Successful campaigns are rooted in careful planning. It’s essential to lay the foundational building blocks early in the process. This includes generating the big ideas that will inspire donors’ most meaningful gifts, conducting a feasibility study, and evaluating your nonprofit CRM to make sure it’s serving your needs.
Capital campaigns can last five years or longer. Meanwhile, the average tenure of a nonprofit executive director or college president is approximately six years. That means if you’re in the midst of a capital campaign, it’s likely there will be a leadership transition at some point during your journey.
If you’re in the early stages of planning for a capital campaign, you undoubtedly have a number of big dreams for your organization. You want to make a meaningful impact on your community, and you know significant funds must be raised to make those dreams a reality.
Given today’s competitive workforce environment, and the essential role that development teams play in fundraising campaigns, more organizations are asking, “How can we retain our staff during a campaign?”
It’s a million-dollar question, quite literally. A campaign’s success hinges on key employees—including CEOs, development directors, campaign coordinators, stewardship officers, database managers, and the program staff who deliver on the campaign’s promises. When a Tennessee nonprofit lost its executive director, for example, it took two years of relationship (re)building to secure commitments from its largest funders. Many organizations simply cannot afford such delays.
As a fundraising leader, you know that a sophisticated CRM is an essential component of a high-performing development team. A good system can help you manage relationships with your constituents, set goals based on data-driven insights, and streamline your operations — all while maximizing your nonprofit’s impact in your community.
Benefactor Group, a national fundraising consulting firm, is pleased to announce the addition of Paul Yeghiayan as Senior Consultant. Paul brings over 20 years of nonprofit executive management, consulting, and frontline fundraising experience; he has raised tens of millions of dollars for mission-driven organizations. Yeghiayan’s work has fueled diverse causes and institutions, including those focused on higher education, international development, public health, healthcare, environment, arts and culture, associations, poverty and hunger, and social justice.
Your mission is the heart of your organization. Your donors and volunteers are its lifeblood, an indispensable force that brings strength and vitality. Your customer relationship management (CRM) system is like the circulatory system, connecting you to your donors and harnessing their power to fuel your mission.
