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Capital campaigns can feel like all-consuming projects, and for good reason. They’re major commitments that require your entire team’s full focus and commitment in order to succeed

However, some nonprofit professionals worry that their capital campaigns may negatively impact their regular fundraising efforts, especially their annual fundraising campaigns. After all, won’t donors get overwhelmed with gift requests for your capital and annual campaigns?

Here’s the great news: Research shows that when organizations apply the right strategies, their annual funds either stay the same or even increase during capital campaigns. Even better, in the years following their capital campaign, 74% of organizations experience a boost in their annual fundraising, all thanks to the stronger donor relationships and increased giving that come from capital campaigning.

So, whether you’re wondering how to juggle both a capital campaign and your annual fundraising campaign or how to assuage board member concerns about annual fund cannibalization, you can take steps to ensure success in both areas. We’ll help you get started by exploring some capital campaign strategies you can apply to annual fundraising.

An Option to Consider: A Comprehensive Campaign

Before we dive into some best practices to weave into your own annual fundraising strategy, let’s explore a broader option you might consider: running a comprehensive campaign.

While capital campaign campaigns are targeted, capacity-building efforts focused on a specific project like building a new facility, comprehensive campaigns involve a large-scale capacity-building project while also counting every dollar that flows into your organization at that time. In other words, comprehensive campaigns bring together both a specific project and your annual fund into one overarching fundraising goal.

There are benefits and drawbacks to running a comprehensive campaign:

  • Benefits
    • Allow you to strategically work toward multiple goals at once
    • Great for organizations with high levels of donor loyalty (universities and colleges with strong alumni bases are excellent examples)
  • Drawbacks
    • Accounting and stewardship can be trickier when multiple fundraising efforts are combined (especially if yours is a small organization)
    • Donors may feel it’s unclear what you’re asking them to contribute to if you ask them to give to multiple projects at once
    • May miss opportunities to ask donors to dig deep and give a personally significant gift for a specific project

At the end of the day, it’s up to you to decide which campaign is right for your organization and its goals. Consider what you most want to accomplish and what your organization needs to move its mission forward—this can help inform how you shape your campaign.

For example, a historical society that needs to restore a specific landmark would likely benefit from running a capital campaign solely focused on that project. But another organization renovating its facility, building out multiple programs, starting an endowment, and looking for a way to keep up with its operating costs may wisely opt for a comprehensive campaign.

Let’s assume that your organization opts to run a specific and targeted capital campaign while keeping its annual fundraising separate. Here are some capital campaign best practices to apply to your annual campaign:

1. Define clear goals and a case for support.

Similar to preparing for a capital campaign, begin planning for your annual fundraising campaign by setting clear goals and developing a compelling case for support.

To set your initial fundraising goal, review your nonprofit’s operating costs from the last few years to determine how much you need to raise for your current campaign. Remember that anything you raise beyond the bare minimum needed to pay the rent and keep the lights on can supplement other campaigns or projects. Next, create your campaign case for support. Just like a capital campaign case for support, this document should justify why your supporters should give to your annual fund. Include the following elements in your case, as recommended by Capital Campaign Pro’s case for support guide:

  • Your vision for how the money you raise will make a difference for those you serve
  • The problem, or what is holding you back from achieving that vision (This section gives you a great opportunity to explain the purpose of an annual campaign)
  • Your plan to use the money you raise and how that will help you overcome the challenges standing in the way of achieving your vision
  • Your campaign’s fundraising goal
  • Your “why now” that will help infuse a sense of urgency into your campaign
  • A call to action to encourage donors to give

In your case for support, you can also point to last year’s annual fundraising campaign and explain what you were able to achieve by having your operational costs covered for the year. Don’t be afraid to get specific and lean into storytelling skills to truly inspire your supporters to give to your fund again this year.

2. Segment and prioritize donors.

During a capital campaign, you focus first on sourcing gifts from major donors during the quiet phase of your campaign. Then, you strategically work your way down your gift pyramid, approaching mid-level and lower-level donors during the public phase of the campaign to source gifts at different levels and eventually reach your fundraising goal.

Though your annual fundraising campaign won’t have a quiet and public phase, you should take a similar approach to segmenting and prioritizing your donors. Doing so will help you:

  • Identify which donors can give at which levels
  • Provide a logical order for seeking gifts
  • Help your entire team understand what a successful campaign is going to require
  • Allocate individualized donor attention more efficiently where it will drive the greatest impact the fastest
  • Track and report on your progress toward the campaign goal
  • Develop a clear plan for donor communication, engagement, and recognition

3. Create a sense of urgency and momentum.

Your donors may consider your annual fundraising campaign to be less urgent than other fundraising efforts since it isn’t tied to a specific project and takes place year after year. Plus, many donors may approach giving their annual gift as something they “get around to” when convenient during the year.

However, by taking a note out of your capital campaign playbook, you can instill a sense of urgency and momentum into your campaign. Try these tactics:

  • Share the campaign deadline to encourage donors to act. Post a visible countdown on your website or social media profiles to keep donors aware of your deadline throughout the campaign.
  • Partner with a major donor to offer a matching gift challenge during a specific timeframe. Encourage donors to give during this timeframe to maximize their gifts.
  • Offer enticing and limited special opportunities. For example, consider offering a special personalized thank-you gift to the first 50 donors to give during a certain timeframe. Or, consider hosting a special event for major donors who give to your campaign by a certain date.
  • Leverage end-of-year giving days. Tie your campaign to Giving Tuesday or a local giving day to tap into a collective feeling of generosity. Timing a fundraising push toward the year-end season allows you to tap into tax deduction urgency, too.
  • Share milestones. Let donors know when you’ve reached specific benchmarks (i.e., “We’re 75% of the way to our goal—your gift can help push us over the finish line!”). Sharing your progress can inspire donors to help you reach your next milestone.

Be mindful of the tone you set for your campaign from the beginning. If you approach your annual fundraising campaign with energy and enthusiasm, you can use the tactics above to get your community of donors invested in and excited about seeing your campaign through to the end, too!

4. Focus on donor recognition and stewardship.

A thorough capital campaign plan will include a strategy for recognizing campaign donors. Similarly, from the beginning of your annual fundraising campaign, you should have a clear idea of how you will thank and steward those who give to your campaign.

There are several ways to go about donor recognition, including:

  • Sending personalized letters, notes, or eCards
  • Creating a general thank-you video to share across social media, email newsletters, and your website
  • Hosting an event to celebrate your donors
  • Sharing social media shoutouts
  • Sending gifts (such as merchandise branded to your organization or something more personal)

The key to successful donor recognition and stewardship is to be genuine and personalize your efforts where possible. This will be especially important for major donors, who want to feel like partners in your work.

In addition to the ideas above, ensure you take the time to demonstrate your donors’ impact. Let them know what their donations helped to fund—even if that means paying the water bill at your animal shelter and, more importantly, what else you’ll be able to accomplish with one less overhead expense to worry about. Seeing the tangible effects of a donation can inspire strengthened trust and continued support.


Though it’s a common worry for many nonprofit leaders, it’s a myth that running a capital campaign will negatively impact your annual fundraising campaign. In fact, you can use capital campaign strategies to inform your annual fundraising. Use the ideas above to make progress toward your annual fundraising goals!

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