Why Your Capital Campaign Needs a New Communications Plan NOW

You did your feasibility study. You partnered with your lead donors. You planned for everything. But not this.

Whether you are in the planning stages of a capital or major donor campaign, or already in active fundraising mode, one thing is certain: you need a new communications plan—not just one or two emails—that creates strategic and consistent communications with your donors and potential donors.

Industry experts (thank you, Association of Fundraising Professionals) believe that most capital campaigns should continue throughout this pandemic. Remember, you started this campaign because there is a critical need, and that’s not going away. If you wait to launch or finish your campaign you’ll have the same goal with less time in which to reach it.

And slowing or postponing your campaign can send a message to donors that the campaign’s goals weren’t mission critical after all.

While you may be re-calculating the numbers and the planned duration of your campaign, your donors need stewardship now and like never before.

Those who have already given will need reassurance of your steadiness so they know they can still trust you to fulfill the campaign’s vision. Donors yet to give, and donors yet to be asked, need to hear from you frequently to reassure them of your importance. They also need to know you have a plan for how to fulfill both your mission and campaign goals during these unsteady times.

So map out a smart, strategic sequencing of communications and consider the best medium for each. Use your brand strategy and your organization’s values as the guides for what to do, what to say and how to act. This will remind donors why they fell in love with you in the first place, and reassure them that they can still count on you to achieve the results they want to see. Most importantly, make your donors the center of your communications so they see themselves as intricately woven into your success.

We can help. Mission Minded’s experience creating powerful communications for capital, endowment, and major donor campaigns is deep and we are here and ready to support you craft a compelling plan in short order. Since we’ve been working remotely for nearly 20 years we can jump right in.

“The resiliency [of our sector] is exceeding our expectations. The creativity and ingenuity people are using is extraordinary. Nonprofits have always had to be more creative than the private sector due to resource constraint. We have an opportunity to demonstrate that we are meeting this challenge. The most important thing, the thread that holds this together, is communication. It’s communication, communication, communication.”

-Kay Sprinkel Grace, nationally acclaimed Development Consultant and Author, March 23, 2020

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– Your long-term strategic priorities will still be important, even after the pandemic passes, leaving you with less time to address them. Learn how you can get ahead of this now.