11 Effective capital campaign fundraising ideas for nonprofits

Raising funds for your capital campaign early on is essential. Much of your success depends on major donor solicitation in the quiet phase, but the right fundraising ideas can help you reach your campaign goals at all stages of the process. 

There are hundreds of fundraising ideas out there, but many of them focus on small events and feel-good campaigns. How do you figure out what actually works for a major capital campaign? We’ve distilled our knowledge into the best capital campaign fundraising ideas — for when you need to raise money at scale. 

For more information capital campaigns, read our 7 capital campaign best practices blog.

11 of the most successful capital campaign fundraising ideas

Forget about wading through a list of 100+ generic fundraising ideas. Here are the very best fundraising ideas for capital campaigns, so you can start adding them to your fundraising plan.

1. Reach out to major donors

The fundraising world isn’t immune to the reality of the Pareto principle. Recent data shows that the top 20 gifts account for 70% of your campaign goal, so place the majority of your attention on your major donors.

Major donors are some of the first people you’ll speak to after the planning phase, as you’ll want to secure their support before your public launch. Use fundraising intelligence and prospect research software like iwave to sift through billions of data points to identify the right donors, then build a personalized outreach plan.

Securing major gifts for your capital campaign during and after the quiet phase requires more than a simple email or quick coffee meeting. Elevate the experience and increase your chances of success with:

• A gift range scale and an idea of where your major donors fit into it
• Messaging tailored to your donor’s giving history and interests
• Updates on how their previous donations have made a difference
• An in-person or virtual meeting dedicated to discussing how they can support your campaign
• Exclusive opportunities beyond a monetary donation — like a plaque, sponsorship, or wider partnership
• A suggested donation amount based on their previous contributions

Whether you’re looking to raise $50,000 or $5,000,000, building and maintaining good relationships with existing and potential major donors is essential. They’ll help you reach not only your capital campaign goal, but other milestones in the future.

2. Host a kickoff event

When it’s time to go public with your campaign, you want your entire world to know about it. Plan and host an engaging kickoff event that celebrates your mission, highlights your goals, and launches your public fundraising efforts.

This isn’t just any promotional event — it’s an opportunity to capitalize on momentum and bring in a second wave of donations. Here are some capital campaign fundraising ideas to make your kickoff event feel special:

• Send highly personalized event invitations to stakeholders and donors
• Hint on social media and by email that there’s a big announcement coming
• Build up to a live reveal of your fundraising total so far
• Host an engaging Q&A session
• Turn the event into a celebration with live entertainment
• Livestream your event to attract attention from donors wherever they are

With Kindsight, it’s easy to find the right people to invite to your public or VIP launch event. Use ascend (our fundraising CRM) to build your guest list, identify best-fit donors with iwave, and combine it with the power of engage to draft personalized email invitations for your event.

3. Send personalized supporter outreach

Nobody wants to feel like they’re just one name on a very long list. Whenever you call, write to, or email your supporters, personalize the message as much as possible. This is one capital campaign fundraising idea that you just can’t skip.

Personalization goes beyond your donor’s first name. Here’s what else you can do, if you have the data:

• Promote specific fundraising opportunities, based on previous engagement
• Suggest a donation amount, based on giving history
• Highlight specific impact stories, based on category affinity
• Suggest local fundraising events, based on geolocation data
• Promote social media content, based on previous interactions
• Run a countdown timer, based on the user’s time zone

You can also use information like recency, frequency, and affinity to sectors to plan and send truly tailored emails to your supporters.

Take a look at our capital campaign cheat sheet for more inspired tips.

4. Start a pledge drive

What do you do when you have donors eager to give, but they don’t have funds available immediately? Encourage them to make a pledge. Adding a pledge drive to your capital campaign allows you to capture interest and commitment, then collect those donations at a later date.

On your pledge card, be sure to include:

• Name of the campaign
• Donor’s name
• Pledge amount
• Payment frequency and/or number of instalments
• Date of first payment
• Donor’s contact details
• Your nonprofit’s contact information

Manually keeping track of pledges and planned gifts is challenging, especially if you receive a lot over the course of multiple years. Be sure to use a purpose-built CRM to help with the management and simple gift processing, as well as the handling of complex pledge commitments.

5. Promote matching gifts

Gift matching is a valuable way to make eligible donations more significant, and it won’t cost your supporter any extra. But donors don’t always know it exists, which is why promotion is essential.

Many employers run giving programs where they’ll match an employee’s donation up to a certain amount or by a certain percentage. You can also look for independent gift-matching partners too — like a corporate sponsor that’s willing to match donations up to a specific figure, like $15,000.

