Capital Campaign Prospecting

By
Amy Schiffman

Welcome to Part 6 in my series about capital campaign planning. We’ve covered a lot of territory thus far, so if you are at the beginning stages of planning your campaign, back up about 6 weeks. If you are ready to begin thinking about who is on your prospect list, you are at the right spot. Last week we covered the development of your case for support (I hope yours turned out great!) – but if you are wondering who in the world is going to read it, then read on...

Where to start…

When constructing a capital campaign prospect list, we must first look at who we already know cares about what we do. That means our low hanging fruit:

  • Current major donors
  • Past major donors
  • Board leadership
  • Former board leadership
  • Other key volunteers

Certainly your capital campaign committee will show up on top of your list as well, given that they will not be effective solicitors for the campaign until they have made their own gifts to the campaign.

Then, mine the networks of staff, board and committee members. Establish a database of caring and financially capable individuals generated from the organization’s past/present donor database list and suggestions from solicitors. Then, do your research and learn what makes these people tick (give!).

Are you ready to give it a try? Be sure to check out this week’s freebie for an easy to use “donor/prospect profile checklist”. If you'd like to discuss working with Giving Tree Associates on your capital campaign, please contact us.