Launching a capital campaign can open up all sorts of possibilities for your nonprofit or university, from securing unprecedented levels of funding for a project, to deepening your most valuable donor relationships. But before you can achieve any of those results, you need a comprehensive campaign plan that maps out your strategy.
In particular, you need a communications plan that outlines how, when, and to whom you’ll communicate the details of your capital campaign.
This plan will help you present your vision for the capital campaign to donors and the wider community in a consistent, compelling way that drives your goals forward. But if you’ve never launched a capital campaign before, it’s hard to know where to start. In this guide, we’ll walk you through a few key steps to crafting a solid communications plan that serves your campaign well.
Before you can talk about your campaign with donors or the public, you need to know exactly what the campaign aims to accomplish and how you’re going to meet those goals. Refer to your main campaign plan to get familiar with your fundraising goal and the structure of the campaign. Typically, a capital campaign involves five phases:
You’ll communicate differently in each of these phases, so it’s important to know who your audience is and what the communication goals are for each one.
Additionally, take note of any goals for the campaign beyond your topline fundraising goal and think about how your communications plan can help you reach them. For example, if one of your capital campaign’s goals is to engage the community, you might host a variety of events prior to the public phase or add a peer-to-peer fundraising element to your campaign. Outline how you’ll promote these aspects of the campaign and communicate their value to community members.
A case for support is a set of arguments for supporting your capital campaign. This might be a formal document you share with donors or a foundational resource for creating other communications. Either way, it should explain the campaign’s purpose, why it’s important for your mission, and how much you need to raise to make the campaign a success. Your case for support should be compelling, detailed, and able to clearly communicate the campaign’s value to donors.
As you draft your case for support, build a foundation for future campaign communications by creating other essential materials, too. These might include:
Together, these materials should tell the story of your capital campaign’s intended impact on beneficiaries and the community. If your campaign aims to fund the building of a new community center, for instance, you would focus your campaign materials on how the building would allow your organization to better serve and improve the lives of locals experiencing homelessness.
According to Donorly, gifts from major donors should account for 60-75% of your capital campaign’s total fundraising revenue. Because their contributions are so significant and essential to the success of your campaign, communicating strategically with major donors should be a top priority.
Start planning your major donor communication strategy once you recognize who they are. Use details that you learn about each prospect through research and cultivation to personalize both your capital campaign outreach and appeals.
For example, you might plan to have coffee with a major donor who gives annually to discuss why you’re excited about your capital campaign and how it will impact your organization long-term. Convincing them to give a major gift on top of their annual contribution will take time and effort, so plan multiple touchpoints in which you share more information about how the campaign is relevant to their specific passions and interests before making the ask.
Follow up with donors after you solicit a major gift. Major donors should receive plenty of personalized updates on the campaign’s progress and timely, impactful donor recognition. This means more than traditional thank-you messages—plan ways to recognize their gifts publicly, whether through a donor wall, plaque, or newsletter highlight.
Once your communications for the quiet phase are planned out, you can start thinking about how you’ll promote your capital campaign publicly. Which marketing channels will you use, and how will you use each one to tell the story of your campaign?
Start by choosing several core marketing channels that are relevant to your audience, such as:
Don’t forget to include corporations in your audience and plan to communicate with corporate decision-makers about donating to your campaign. 360MatchPro’s corporate giving trends guide explains that donations from corporations increased by 3.4% in recent years even while individual giving declined—meaning that corporate giving presents a valuable opportunity for your capital campaign.
As you create your campaign communications plan, remember that you can always reach out to a capital campaign consultant for help if you need more direction or expert advice. These professionals know what it takes to run a capital campaign successfully, and they can help you translate that knowledge into powerful campaign communications.
Founder and President Sandra Davis leads Donorly with over 30 years of fundraising experience and leadership. Sandra has consulted on numerous capital campaigns, applying community building techniques, prospect research, and storytelling to help organizations meet and exceed fundraising goals and expand missions. Under her leadership, Donorly has grown to support the fundraising efforts of over 100 clients, helping them raise over $500 million for their respective causes.
