Capital Stewardship Campaigns: Celebrating Your Successes

This is the last in a series of articles on capital stewardship campaigns.  The first article asks the question every organization needs to answer before launching a campital program, “Are you ready for a capital campaign?”  If you have not read that one yet, you can read it here.  The second article looked at 10 factors that impact potential.  The third article outlines the fundamental elements of a capital stewardship campaign and things to consider in design.  The fourth article looks at four different campaign models and identifies their pros and cons.  

Celebrating your successes is about keeping the campaign alive over the three-year giving period by keeping people engaged and connected to the campaign.  There are numerous factors in the follow up process that are essential to ensure the success of the campaign after the initial excitement.

Integrity of Commitments

A campaign’s success is directly linked to the integrity of commitments made by donors. When the focus is on preparing donors to respond thoughtfully, rather than simply soliciting donations, the outcome is often a higher level of commitment. This preparation involves educating donors about the project, motivating them to invest in its success, and fostering a sense of ownership. By taking the time to nurture these connections, attrition rates can be drastically reduced, falling from a typical 25-30% to 5-10%.

Preparing the donor to respond empowers individuals to assess their resources honestly and make informed decisions about their giving. They are encouraged to prayerfully consider their commitments and be receptive to spiritual guidance. By creating an environment where donors feel valued, informed, and spiritually connected to the project, campaigns can inspire lasting generosity and achieve greater success.

Get in the Ground

The truth is that the committed money will not come in unless the church proceeds to build. The formula that is recommended, is that churches get in the ground within three to six months from the end of the capital campaign and when they do three things happen.

1.  Major gifts, often from investment accounts, will be released at the point of need and not before.
2.  Giving is accelerated so that the commitments come in 50% – 30% – 20%, as opposed to an equal amount yearly over the three-year giving period.
3.  Giving from people is sometimes increased. Some people do not consider seriously giving until there is some evidence that the project is going to proceed. For them, the spade in the ground is the evidence that it is now serious, and they give generously.

The spade in the ground also encourages those who do not make a commitment during the campaign and new people because it validates that the vision is happening. The dynamic generated by new construction is not achievable in any other way. People love giving to new construction!

Saying Thank You

One of the most important principles in fundraising is to say thank you and to recognize the gifts that you’ve been given. It is no different in the church.  Each donor needs to receive a personal thank you letter reiterating their commitment and indicating on a separate confirmation form how their commitment is understood. It is important to affirm and confirm that their commitment has been clearly understood.  

How can people be thanked? There are many ways and here are just a few to consider:

• Write a regular thank you letter, regular meaning quarterly or semi-annually to every donor in the church
• You will always benefit from personally thanking donors. There is no substitute for looking people in the eye and saying I want to thank you for your generous support.
• It may be possible to do regular celebration events where there is a collective celebration of what has been achieved to date and this is often very effective and well received by the congregation.

 Affirming people by regularly acknowledging their support is a powerful tool to ensure the continued support will happen. It is a powerful tool in Christian giving also for new Christians who are struggling with giving affirming them in their generosity will encourage them to give again.  You can check out this book by Gail Hamilton, for some great prompts to, Saying Thank You.

Accountability & Transparency

The best way to indicate that monies are actually being received on a weekly or a monthly basis from the commitments made to the campaign is to do some sort of regular reporting to your donors. Reporting the amount of money that is being received accomplishes three things:

• It demonstrates the integrity of the commitments made,
• It encourages the followers who are usually slow to come on board and
• It continues to say to the non-donors that exciting things are happening and that they should participate and commit to the project as well.

Celebrating Campaign Milestones

When the fund-raising part of the campaign is complete and the final commitments have been received, some churches think that the campaign is over and that the money will simply come in on schedule. This is not true. Numerous follow-up activities will produce continued engagement with excellent results.

Highlight Campaign Achievements – If churches begin construction within the six-month time frame, there will be occasions and events that need to be highlighted over the three years, which will have a very positive impact on giving.

Ground-Breaking Ceremony – The ground-breaking ceremony can be made a very positive community event when the community leaders, other pastors and churches, and any other individuals the church has a connection with are invited. Usually, there is some sort of media coverage as well, both through the newspaper and social media outlets. This ceremony is the final affirmation that what the church has raised the money for is now happening.

Building Dedication—The dedication of the new building is the highlight of the entire process, when the church’s vision finally becomes a reality. Churches often make this just a single service, which actually limits what is a significant opportunity to make a community impact.

Include New Members—Churches that expand their facilities usually have significant potential for growth. Growth means that churches are not limited to the present congregation to fund the project but have the potential of those who are yet to come in addition to the existing congregation.

One of the better ways to ensure that new people are encouraged to give is to run new member commitment receptions for them. From a campaign perspective, this should explain the project and invite them to help support it. However, it should also be about the general processes, practices, and programs of the church.

The truth is some volunteers get offended if you do too much, particularly if they are also donors.  Some volunteers would like to see all the resources go into serving the cause.  So, you need to do what works for your congregation or constituency and what will be appreciated by your volunteers.   But you need to do something.