Getting Your Staff Ready for a Capital Campaign: 7 Tips

Guest post by Steven Shattuck of Capital Campaign Pro

A capital campaign changes the way a nonprofit operates. Staff members who once focused primarily on annual fundraising, program delivery, or operations often find themselves involved in donor visits, campaign messaging, stewardship plans, feasibility study interviews, and major gift conversations. Expectations mount across the organization while day-to-day responsibilities continue.

That combination can create real pressure for nonprofit teams.

Organizations often spend significant time preparing campaign materials, prospect strategies, fundraising goals, and feasibility studies. Fundraising staff readiness deserves the same level of attention.

A feasibility study can reveal a great deal about campaign potential, donor interest, and fundraising capacity. It can also reveal whether staff members feel prepared for the work ahead. Campaign readiness should include both donor and internal readiness. Campaigns are driven by relationships and conversations. The organizations that prepare their people well tend to create stronger donor experiences, better internal alignment, and more fundraising momentum.

Here are seven strategies that can help your staff prepare for a successful capital campaign.

1. Start Preparing Earlier Than You Think

Many organizations begin campaign preparation too late. Staff development should begin well before the quiet phase starts. In many cases, preparation should begin even before the feasibility study process is complete. Stakeholders—including your staff, board, and major giving prospects—need time to understand the campaign vision, absorb the priorities, and become comfortable discussing the campaign with others.

Early preparation also helps reduce uncertainty within your organization. Staff members are more likely to contribute confidently when they have time to ask questions, process expectations, and understand how the campaign will affect their work.

Campaign readiness is an ongoing process that develops over time through communication, preparation, and repetition.

2. Invest in Additional Staff Capacity

Capital campaigns will significantly increase workloads across your nonprofit. Development teams manage more donor meetings, proposals, reports, stewardship activity, and internal coordination. Executive leaders spend more time in campaign conversations and relationship management. Program staff are often pulled into tours, donor visits, and campaign-related events.

At the same time, your organization still has to operate normally. Annual fundraising, communications, events, programs, and administrative responsibilities continue throughout the campaign.

Many nonprofits underestimate how much additional capacity a campaign requires. To prepare, your organization should evaluate staffing needs early and identify areas where additional support may be necessary. That may include:

• Hiring campaign support staff

• Expanding development operations support

• Bringing in temporary administrative help

• Increasing communications capacity

• Using outside consultants for specialized campaign work

Capital campaigns often last several years. Staff members who are already stretched thin before the campaign begins may struggle to sustain the pace and intensity of campaign activity without additional support.

3. Decide What Can Be Outsourced, Delegated, or Paused

One of the most useful campaign planning exercises is identifying work that can be removed from the core team’s plate during the campaign. Campaigns create new priorities, and your organization will need room to handle them.

Leadership teams should assess:

• Which responsibilities can be outsourced

• Which tasks can be delegated internally

• Which activities can be simplified

• Which projects can be postponed until after the campaign

Some organizations outsource portions of their communications work, donor research, database management, or event coordination during a campaign. Others temporarily reduce lower-priority initiatives so staff can concentrate on donor engagement and campaign execution. This process frees you to focus staff time on the work that matters most. 

4. Clarify Every Staff Member’s Role

A campaign affects your entire organization, even when only a few people are directly responsible for fundraising. Each staff member should understand:

• The purpose of the campaign

• The campaign priorities

• Their role in the process

• What donors may ask them

• How they should communicate about the campaign

Program teams, operations staff, and administrative employees all influence donor perception, and a donor’s experience includes every interaction they have with your organization. With sharper internal clarity, your nonprofit will have greater external consistency during stakeholder conversations.

5. Train Staff to Tell the Campaign Story

Capital campaigns are built on vision and impact. Staff members need to communicate clearly. Staff members who participate in feasibility study conversations or campaign planning discussions should feel comfortable explaining the organization’s priorities and future direction to your target audience.

