News: How to Lead Your Board Through a Capital Campaign on the Virtuous Podcast
Capital Campaign Pro’s Sarah Plimpton recently joined the Responsive Lab podcast from Virtuous to discuss one of the most common challenges nonprofit leaders face during a capital campaign: getting board members engaged, confident, and ready to contribute to fundraising success.
In the episode, How to Lead Your Board Through a Capital Campaign, Sarah drew on more than 20 years of experience as a fundraising consultant, development director, and campaign advisor to explain how nonprofit leaders can help their boards understand and embrace their roles throughout the campaign process.
A central theme of the conversation was the misconception that every board member must become a major gift solicitor. Sarah explained that board members have two distinct sets of responsibilities: those they share as a governing body and those they can fulfill individually based on their skills, relationships, and interests.
The conversation also explored the importance of the quiet phase, how to approach board giving expectations, and why smaller nonprofits often have advantages when conducting capital campaigns.
Key topics included:
- How to define the board’s collective and individual responsibilities during a capital campaign
- Why board engagement involves much more than asking for money
- How to approach board giving conversations without creating unnecessary pressure
- The importance of the quiet phase in securing major gifts and building campaign momentum
- Why smaller nonprofits can be especially effective at building donor relationships
- How nonprofit leaders can motivate disengaged board members to become active campaign supporters
- Practical strategies for helping board members contribute according to their strengths
Sarah also discussed her new book, A Board Member’s Guide to Capital Campaign Fundraising: How to Raise Game-Changing Money for Your Nonprofit, co-authored with Capital Campaign Pro CEO Amy Eisenstein, ACFRE. Written specifically for nonprofit board members, the book offers a practical roadmap for understanding the campaign process, clarifying board responsibilities, and helping organizations raise transformational gifts with confidence.
Throughout the episode, Sarah emphasized that successful board engagement begins with clear expectations and meaningful opportunities to participate. When board members understand how they can contribute, they become more effective partners in advancing the campaign and the organization’s mission.
At Capital Campaign Pro, we believe strong campaigns depend on engaged leadership, thoughtful planning, and productive partnerships between nonprofit staff and board members. Helping boards understand their responsibilities and participate in ways that build on their strengths is an essential part of preparing for campaign success.
We’re grateful to the Virtuous team for the opportunity to share Sarah’s insights and help nonprofit leaders build stronger, more engaged campaign boards.
Learn more about A Board Member’s Guide to Capital Campaign Fundraising »
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