Capital Campaigns: The Power of “Yet”  and a Growth Mindset

Capital Campaigns usually have a goal larger than anything you’ve raised at your organization before. And your capital campaign goal will be a multiplier of what you’re currently raising.

One concern we hear again and again when speaking with prospective clients is that they don’t have any million-dollar donors. Our response is, “not yet.”

The reason most nonprofit leaders don’t have million-dollar donors is because they’ve never had a million-dollar idea before. And they’ve never asked for a million dollars before.

Does Your Capital Campaign Team Have a Growth Mindset?

Capital campaigns require an optimistic growth mindset. Simply because you haven’t done something YET, doesn’t mean you can’t — or won’t — do it successfully.

Most big accomplishments are a first for those completing them. If you did something repeatedly, by definition, it wouldn’t be a big accomplishment. It would become routine.

A capital campaign is a huge endeavor, and there will be a lot of firsts for your organization during any campaign — even if you’ve done a campaign before. They require that staff and volunteers, and donors, venture into new territory.

The Power of “Yet” in a Capital Campaign

A growth mindset is critical to be successful. You and your team need to believe you can do things you’ve never done… yet.

Ask Your Team:

• Have you asked for a million-dollar gift yet?
• Have you led a capital campaign yet?
• Have you found a campaign committee chair yet?
• Have you put together a campaign committee yet?

The answer to all these questions is likely, not yet.

That doesn’t mean you can’t or won’t accomplish big things with your campaign. In fact, by having the “not yet” mindset, you are inviting success. You are acknowledging that you haven’t done something yet, but that you are open to the idea.

We Witness Success Every Day

At Capital Campaign Pro, our clients often solicit and receive million-dollar gifts (or multi-million-dollar gifts) for the first time. We celebrate this important milestone in a campaign with each organization we serve.

Many organizations we work with have never received a gift larger than $100,000. Their lead gift to the campaign is often 10 times larger (or more) than any gift they’ve received before.

It’s hard to imagine the power of a capital campaign until you’ve experienced one, but we see them work every day. We invite you to join our growing list of nearly 100 organizations working with us to turn their “not yet” into “YES!”

A Real-World Example

Kari Viola-Brooke is the Executive Director of a small social service agency outside Atlanta Georgia. Her organization had a long waiting list of children who desperately needed support. They were bursting at the seams and needed more space.

Kari had never raised a million-dollars before — not even close. She had no idea where the funds would come from for a larger building, but she decided to trust the process.

Kari joined Capital Campaign Pro’s DIY Essentials Program in 2021. She attended our weekly group coaching/peer support calls every week for more than two years. But now, her new building is finished and open and her agency is serving more children than ever before. Kari said:

“I seriously can’t believe we have raised $5.3 million. I remember when we finally broke 1 million and it seemed so hard. I thought we would never ever be able to raise this much. You all were lifesavers. You kept me sane and taught me so many things! Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
— Kari Viola Brooke, Executive Director

• Read Kari’s full story here »

“Not Yet” is Not Magical Thinking

One important key to success is the power to believe your campaign goal is possible. However, it’s not about magical thinking.

Once you have a big vision for the future of your organizations, campaigns require using best practices, strategy, and proven systems to ensure success. That often includes conducting a feasibility study to help determine what is possible for your organization right now.

Raising More is Absolutely Possible

I’m not suggesting you can go from raising zero to a hundred in one campaign. But you can absolutely raise a multiplier of what you are raising right now. Most often that multiplier is between five and ten times what you are currently raising. Sometimes it’s more and occasionally it’s less.

What is sure is that in a capital campaign, you will do things you’ve never done before… not yet anyway.