Every team member should be able to explain:

• Why the campaign matters

• What problem your organization is solving

• What impact the campaign will create

• Why support is needed now

Strong campaign communication does not equate to memorized talking points. Donors respond best to conversations that sound natural and grounded in genuine belief. Training sessions focused on storytelling can help staff connect campaign priorities to real outcomes and experiences. That preparation becomes especially valuable during donor visits, events, tours, feasibility study interviews, and informal conversations.

6. Give Staff Time and Tools to Practice High-Stakes Gift Conversations

This is one of the most overlooked parts of campaign preparation. Feasibility studies help you determine whether your organization is truly prepared to ask for transformational gifts. In many cases, the issue is not donor capacity. It is staff confidence and preparation.

Many fundraisers spend years in development work without much experience in making major gift asks. They may attend trainings or observe experienced fundraisers, yet still enter high-stakes donor meetings without sufficient rehearsal. As a result, they often hesitate to discuss large gift amounts, respond to objections, or guide conversations toward a direct ask.

Organizations should create opportunities for staff to practice these conversations before campaign solicitations begin. Roleplay sessions, coaching, and rehearsal exercises help staff build confidence and improve communication skills in a lower-pressure setting. Staff members can rehearse campaign asks, work through difficult donor responses, and receive feedback during and after the session. That repetition helps fundraisers feel more prepared when real donor meetings take place.

A campaign may include a small number of conversations that shape millions of dollars in giving. Organizations should prepare for those conversations with the same level of seriousness they bring to feasibility studies, campaign planning, and prospect strategy.

7. Build Feedback and Support Into the Campaign Process

Campaign readiness should continue after donor meetings begin. Teams benefit from regular debriefs and feedback discussions that focus on:

• What went well

• What could improve

• Donor reactions and questions

• Messaging adjustments

• Lessons from recent meetings

This process helps staff improve over time and creates a culture that values learning and preparation.

Leadership also plays an important role in maintaining staff confidence throughout the campaign. Capital campaigns create sustained pressure and visibility for nonprofit teams. Staff members often balance fundraising goals, budgetary concerns, donor expectations, and increased workloads over an extended period of time.

Organizations that communicate regularly, recognize progress, and provide ongoing support tend to maintain stronger morale throughout the campaign process. People communicate more effectively with donors when they feel informed, supported, and connected to the campaign vision.

Final Thoughts

Capital campaigns need more than a solid fundraising strategy. They test your organizational alignment, communication, capacity, and confidence. Organizations that prepare their staff early, create additional capacity, clarify priorities, and practice for high-stakes donor conversations place themselves in a much stronger position for campaign success. Campaigns succeed through conversations, relationships, and trust. Staff preparation shapes all three.

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Steven Shattuck is Director of Engagement and Technology at Capital Campaign Pro, where he helps nonprofit organizations strengthen fundraising strategy, donor engagement, and campaign readiness.

6 Tips for Finding & Engaging Your Nonprofit’s Ideal Donors

Guest post by Allegiant Group

Whether you’re planning your annual year-end campaign or strategizing the best way to grow your monthly giving program, the key to success remains the same: engaging people who want to champion your cause.

But before you can inspire these individuals to support your cause, you first need to establish who your ideal donor is. With this deep understanding of potential donors, you can avoid casting too wide a net and instead put resources toward approaching the most promising donors. 

Connecting with your ideal donors is a two-step process: identifying them and developing targeted ways to engage them. This guide explores how to navigate each of these phases.

Identifying Donors

1. Define Ideal Donor Profile(s)

Before you can pinpoint your ideal donors, you need to know what you’re looking for in a supporter. Using internal and external data (e.g., existing donor data stored in your CRM as well as third-party data), build a composite picture of your ideal supporter by outlining:

• Giving behaviors, including their average donation amount, gift frequency, and preferred giving method 

• Engagement history beyond financial support, such as participating in corporate volunteerism or providing in-kind donations of goods or services

• Communication preferences, such as their most used communication channels, desired messaging frequency, and formats

• Demographic information, including age, gender, occupation, income, relationship status, geographic location, etc.

