Capital Campaigns Are Different, Not Dead!

Success in a capital campaign begins by understanding that capital campaigns are different, not dead. The traditional capital campaign process was developed in the last century and, for the most part, has been left unchanged into the 21st century. That model revolved around organizing a multitude of various teams involving as many members as possible. The reasoning was that the more people were involved in a campaign, the more pledges would be made and, thus, the more money raised.

So, we organized various teams and then attempted to sign people up to make calls, set up tables, or whatever work we could come up with. Frankly, most of it was busy work in the ’80s and ’90s, which might have worked. It doesn’t work in the 21st century. Why would we put all our marbles in something that no longer works? We must realize that the 21^st century demands a different plan of action. Why? Our society has changed, thus demanding of us a new and different approach.

Yet stewardship firms continue to send emails that ignore that capital campaigns are different, not dead. Long before COVID-19 hit our shores, capital campaigns were in danger of irrelevancy. Here is a list of some of the major reasons why capital campaigns are not what they used to be.

1. In this young century, we have had several major crises, each significantly impacting the economy. Each crisis created financial stress and uncertainty among our key donor groups, especially those that gave most of the funds raised.
2. Churches were already rethinking their building strategies and building smaller facilities than in the past. Now, post-COVID-19, church leaders are reevaluating the need for physical structures at all.
3. The aging demographic of our key donor groups, especially Baby Boomers, is causing less money to be raised in campaigns than in previous years. Fundraising experts have said that due to the shift in generational giving practices, non-profits have a closing window of opportunity.
4. Younger generations are more building adverse and suspicious of any programmatic approach to fundraising. They view anything that smacks of a programmatic approach as being inauthentic. Yesterday’s gimmicks no longer work today.
5. The pace of today’s congregants demanded a new direction in raising capital dollars. Your members’ schedules are already crowded, and their patience for meaningless meetings is non-existent.

These are a few of the multiple reasons for the decline of the traditional campaign. The point is that you will be disappointed if you are still attempting to raise capital dollars with 20th-century strategies. Times have changed, and so have our strategies. Capital campaigns in this COVID-impacted 21st century must be different to be effective!

Given the changes forced upon us by society and COVID, it is past time we recognize that the how of raising capital dollars has changed, not the why.

Growing churches must always raise money over and above their yearly budgets. Whether to fund new facilities, renovate existing facilities, or pay off debt, the need for capital dollars will never cease. That is the why. Yet, the how must change to meet the changes of our day.

This is why winners don’t do different things. They do things differently. Yes, you can raise capital dollars in 2024. The question is how. Remember, capital campaigns are not dead; they are simply different.