Steier Tips

The building project has finally been approved and it’s time to raise funds to turn this long-awaited dream into a reality. You put your apron on because you know you’ll need to sell more than a few desserts to get where you want to go. After you, and countless others, have put in hours, days and weeks of planning and baking, you’re finally ready for the annual bake sale. When it’s all said and done, you netted $900 toward your multi-million dollar project. Sound familiar? I love a good piece of apple pie, but when your organization needs to raise…

The decision has been made, and it’s a big one: your organization will move forward with a capital campaign. These are exciting times, but your to-do list is about to grow considerably. First things first: Don’t forget your staff. Make sure employees, at every level, are notified first about this big decision. Don’t let them hear second-hand from a volunteer or donor. They deserve to hear this important news from you. Their buy-in and support are critical to the success of the campaign. Consider these additional suggestions: Meet personally with each employee. Share why you support the project. Make it…

Capital campaigns are often times of celebration in an organization’s history. The need for funding can mean the organization is growing, expanding, serving more and doing more. From the satisfaction of securing those first large gifts, to confirming key leaders, to publicly kicking off the effort and building excitement around the long-term vision, a campaign brings a community together in the spirit of stewardship, generosity and, ideally, sacrificial giving. There are times, however, when a capital campaign can be temporarily derailed by unforeseen circumstances: the departure of an executive director or development director; a general chair unwilling to support the…