• Psychographic data, like values, likes and dislikes, hobbies, and habits (e.g., are they a spender or saver?)

• Wealth indicators, such as real estate ownership, political donations, or stock holdings, can indicate a donor’s giving capacity

• Other philanthropic contributions, such as significant contributions to peer organizations 

Your donors will likely have various interests, lifestyles, giving abilities, or be in different stages of life, meaning you may have more than one “ideal donor.” Ensure you can understand and speak to each of these audiences, and make a strong case for support that resonates with their unique motivations.

2. Create Donor Segments

As mentioned, you donors aren’t a monolith. Once you know who you’re targeting, break down your audience into actionable segments based on shared characteristics. This might mean segmenting by giving capacity, affinity for individual programs or issues, engagement level, age group, etc. Think of segmentation as a way to include everyone in your mission in the most engaging way possible, not to exclude anyone.

For example, you might create segments of prospective, first-time, small-dollar, mid-level, and major donors. Then, customize outreach to each segment by using tailored messaging, channels, and strategies. For example, first-time donors likely want to learn more about your cause, so you might launch an educational email welcome series. Major donors, on the other hand, require personal, one-on-one communications like phone calls or meetings where you discuss the impact of their last gift.

3. Uncover Hidden Opportunities With Technology

Building out a robust fundraising tech stack can drive revenue by helping you reach wider audiences, automate administrative tasks, and enhance marketing efforts. Technology can help you identify key opportunities that may have otherwise slipped through the cracks by:

• Centralizing information, allowing you to view your full donor database at once and make connections that wouldn’t be visible across siloed or fragmented data.

• Automatically segmenting and/or scoring donors based on giving level, engagement history, and alignment with your campaign.

• Leveraging predictive analytics by tracking historical patterns and using AI models to predict which donors are most likely to give again or respond to appeals.

• Conducting comprehensive prospect research to identify “hidden” prospects that may not be obvious from donation history alone.

If you’re planning to switch or upgrade your technology, always prioritize security over features. Nonprofits should ask questions about data security, ownership, infrastructure, and sourcing. This protects your most valuable asset—donor trust—by preventing leaks that compromise their data.

Engaging Donors

4. Align Outreach Donor Motivations

Once you know who you're talking to, adapt your communication strategies to resonate with them by:

• Using preferred channels. Meet donors where they are, not where you want them to be. Refer back to your donor profiles to identify the channels they engage with the most. Then, craft messages that align with best practices for those preferred channels. For example, use punchy subject lines, personalized greetings, and concise, clear body copy for email communications.

• Matching messages to motivations. Tailor the focus of each message to the donor segment’s interests to ensure your communications feel personal and relevant. This might mean sharing impact stories from the programs they’re most passionate about or updating them on policy changes that were made possible by their advocacy. 

• Tailoring language and visuals. Adjust your tone, visuals, and calls to action as needed. While you should maintain consistent branding, you might take on a slightly more casual tone for general Gen Z donors and a more professional one for mid-level Gen X donors. NPOInfo’s guide to donor cultivation also suggests making personalized engagement recommendations, such as inviting them to events or linking to blog posts about topics they might be interested in.

Infusing social proof into your communications will add a layer of trust and credibility that inspires donors to take action. Incorporate testimonials, interviews from beneficiaries, and impact statistics to show donors the tangible change that’s only possible because of their support. 

5. Optimize Your Website

When potential donors learn about your organization, your website is typically the first place they go to learn more. As Allegiance Group + Pursuant’s guide to nonprofit web design highlights, an effective website will boost supporter trust and increase engagement.

The article also recommends including the following essential elements in your web design:

• Background information about your organization

• Details about your work (areas of concern, who you serve, specific programs, etc.)

