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How to Start a Capital Campaign

This straightforward article provides a roadmap for the steps needed to undertake a capital campaign. The reader will find here an approach that is both comprehensive and manageable. This is recommended as a good first step in the discerning process for your ministry as you consider such a major undertaking.

A capital campaign can be one of the most challenging and exciting times a ministry will ever experience. It's exhilarating when large numbers of people are working together towards a faith-stretching goal at the same time. Of course, there is much work to be done, and many details to be managed.

But don't worry - the good news is that other Christian nonprofits have gone before you and there are lessons to be learned from their experience. Better yet, if you have a clear sense that God is leading you into a capital campaign, then you can also be sure that He who began a good work in you (and your ministry) will be faithful to complete it.

Here are the basics to help you get started:

Plan. Devoting time to good prayerful planning now will save you much heartache later. Donors are turned off by poorly planned campaigns and are not eager to bail out organizations that didn't plan well. Before you invest energy into planning the campaign, though, you should first be sure that you have the endorsement and support of your leadership and board. If they are convinced as you are about the need, and are ready to work hard alongside of you, the stage is set to begin planning.

Pray. The very first thing you should do in the planning phase is pray, and develop a plan to integrate prayer into the fabric of the entire campaign. Prayer should not merely be something we add on to our to-do list because we are a Christian organization; rather, it should permeate every activity so that the power and leading of God is invited into the entire process.

Case Statement. The next item to plan for is the case statement. The case statement is simply articulating the vision God has revealed to you so that others can understand it and participate in it. What is the compelling need God is calling your ministry to address? What will it take to meet that need? Write out a clear picture of what the future could look like and how much it will cost.

Budget. Now you ready for the next step in planning- the budget. Later in this article, we'll look at how you can evaluate the feasibility of your income goal. The budget and feasibility study are really important because they will help you know throughout the campaign if you are on track with your financial goals. On the expense side, you should also itemize what it will cost to set up and implement the campaign.

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