You’re Using Campaigns as a Crutch!

If your non-profit has done more than two capital campaigns in its history, it’s most likely because you don’t have a strong major gift program and/or you’re using it as a crutch not to develop authentic relationships with donors.

At Veritus, we have seen this repeatedly. Many non-profits go into one campaign almost immediately after completing another.  And don’t even get me started with Universities. They are the worst. Why? Because the majority of higher-ed major gift programs are focused solely on money.

Now, to my capital campaign colleagues out there, I’m not against campaigns. I’m just against using them in lieu of developing a robust mid, major, and planned giving program that focuses on the passions and interests of the donor.

I have seen how a campaign can introduce a new sense of energy and optimism for donors. It’s fun to get involved in something new and to get excited about something. No doubt.  In fact, it can be a great entrée to helping non-profits develop all kinds of inspiring donor offers from current projects and programs.

But, without a solid major gift program that focuses on understanding the passions and interests of the donor as it relates to all of your amazing projects and programs you currently have, then you’re just using a campaign to cover up the fact that you haven’t done your work of understanding who your donors are.

Additionally, campaigns notoriously focus all their energy on the money. The vast majority of campaigns all focus on the total revenue that must be raised. It becomes all about the money. Long-term engagement for donors and success for a non-profit’s major gift program are crushed by focusing on the money over the relationship.

Instead of relying on a campaign to raise a significant amount of money over a relatively short period of time, invest in your mid, major, and planned giving program significantly. That way, over a longer period, you can build up a significant, sustaining amount of yearly revenue.

The only way to do that is to have the discipline to build the structure and process necessary to help your frontline fundraisers develop authentic relationships with donors.

If you build your program this way, and you really get to know your donors, any new vision for your organization will be funded. Your donors will trust that the gifts that they have already given made an impact on their community. And, they will have experienced joy in their giving. Asking them to do more, if it’s something they are passionate about, will only inspire them to say, “Yes!”

You don’t need to keep running campaigns to get your donors energized and inspired. If you have a solid major gift program in place, every day you should be inspiring your donors to engage more deeply and to give at higher levels that further your mission.

If you get your development house in order and resource it correctly, you will realize higher levels of revenue on a sustaining basis. Not like a rollercoaster that a campaign yields.

Jeff