Summary: In today’s podcast episode, Andrea Kihlstedt from Capital Campaign Toolkit and Stephen Halasnik from Financing Solutions discuss what it takes to have a successful capital campaign, and innovations in Nonprofit capital campaigns amid the covid-19 pandemic. These tips can help strengthen your organization’s ability to generate capital effectively.

Establish a Clear Vision for your Capital Campaign

The first step an organization can take when beginning a capital campaign is to establish a clear vision or mission for the campaign. Having a clear vision of where you want the campaign to go allows everyone within the organization to be on board and engaged with your plan and ensures that resources are allocated accordingly to your plan. Capital campaigns often have big goals with high stakes, making the importance of a clearly established vision even more important.

Plan Strategically for your Capital Campaign

For nonprofit organizations of any size, strategic planning is essential to getting your capital campaign up and running. Capital campaigns are rare, with most happening every ten to fifteen years and lasting no longer than three years. It is important for organizations to know that the capital campaign is temporary and should not be used for long-term fundraising.

Establishing campaign committees is one way to ensure that your organization is on the right track when tackling various aspects of the campaign. Overall, strategic planning helps to establish a vision for the campaign and the steps needed to make the vision come true.

Consult with Experts

For many organizations, starting a capital campaign can be intimidating. Consulting with experts in capital generation can help an organization take its capital campaigns to the next level. Capital Campaign Toolkit provides organizations with a step-by-step guide on how to get started and everything an organization needs to have a successful capital campaign. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, virtual consulting has proven to be effective and less expensive for smaller organizations.

Successful Capital Campaigns Advance the Organization

Capital campaigns help an organization’s annual fundraising efforts. Capital campaigns should leave members more inspired and with better communication skills. A successful capital campaign can also help redefine an organization’s overall vision.

Organizations also stand to gain fundraising skills during and after the capital campaign process. One way for an organization to raise capital is by encouraging donors to pledge major gifts for your campaign. Donors are more likely to participate when they are aware of your organization’s plans to carry its mission forward.

Leadership is Key to Effectiveness

Leadership capability is a key indicator of whether an organization will have a successful capital campaign or not. Strong Leadership behavior involves motivating employees, looking at the big picture, and decision making, all of which promote campaign functionality.

About Andrea Kihlstedt from Capital Campaign Toolkit

Andrea Kihlstedt is a campaign consultant of more than 25 years. Andrea has helped various organizations raise millions of dollars and has written three books on how organizations can improve their fundraising abilities. She is the co-developer for The Fundraising School in Indiana, the co-founder of Asking Matters, and co-founder of Capital Campaign Masters. She currently lives in New York City with her husband, Tyko, and blogs regularly on her own website, AndreaKihlstedt.com.

About The Host Stephen Halasnik, Financing Solutions

Stephen Halasnik is the host of the popular, The Nonprofit MBA Podcast. The Nonprofit MBA podcast’s purpose is to help nonprofit leaders. Stephen is the Co-founder and Managing Partner of Financing Solutions, a leading provider of loans for nonprofits in the form of Lines of Credit to nonprofits. Stephen is a best-selling Amazon author and is considered a leading authority on building great, purpose-driven businesses. Stephen lives in New Jersey with his wife, Gina. Mr. Halasnik’s number one purpose is raising his two boys, Michael and Maxwell, to be good men.

10% of profits from Financing Solutions is donated to charity.