Posts by Andrea Kihlstedt
Capital Campaign Fundraising: How to Raise an Impossible Amount of Money
“You can’t raise THAT much money in our community!” That’s what Sam, the Executive Director of a cultural organization, heard when he talked with some of the leaders in his community. Capital Campaign Fundraising:...
How Consultant-Led Feasibility Studies Can Fail Your Campaign
I remember the moment I started having qualms about feasibility studies. I was sitting in a donor’s office conducting a feasibility study interview and I knew something wasn’t right. I had been a capital campaign...
How to Connect with Capital Campaign Donors BEFORE Your Campaign
One of the most important skills in fundraising is that of learning about your donors. This is particularly important as you prepare for a capital campaign, during which you will be inviting your donors to give large...
Capital Campaign Consultants Should Possess These Four Qualities
As you prepare for a capital campaign, you will wrestle with the question of whether to hire a campaign consultant. And if so, what kind of a consultant to hire. If you’ve never done a campaign before, you may have the...
5 Capital Campaign Tips You Should Never, Ever Forget
These five capital campaign tips keep your focus where it needs to be -- on impact. The bigger and more exciting the impact, the more inclined your donors will be to make extraordinary gifts. 1. Capacity, Not Capital,...
Energize Capital Campaign Volunteers With One Simple Exercise
Plain and simple -- you can’t have a successful capital campaign without volunteers. Your campaign volunteers bring vitality to your campaign. They're in the weeds doing the work. They're making connections. And if...
Two Must-Have Skills for a Successful Capital Campaign
A capital campaign is a long rollercoaster ride. It’s likely to take two or three years. You can be the most prepared organization around and still, you, your staff and your board will be pushed beyond what’s...
Ready for a Capital Campaign? That Depends on Your Top Donors
Are You Ready for a Campaign? Test Yourself! Open a blank document. Without looking at your CRM or other donor lists make a list of the ten people who are likely to make the lead gifts to your campaign. They might be...
5 Capacity Building Opportunities for Your Capital Campaign
Raising money year in, year out for on-going operations feels like a slog. I get it. Every year, you raise your goal by the deadline and then, the next day you start again back at 0. It's essentially starting from...
Want a Complete Roadmap for Your Capital Campaign?
The Capital Campaign Toolkit gives you access to an innovative online platform that provides all the tools, templates, resources and support you need at every stage of your campaign.
