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Steier Tips

Creative Campaigning: Using Different Ideas to Stimulate Giving

• Challenge yourself to be creative with challenge gifts. You've just received that first major gift in your capital campaign, and now you're already trying to figure out a way to double it. For the development professional, this is simply second nature. However, is the same group of friends always challenged by the same lead giver? Is the same family continuously challenging the same members? Not that these are bad tactics— in fact, often times they are extremely successfu—but at what point do you risk donor burn-out? We all need a certain degree of variety to keep us interested, so consider looking into a new set of "tricks". Consider asking a donor to match dollar-for-dollar everything that comes in during a weekly giving. Or even ask former high school class presidents to challenge other class representatives to match a gift. Your ingenuity in creating match opportunities just might refresh a stale campaign.

• Solicit shy volunteers—Everyone knows that one thing there just never seems to be enough of during capital campaigns are volunteers who are willing to ask others for money. This doesn't mean, however, that the dedicated team player should not have a vital role in the collection of pledges. Maybe they would offer up their home and/or office one night for a campaign fundraiser? Or perhaps they would be willing to accompany another volunteer on a visit and warm up the meeting with an introduction, leaving the actual "ask" to their campaign partner? Many times, a volunteer who would be otherwise reluctant to ask for a gift can at least open the door to new pledges and opportunities.

• Follow up with friendliness—Most campaigns typically bring their formal solicitation effort to a close with a general phone-a-thon, so why not then reserve just a little extra time to also call upon those who have already given, and express a personal "thanks" for their contributions thus far. Not only will this lay the foundation for future involvement and gifting, but it also gives the aforementioned solicit-shy volunteer an important place in this phase of a capital campaign.

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