Capital Campaigns #8: Beyond The Organizational Family

By Hank Lewis, MA, CFRM on November 19, 2010

Once the “Quiet Phase” has been completed and the various “campaigns” for the Hospital Family are well under way, solicitation can begin in the next group of prospects – corporations, small businesses and the individual prospects assigned to Divisions tasked with obtaining gifts in various specific dollar ranges (i.e., $3,000-$5,999 and/or $6,000-$9.999). But … there […]

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Capital Campaigns #7: Beginning the Extended Campaign

By Hank Lewis, MA, CFRM on November 16, 2010

As with the basic campaign, you must start with the knowledge of where the commitments will come from to achieve your dollar goal … only this time you are not limiting yourself to a relatively few major donors. This time, in addition to the major donors, you will need specific sums from different segments of […]

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Capital Campaigns #6: Structuring The “Basic” Campaign

By Hank Lewis, MA, CFRM on November 12, 2010

The “basic” campaign is active for a very short period of time, with relatively few donors. It is often said that if you have a $1 million goal, find someone with $1 million get them to give it to you … and your campaign is over !! Since that doesn’t happen too often, there should […]

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Impress Funders with Your Grant Proposal: Target Your Outcomes

By Andrew Grant on November 9, 2010

Back in the early days of my career – when high tech meant you had a fax machine – one of my proposals to the National Endowment for the Humanities for an elementary school enrichment project was rejected, and we wanted to find out if it made sense to reapply. I traveled from New York […]

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Capital Campaigns #5: Choosing Your Campaign Objectives

By Hank Lewis, MA, CFRM on November 5, 2010

A basic concept of capital campaigns is that you shouldn’t need to go beyond the smallest number of major donors necessary to reach your goal. Referencing Tuesday’s posting, however, the decision you must make is what you want to accomplish with your campaign. If you want to keep it simple, and all you want/need is […]

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Capital Campaigns #4: More Than Raising Money

By Hank Lewis, MA, CFRM on November 2, 2010

It’s important to understand that, for many nonprofits, the benefits of conducting a successful capital campaign often extend beyond merely raising a specific amount of money. Of course, the purpose of the campaign is to raise the dollars, but an effective/successful campaign will also have a number of very worthwhile side benefits: • The more […]

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Corporate Support of Special Events

By Natalie Lewis on October 29, 2010

Reading Hank’s postings on “Corporate Fundraising,” made me think about a recent series of conversations my firm has had with a potential client about managing a conference (including a major dinner event) for them. During one of those conversations, I was asked about assisting them with getting corporate sponsors for the conference. My response to […]

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Capital Campaigns #3: Are You Ready For A Capital Campaign?? … A Quick Checklist

By Hank Lewis, MA, CFRM on October 26, 2010

Being “ready” for a Capital Campaign does not mean that the CEO and/or Board/Staff members have decided they want or need to raise a lot of money. Being “ready” means that all the elements are in place to assure success if a capital campaign is implemented. An organization/board cannot risk committing to a capital campaign […]

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Capital Campaigns – Part #2: What They’re Not

By Hank Lewis, MA, CFRM on October 22, 2010

• A capital campaign is not a “fundraiser.” It is as far beyond a dinner event as building a motorcycle is beyond building a skateboard. • A capital campaign is not for the faint of heart. In conducting a capital campaign, an organization puts its credibility and its future on the line. It is one […]

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Capital Campaigns – Part #1: What They Are

By Hank Lewis, MA, CFRM on October 19, 2010

This series of postings (don’t know yet how many will be in the series) is to help you understand and prepare for a capital campaign, so that, when you hire a staff campaign director or engage counsel, their time (and your money) will be used most effectively. To start, a definition: A Capital Campaign is […]

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