#3 Capital Campaign Readiness: Are Your Volunteer Leaders Ready to Launch a Capital Campaign?

Ready to turn your campaign goals into reality? Don’t navigate the complexities alone. The Gail Perry Group offers free strategy calls with our experienced consultants. Reach out at capitalcampaigns@gailperry.com to schedule your call today!

Capital campaigns are exciting! They hold the power to transform your work, your opportunities and your mission. But let’s be real – we all know they are a heavy and complex lift. 

One key success factor: The strength of your volunteer leadership. 

The right volunteer leaders can absolutely make or break your campaign.

That’s where this handy checklist comes in. We want to guide you to gauge your volunteer leadership readiness and set you on the path to a super successful campaign.

Why Do We Need Strong Volunteer Leadership for Capital Campaigns?

Why are influential leaders so crucial for capital campaigns? It all comes down to trust. 

You need strong trust and organizational credibility to back up your campaign initiative, and these lovely leaders can help you build it. 

You’ll want to enlist key leaders who have earned personal credibility in your community. Their endorsement can add connections with other philanthropists and leaders.  

When major community leaders step up to champion your campaign, it’s like a big thumbs-up to potential donors. Plus, they can bring a “multiplier effect” to draw more attention to your cause. 

Since a capital campaign is built on major gifts, you also want volunteer leaders who have financial capacity to make leadership campaign gifts. Their early enthusiasm and investments will help attract other donors, creating a wonderful ripple of generosity!

The Volunteer Leadership Checklist: A Deep Dive

Let’s explore each question in more detail:

1. Do you have a history of influential people involved with your cause in the past? 

Can you evaluate the people who have been involved with your organization in the past? They can actually be a fantastic predictor of future support. 

When former leaders already understand your work and its value, it’s easy to rekindle their enthusiasm. Consider looking back through your donor records, event attendees, and especially your neglected former board members. 

Who are the former donors and leaders of your past capital campaigns? Reviewing your past leaders will help you discover some hidden gems!

2. Can you enlist top leaders in your community to help lead your campaign? 

Think about well-known figures, business and social leaders, or philanthropists in your area. How about a former mayor or governor? Could you access them? 

Also, consider the top community leaders and stakeholders in your service community. Who is well-known and respected? Who are the influencers in your specific community? 

Ask yourself: Do these individuals align with our mission? Do you have access or can you gain it? 

Why not make a list of your Dream Team Campaign Committee? That’s an exciting initiative that will probably get everyone fired-up! ! 

3. Do you have influential people currently involved with your cause? 

It’s excellent if you have some influential and well-known people already involved.   

Who are your “Influencers”?  What doors can they open? Who can they influence? 

These individuals might be current board members, major donors, or volunteers. Start by identifying the network of key leaders that you have right now. 

How strong are your relationships with them? Can you get them even more involved right now? 

Why not engage them immediately by having Advice Visits with them. Seek their input about your early campaign planning – and you’ll find some doors they can open right now. 

We run an exercise with our clients that we call the Sphere of Influence Analysis – and the format helps board members and current leaders think broadly about the potential of their personal networks.

4. Can you identify potential campaign leaders and create a plan to enlist them? 

This is where a little (or a lot!) research comes in. What are their interests? What’s their giving history? How strong is your relationship with them? 

Who do they know? And, more importantly, who can influence them? 

Once you have identified your Dream Team Campaign Committee leaders, it’s time to look deeply into your connections with them. Often there are a series of steps to take before your leaders are able to get an in-person meeting with the right leaders.

Consider creating a personalized outreach plan to engage them. Start by asking for advice, having coffee, or having a brief meeting to brainstorm your plans.

5. Do you have campaign leaders already enlisted? 

Often, an institution will identify its top most-desired campaign leaders early on. If the perfect leader is already ready and willing to step up, move forward now with an early invitation. 

Waste no time. Get them onboarded and start engaging them in the excitement of early campaign planning.  

They can give you valuable feedback and guidance on building your case for the campaign. Most of all, they can provide access to other potential campaign leaders at their level and help you start building momentum for your campaign. 

6. Can your leaders make major gifts to the campaign? 

We look toward our campaign leadership for major and even mega gifts to the campaign. 

It is important to consider their financial capacity. Their early and generous support will help “floor” the campaign by adding even more credibility and establishing the key ingredient of momentum.

Their early gifts will also influence others. Donors are more likely to give generously when they see leaders doing the same. 

It’s a bit of a dance, but when you are enlisting them, it’s important to have an open conversation about giving capacity.

How Did You Do? Interpreting Your Results

Analyze your answers. A string of “yes” responses? You’re in great shape! 

Mostly “maybe” or “no”? That’s okay.  It just means you have some areas to focus on. Prioritize the topics where you have the most room to grow.

Bottom Line: The Right Leadership Volunteers Can Make or Break Your Campaign

Strong volunteer leadership is the secret sauce for a successful capital campaign. 

Keep following this series for the Capital Campaign Readiness Checklist. This resource will help you take a good look at who you have to work with and get ready to make some fundraising magic happen!

I hope you are enjoying our Capital Campaign Readiness blog series. You can find links to each of the blog posts below. You’ll get a thought-provoking discussion into the six essential factors that will make or break your campaign. Planning a Campaign? Add Power and Influence Is Your Board Ready to Lead Your Capital Campaign Is Your Nonprofit Ready to Launch a Capital Campaign? 6 Essential Checks Before You Do Is Your Board Ready to Lead Your Capital Campaign?