6 Steps to Take If Your Capital Campaign is Falling Short of its Goal

If you’re worried that your capital campaign is going to fall short of its goal, you are not alone!

We’ve written about calming campaign anxieties before and the idea of not making your campaign goal is at the top of the list.

Unfortunately, capital campaigns aren’t always a “build it and they will come” scenario. It’s not always the case that if you put your head down and work hard and think positive — it will all work out in the end.

Instead, let’s look at some real solutions for when your campaign is falling short.

What to Do When Your Campaign is Falling Short of its Goal

Believe it or not, capital campaign shortfalls can create opportunities. They can inject a burst of energy into the final stretch of the campaign.

With that in mind, here are six steps to take if your capital campaign is falling short of its goal.

1. Resolicit uncommitted prospective donors

Go back to those individuals (and organizations) who have already been solicited for the campaign but have not yet made a commitment. Let them know that they have an opportunity to take the campaign over the top.

2. Resolicit the largest campaign donors

Have your solicitation team meet with several key donors to ask them to help close the gap.

3. Resolicit one-time donors

Invite all donors who have made one-time gifts to extend their gifts with a second- or third-year pledge.

4. Extend the deadline if necessary

People are usually far less concerned about the specific date than about the overall success of the campaign. If your deadline comes and goes and the campaign has not quite reached its goal, it does not mean that the campaign has failed. You’re just a little late in announcing your success! That being said, don’t extend indefinitely.

5. Create leverage

Identify a matching gift/donor to help finish the campaign and encourage other donors to help close the gap.

6. Lower the goal and adjust the plans

When all else fails, it’s time to lower the goal and adjust the plans. While not ideal, you can celebrate everything you’ve accomplished through the campaign to date. Sure, poor campaign preparation could be to blame, but even the best campaign planning doesn’t guarantee that gifts will come in as expected.

It’s easy to ignore problems and to keep going as though nothing’s wrong. But when it’s clear that the results are disappointing on all fronts, find the courage to take stock and review your options.

Capital Campaigns are a Team Effort

This is not a problem you can solve by yourself. Recruit your campaign leadership to help identify opportunities and solutions. There’s no shame in regrouping. In fact, it’s likely to breathe new life into the campaign and come up with the spark that enables you to succeed.

You will likely find your solutions with lead donors and campaign chairs. They have every reason to want the campaign to succeed. Once the options are understood and a revised plan is in place, everyone will be relieved — even if goals are modified and the timetable has changed.

Word to the wise… your community won’t bail you out

It’s tempting to believe that people will send in money if they know an organization is in trouble. The reality is that while people will often send money if they read a heart-wrenching story, they are seldom inclined to support a failing campaign or a failing organization.

Other Ways to Help Ensure Your Campaign’s Success

At the Toolkit, we encourage you to keep your campaign “quiet” until you’ve raised at least 65% of your campaign goal (usually more). Before you announce a public campaign goal, you can adjust the goal up or down based on what you raise in the most critical stage of your campaign. This will help prevent your campaign from falling short.

However, if you do find that you’re falling short, use these techniques combined with the many tools inside the Capital Campaign Pro toolkit to help close the gap and get you to your goal!