunteer training and programs/projects.