• Prominent donate buttons

• A streamlined donation form

• Resources (e.g., educational blog posts, program updates, etc.)

• Engagement opportunities

• Event calendar

• Impact data

• ADA-compliant accessibility

• Mobile-friendly design

Incorporating each of these elements not only positions your organization as professional and trustworthy but also makes it easy for supporters to find educational resources and opportunities to get involved.

6. Test & Refine Outreach

Finally, you’ll need to track, test, and refine your outreach strategies to ensure your investment pays off. Monitor metrics like message open rates, click-through rates, and social media engagement to understand which strategies are effective. Replicate successful tactics, and workshop or phase out those that don’t resonate with your audience.

Additionally, continue experimenting to identify new ways to inspire support by running small tests with key donor segments or running A/B tests to compare different strategies. Stay on top of nonprofit marketing trends and try out new tools and technologies often. This might look like implementing AI-powered tech into your approach or increasingly targeting Gen Z donors as their giving capacity grows.

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When targeting your ideal donor, precision beats guesswork every time. Blending data, digital strategy, and audience alignment allows your nonprofit to deepen donor relationships and foster sustainable, long-term growth.

How to Incorporate Donor Cultivation into Fundraising Plans

Guest post by Aly Sterling

Put yourself in a prospect’s shoes. Suppose you were to receive a donation request immediately after subscribing to a nonprofit’s newsletter for the first time. You’d probably be alarmed at the organization’s audacity and reconsider engaging with it.

As Aly Sterling Philanthropy’s donor stewardship guide explains, “Before you can jump into requesting a donation from a prospective donor, your nonprofit needs to form the basic building blocks for a long-term relationship. This will make the transition to a donation request much smoother and more relevant.”

This guide will explore how to build donor cultivation into your nonprofit’s fundraising plan so you can initiate relationships with prospects that lay the groundwork for future monetary giving.

1. Educate prospects about your mission.

Before new prospects even think about giving, they want to understand what your organization is all about. Help them explore your nonprofit and its cause by:

• Sending them educational materials. Compile content that welcomes prospects to your organization and familiarizes them with your mission. These materials may include a synopsis of your nonprofit’s history, a blog post emphasizing why your cause is so important, and a news article explaining your mission's relevance to current events.

• Sharing beneficiary videos. With your beneficiaries’ permission, film them sharing their stories and how your organization has helped them. This form of user-generated content (UGC) allows you to convey your mission authentically and demonstrate your impact.

• Hosting workshops. Invite prospects to attend virtual or in-person workshops explaining your core programs and projects. Allow them to ask questions about how your organization operates and how they can get involved.

Once prospects better understand your nonprofit’s work, they’ll get an idea of how they’d like to lend their support and start to picture themselves as part of your organization’s community.

2. Segment prospects.

As you get to know prospects, gather and record pertinent information about them. Using this data, segment prospects based on similar characteristics so you can personalize communications and connect with them on a deeper level.

For example, you may group prospects by:

• Giving capacity with groups for potential small, mid-level and major donors

• History with your organization, segmented by length or area of involvement

• Demographics like age and location

• Motivation or interests as they relate to your mission

• Communication preferences, such as phone, email or direct mail

Update these segments in your nonprofit’s CRM as you learn more about new prospects. If you want to expand your knowledge of prospects further and target them even more precisely, consider conducting a data append. For example, enriching your database may allow you to access key lifestyle information, such as other charities your prospects support, so you understand the other causes they’re passionate about.

3. Develop personalized communications.

Personalization shows you care about prospects as individuals and offers insight into the treatment and acknowledgment they can expect if they become donors. Additionally, it ensures that the messages you send to prospects resonate, making them more likely to take action.

Use the information you’ve gathered to customize messages following these tips:

• Greet prospects by name. Consider the subject lines “Learn more about our nonprofit!” and “Elliot, explore how you can get involved!” While both essentially convey the same information, incorporating the prospect’s name adds a personal touch that may entice them to open and engage with your message. Use your CRM’s automation tools to insert prospect names into messages for efficient customization.