Increase your chances of attracting matching gifts by:

• Highlighting it as an option to your donors
• Explaining how they can check if their donation is eligible
• Promoting a sponsor or partner’s donation matching offer
• Offering donors an easy way to get their donation matched

6. Host a high-profile gala

Gala events allow you to invite your major donors, influential partners, and board members to experience an evening of celebration and philanthropy. Thanks to their high-calibre guest lists, galas are ideal for raising a large amount of funds in one night.

Planning a gala is time and resource-intensive, so you want to make it as successful as possible. Here’s how to increase donations on your gala night:

• Make it attractive to buy a table vs. single tickets — by offering a discounted rate for a whole table, or adding extra perks like free drinks or free raffle tickets
• Offer upgrades like drinks packages or VIP experiences
• Add a raffle, prize draw, or auction
• Announce a target amount of money to raise on the night
• Display your real-time fundraising progress
• Accept donations through a range of payment methods

Combine your on-the-day event activities with engaging pre-event communications and personalized thank-you notes to continue cultivating those meaningful relationships.

7. Plan family or community events

While gala events can be lucrative fundraisers, they can be exclusive in nature. Open up your fundraising opportunities to your broader community with family-focused or local events.

Successful public phase events are a combination of good planning, a suitable budget, the right team, and a creative mind. Use your donor giving data to identify the types of events that are likely to be popular, and survey your supporters to understand what they’d like to see.

Popular fundraising events include:

• Walk-a-thons
• Golf tournaments
• Bake sales
• Garage sales
• Raffles
• Trivia nights
• Workshops or classes
• Beach parties
• Family picnics
• Community volunteering days

To make your capital campaign fundraising idea even more successful, find a way to tie it to your mission, goal, or community. Get students involved with a car wash or community help day for your new college building fundraiser, or host a healthcare themed quiz to raise money for your hospital extension project.

8. Plan a giving day

Whether you choose an already-established day like Giving Tuesday, or create your own day of giving, this time-limited experience can drive donations — which is especially helpful if you’re nearing the end of your capital campaign fundraising.

Here’s how to plan your way to a successful giving day:

• Choose your giving day (e.g. Giving Tuesday, New Year, or another date)
• Countdown to the day with emails and social media content
• Send tailored messages to different audience segments with suggested donations
• Share promotional graphics that your supporters can use to promote your cause
• Make it easy for people to donate with an online donation page
• Share updates on your progress in real-time
• Add a final call for people to donate towards your cause before the end of the day

If you have the resources, consider making a video to promote your giving day campaign. Research shows that including a video in your initial campaign email can increase click rates by 96% — which means more potential donations coming your way.

9. Tap into your capital campaign donors’ networks

If you’ve invested in donor relationships and stewardship, you’ll have a collection of loyal supporters. Extend your valuable relationships even further by tapping into their network of friends, family members, and professionals. 

Turn your existing donors into a catalyst for even more donations with:

• A library of images and marketing materials they can share with their network
• Eye-catching, shareable graphics on your social media pages
• A clear website that explains who you are and what you do
• A membership program that rewards existing members when they refer someone
• Peer-to-peer fundraising or crowdfunding campaigns

Your supporters are keen to see you succeed, but they also lead busy lives. Make it as easy as possible for them to share your campaign with loved ones and potential donors during your public phase.

10. Research and apply for grants

It’s not just major donors and your supporter base that can help you reach your campaign goals. As you plan your capital campaign, look out for grants that could give you a much-needed cash boost or raise your profile.

Here’s how to approach the grant application process with capital campaigns in mind:

• Research to find suitable grants to apply for
• Learn what the funder or investor is looking for
• Build a relationship with the funder
• Start building your case for funding
• Write a tailored grant application to match their needs
• Submit your application before the deadline
• Stay in touch throughout the process

11. Work with a capital campaign consultant

Capital campaign planning and management is a significant task, and sometimes you need to bring on extra support to help things run smoothly. As you build out your team in preparation of your public launch, you might realize a consultant could help you scale.

Capital campaign consultants can help: 

• Develop a strategic plan and capital campaign timeline
• Complete a feasibility study or case for support
• Identify and safeguard against risks
• Prepare a capital campaign budget
• Bring in specific expertise
• Train staff members
• Launch your public phase
• Fill in gaps in your existing team’s knowledge
• Source additional support in marketing, promotion, or fundraising event management

It’s easier for larger nonprofits and educational establishments to access fundraising consultants, but smaller nonprofit organizations can benefit from external advice too. If you can’t hire a consultant for the whole project, consider whether you can bring in expertise in the planning phase, or to help you with one area — like building a fundraising events plan.

Take your project to the next level with these capital campaign fundraising ideas

The right fundraising ideas and initiatives can mean the difference between a successful campaign and struggling to hit your fundraising goal. Use this guide to help you put together a strategy filled with ideas designed to raise a large amount over several years.

For an in-depth look at capital campaigns, read our Capital campaign guide for nonprofits.

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Nicola Scoon

Nicola specializes in nonprofit, advancement, and healthcare fundraising.