Four Principles That Will Help Make Your Campaign A Success

February 27, 2017

Managing Church Campaigns

As capital campaign consultants, when working with churches we tell them that there are four principles on which we build our work that greatly enhance the church’s success.

However, beyond that, I believe these principles can help most organizations enhance fundraising success. What are they?

Principle 1 – Broad Information Sharing

Major donors want to know that you have created, tested and vetted strategies that best help you achieve your mission. The last thing anyone wants to believe is that a few people in a back room created most of these plans.

We’ve learned that the most effective fundraising comes from a strategic planning process. We typically test the proposed plans through a church survey and interviews. Also, during the campaign process we share information regularly about the campaign projects and processes through 7-8 articles that are posted in the bulletin and on the website.

We also host information meetings at the church, where people hear about the plans again and then are encouraged to ask questions. In fact, to ensure this kind of dialogue occurs, we suggest that clients plant a few questions (if necessary) to make it comfortable for others to ask questions.

Principle 2 – Involvement

Often institutional campaigns wind up having a few people do a lot of work. Among other things, that contributes to higher levels of burnout as campaigns wind down. In churches we try to reverse that model, having a lot of people do a few things.

We have six committees performing various tasks, but none actually does fundraising. Each committee meets no more than twice for an hour or less, and I (or one of my colleagues) create the agenda and then lead each meeting. Also, the actual work of each committee member takes no more than 1-2 hours.

Depending on the church size, we involve anywhere from 40-150 volunteers, typically 20-25% of the membership. Although that seems like quite a few, we rarely fail to recruit the volunteers we need. Also, with that many volunteers, you tend to get increased awareness, enthusiasm, advocacy and giving.

Principle 3 – Momentum

As a high school coach, I planned and used momentum to win quite a few games. I learned that from my college coaches. During my career in higher education, I figured out ways to apply that concept in fundraising campaigns. In churches we do that in several ways. First, the committees are all focused towards the “capstone” phase, which happens in the last 6 weeks. There are activities for adults and children, information blasts, testimonials and much more.

In addition, through a series of dinners we ask 10-15% of the church membership to consider making their commitment a few weeks in advance of the rest of the congregation. The results of this phase are announced prior to commitment weekend, which serves as a momentum builder for the rest of the congregation.

Principle 4 – Prayer

Campaigns are about capacity and will. Through the feasibility study we get a pretty good idea of the capacity and to some extent we can even influence the will of church members to give. However, we also depend on the Holy Spirit to influence that will by incorporating prayer into our effort.

Specifically, every meeting begins with prayer. In addition, we ask people to thoughtfully and prayerfully consider what they may be led to give. Finally, we encourage churches to organize a 24-hour prayer chain with 15-minute segments, right before commitment weekend.

Proven Results

Applying these principles may not work for every organization. However, using this model over 20 years, we have had nearly a 100% success rate!

“I really support The Covenant Group’s strategic planning process because their approach encourages staff-based support with board buy-in, and I felt that was important given what we were trying to achieve. The outcome is an effective plan that builds consensus and provides a clear sense of direction.”
- Jennifer Scott, Director of Development - The Cabbage Patch Settlement House

“The Covenant Group is highly competent, very experienced and knowledgeable. They provided a broad perspective by equipping us with useful data…and best practices in the field. All in all, they are excellent.”
- Dan Jones, CEO - 21st Century Parks

“The campaign has truly been a miracle. People were committed from the beginning, but…even raising $650,000 seemed like a stretch. To nearly double that amount is incredible! When the plan they developed allows you to hit a goal like that, it builds such a sense of community. The momentum built by the campaign is spilling outside the walls of our church and benefiting others in the process.”
-Father John Hollowell - Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Catholic Church

“For those of us who don’t do this everyday, The Covenant Group instilled confidence in us. They helped us get through the fear and apprehension by providing us with a process, training and motivation. They taught us and helped us plan in a way that was for the better. We have built lasting relationships with donors and we will continue to steward these relationships long into the future.”
- Sue Finke, Director of Institutional Advancement - Covington Catholic High School

“No one anticipated we could raise this amount. Even the Archdiocese is surprised. The funds raised represent about 15 times our annual giving. But it’s not just the financial results. People stand around talking more than they did before the campaign. There is also a renewed and energized spirit among the parishioners. It’s the most exciting thing to happen in our parish in the last 100 years.”
- Gary Libs, Campaign Co-Chair - St. Mary of the Knobs Catholic Church

“The Covenant Group’s process involved a lot of people in our congregation doing small tasks … that built ownership. They took our vision and put it into a concrete plan. They helped us understand the importance of making our vision clear and laid out the steps to make the vision a reality. Their process built consensus and showed people how they could help. Their methods are based on a solid theological foundation that includes key documents, prayer support, and requisite training … all of which were invaluable.”
- Daniel Montgomery, Pastor - Sojourn Community Church

“Everything The Covenant Group did to help us…in the initial stages was helpful…the development of the case statement; our materials; the training of our Board members; strategies; all these steps laid the foundation for eventual success. They brought such a high level of professionalism, a wealth of experience and a strong track record of integrity and success… just being associated with The Covenant Group helped us.”
- Nancy Doctor, Development Director - Wellspring

“The structure The Covenant Group provided was excellent. It allowed our members to use their God-given talents to benefit the church community They helped us develop a plan and identify key leadership candidates to chair the effort, as well as engaging between 80 to 100 people to carry out the work of the campaign. It was truly a whole congregation effort and The Covenant Group helped facilitate that. They helped us reach our full potential as a congregation.”
- Ron Poisel, Pastor - Christ Lutheran Church

Four Principles That Will Help Make Your Campaign A Success

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