• Reference past interactions. Just as you feel understood when a friend brings up something you did or mentioned in the past, the same goes for your prospects. Referencing past interactions shows you listen to prospects and want to develop strong relationships with them. For example, you may ask a prospect how they felt about an event they attended last week or how their recent vacation went.

• Focus on their interests. Your nonprofit likely covers various different initiatives and programs. Find out what prospects are passionate about and put those at the forefront of your messaging. For instance, send prospects interested in your disaster relief efforts case studies of beneficiaries you’ve helped through that programming.

• Leverage their preferred communication channels. Following prospects’ communication preferences shows you’re attentive to their needs. Let them know they can change their preferences or opt out of communications altogether at any time.

Assess how prospects respond to your personalization efforts by tracking engagement metrics like open and click-through rates. Consider surveying prospects to understand how you can further tailor your messaging to their interests and needs.

4. Offer nonmonetary engagement opportunities.

There are various ways prospects can get involved before donating. Ensure they’re aware of all the nonmonetary engagement opportunities available to them, including:

• Volunteering. Let prospects know about different volunteer roles and how they can participate. Additionally, many prospects may not know they can help your nonprofit earn money just by volunteering. According to Double the Donation, 40% of Fortune 500 companies offer volunteer grants, which are funds employers contribute to the organizations their employees volunteer with. Encourage prospects to check their volunteer grant eligibility and apply for this funding to help your nonprofit without reaching into their own pockets yet.

• Advocacy. Prospects especially passionate about your cause may be interested in advocacy work. Equip them with resources like templates and brand guidelines so they can communicate about your mission according to your guidelines. You may also send them relevant petitions they can share and invite them to canvass your community.

• Events. Events allow you to meet with prospects face-to-face and introduce them to your community. Consider hosting facility tours, open houses, networking events, and panels that help prospects become more deeply ingrained in your cause.

Offering nonmonetary engagement opportunities not only helps you engage prospects but also retain current supporters. Donors will appreciate the ability to help your cause between donations so they can make a larger impact without contributing more financially.

Engaging Students: 6 Innovative School Fundraising Events

Guest post by ABC Fundraising

According to ABC Fundraising, 80% of parents who model philanthropic behavior see their children mirror these habits. To inspire the next generation of givers, the adults in their lives need to do their part—and that doesn’t have to stop at home.

School is where students learn about math, science, history, and language arts, but it’s also where they learn important life skills. By planning and hosting fundraising events your students will enjoy, you can get them excited about giving back and earn more for your school at the same time.

In this guide, we’ll review several school fundraising event ideas to engage your students and boost revenue. Remember to adapt these ideas to your school’s unique student body as needed. Let’s get started!

1. Color Run

A color run is a twist on traditional school fundraising ideas like fun runs and walkathons. Instead of simply collecting pledges and running or walking to support your school, color runs involve volunteers throwing colored powder on participants as they complete the route.

To host a successful color run, keep the following tips in mind:

• Find a suitable outdoor space. Look for an open park or field where you can host your color run. Alternatively, you can host the event on school grounds if you have ample space.

• Gather the necessary supplies. Perhaps the most important element of a color run is the color itself. Purchase non-toxic, environmentally friendly color powder, or make your own using cornstarch, water, and food dye. Additionally, stock up on water, bib numbers, and first aid supplies.

• Tell participants to wear white. To make the colors pop, participants should wear white during the color run. You may even create and hand out white t-shirts with your school and event name for a personal touch.

Make your color run even more fun with some live entertainment. Consider hiring a DJ or even just playing family-friendly music to create an exciting atmosphere.

2. Carnival

Spring is the perfect time of year to host a school carnival fundraiser. The nice weather will encourage students and their families to join the fun and support your school.

Make your carnival extra engaging by incorporating:

• Games. Classic carnival games like ring toss, balloon darts, and basketball shooting are sure to be crowd-pleasers for students and parents alike.

