All About Capital Campaigns: Nonprofits, Fundraising, Major Gifts, Toolkit

Amy and Andrea share their current thinking about cases for support and why they recommend donor engagement tools when speaking with donors. You’ll learn what they are and how to develop one for your campaign. It might transform the way you speak with your largest donors.

They also fielded questions about campaign planning, raising money to pay down debt (or not!), and a host of other pressing questions.

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This episode was recorded as part of a live webinar held Monday, May 3, 2021. To participate in future webinars, register at ToolkitTalks.com.

In this episode, Amy and Andrea talk about Feasibility Studies — what they are, why they matter, what else you might call them, and much more. You’ll also learn about the importance of leadership and why, if the leader of your organization isn’t capable, you might think about finding a new job. 

You’ll get a great tip about how to test your case for support. As a bonus, you’ll get a refresher about “yes… and,” along with Oreo cookies as tools of effective fundraising.

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This episode was recorded as part of a live webinar held Monday, April 26, 2021. To participate in future webinars, register at ToolkitTalks.com.

In this episode, Amy and Andrea discuss approaches to raising money as your organization emerges from COVID. They talk about capacity campaigns and mini-campaigns, and they answer a slew of questions about whether and when you can ask donors for yet another gift. 

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This episode was recorded as part of a live webinar held Monday, April 19, 2021. To participate in future webinars, register at ToolkitTalks.com. 

In this episode, Amy and Andrea conduct a lively conversation about training board members. Prompted by many questions, they give a rundown of key things to know about training adults, and board members in particular. You’ll learn why it’s important to get board members talking (and not just listening) during a training. You’ll find out at least two topics that are important for any board training. And you’ll even join a discussion of the current debate over donor-centric and community-centric fundraising.

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This episode was recorded as part of a live webinar held Monday, April 12, 2021. To participate in future webinars, register at ToolkitTalks.com.

Next week, Amy and Andrea will talk about the power of thinking from abundance rather than scarcity. As you get ready to plan a campaign, that kind of open, exciting thinking about what  our organization might be if you didn’t have to pinch every penny will inspire everyone to think bigger. And when it comes to fundraising, inspiring ideas generate larger gifts. Don’t miss this talk. It’s likely to inspire you to shift your mindset.

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This episode was recorded as part of a live webinar on April 5, 2021. To participate in future calls, register at ToolkitTalks.com. 

Today, Amy and Andrea discuss key issues of timing when it comes to capital campaigns. They focus on three key points.  

First, you should resist the temptation to launch a capital campaign for a new building until you've secured a site for the building and have schematic plans.

Second, don’t start a campaign if the leadership of your organization is iffy. Donors give large, generous gifts when they have confidence in the future of the organization.

And third, finish your campaign before the ribbon is cut.  The discussion is lively and questions flow. Take a listen.

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This episode was recorded as part of a live webinar on March 29, 2021. To participate in future calls, register at ToolkitTalks.com. 

In today's episode, Andrea is joined by Sebastian Ruth, Founder and ED of Community Music Works, an organization that is in the midst of a lively and effective campaign. They chat about the lessons they’ve learned through the first two years of the campaign.  They talk about setting goals, board giving and ways to make campaign committees function well.

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This episode was recorded as part of a live webinar on March 22, 2021. To participate in future calls, register at ToolkitTalks.com.  

Amy and Andrea discuss the work to be done once your campaign has reached its goal. They talk about celebrating and reporting and making sure that your donors feel great about the campaign. They highlight the importance of effective post-campaign activity and suggest that it’s really the very beginning of your next campaign.  

And in their wide-ranging discussion, you’ll even learn about “Six Word Stories” and how you can use them to come up with a theme for your campaign.

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Today's episode was recorded on a live webinar on March 15, 2021. To participate in these sessions, register today at ToolkitTalks.com.

Have you ever wondered why capital campaigns raise so much money? Has it dawned on you that you might be able to adopt some of the principles of capital campaign fundraising to the rest of your fundraising program? In this episode, Andrea and Amy discuss why you should adopt a "campaign campaign mindset" and how you might do that.

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This conversation was recorded live on a webinar on March 8, 2021. To participate in this live call, register at ToolkitTalks.com.

In today’s episode, Amy and Andrea discuss an unlikely truth about boards and capital campaigns. You may think that you’ve got to scramble to build a strong board before your campaign, but in today’s episode you’ll learn why that’s not the best strategy. And Andrea shares a remarkable idea about boards that she learned from a major donor some years ago.

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This episode was recorded on a live webinar on March 1, 2021. To participate in these webinars, register at ToolkitTalks.com.