• Activities. Get younger students excited about your carnival with bounce houses, face painting, and craft stations.

• Snacks. Serve all the best carnival delights, including cotton candy, popcorn, funnel cakes, and snow cones.

• Sponsors with giveaways. Local businesses could want a booth to demonstrate community spirit and distribute their own products, gift cards, or coupons.

To make your carnival a success, you’ll need a solid team of volunteers to check people in and run each booth. Whether your volunteers are older students, teachers, or parents, remember to thank them for their hard work and dedication to your fundraising event.

3. Talent Show

A talent show allows students to showcase their passions and become directly involved in hosting your fundraising event. Prepare for the big day by:

• Holding auditions. While you don’t necessarily need to reject any acts from your show, holding auditions encourages students to take the show seriously and allows you to make sure each act is school-appropriate.

• Selling tickets. The main fundraising aspect of your talent show will come from selling tickets to friends, family, and community members. Use online invitation software along with your typical communication channels to share event details and include a ticket sales link.

• Having a practice run. Familiarize students with your show order and the feeling of getting on stage in front of an audience. A practice run or rehearsal is also an ideal opportunity for testing out any equipment you’ll use during your talent show, such as microphones and speakers.

Remind students they don’t have to have a traditional talent like singing or playing an instrument to participate in your talent show. Encourage everyone interested to sign up and show off their skills.

4. Read-a-thon

Incentivize students to read and earn more for your school with a read-a-thon. During a read-a-thon, students collect pledges from friends and family and earn donations based on how many pages they read or how much time they spend reading.

Try out these tips to make your read-a-thon more engaging for students:

• Host a kick-off event. Get students excited about your read-a-thon by celebrating the beginning of your fundraiser with a party. Offer cozy spots for students to read, announce your fundraising goal, and invite local authors to speak and sign books.

• Incentivize participation. Besides earning donations for your school, provide further incentives for students to participate. You may offer individual prizes for students who read the most pages or use team prizes to inspire friendly competition between classes or grades.

• Hold a book drive. Take this opportunity to collect in-kind donations of new and gently used books, either for your own classrooms or for children in need. Explain to students the importance of sustainability and donating items you no longer use instead of discarding them.

Provide reading logs or digital trackers to help students keep track of the number of books and pages they read. That way, they can more easily collect pledges and measure their progress.

5. Restaurant Proceeds Night

A restaurant proceeds night (an evening where a restaurant donates a percentage of its proceeds to your school) presents a win-win-win opportunity for everyone involved. Students and families get a delicious meal, local restaurants receive more business, and your school earns more revenue.

This type of fundraiser can also be the beginning of an impactful partnership between your school and the restaurant that increases the return on investment (ROI) for both parties. For instance, they may be willing to sponsor or donate to future fundraising events in exchange for promoting their business.

To facilitate these partnerships, Double the Donation’s corporate sponsorship guide recommends working with businesses that share your values and believe in your cause. Consider having a partnership discussion before working with a particular business or scouring their website to see the types of organizations they typically support.

6. Movie Night

Looking for a low-cost yet inclusive and engaging school fundraising event? Look no further than a movie night.

All you need to host a successful movie night is:

• A movie. Choose a movie that’s family-friendly but also appealing to students of all ages. Survey your student body so they can vote on their top choices. Don’t forget to first secure a license for a public showing, as this may also influence your selection.

• A place to show your movie. You may host your movie night in your school auditorium, a classroom, outside on school grounds, at a local park, or a movie theater, depending on your resources and turnout.

• A TV or projector. If you’re hosting the movie night at your school or a park, you’ll need a TV or projector to show the movie to everyone.

Hosting concurrent fundraising ideas can create an even more immersive experience and raise more for your cause. For example, a concurrent fundraiser that aligns with the theater theme would be selling popcorn at your movie night. From traditional movie theater butter to sweet kettle corn, the possibilities are endless.