The Unexpected Power of Peer Support in a Capital Campaign

How would it feel to meet dozens of peers, executive directors and development directors, who are going through capital campaigns at the same time you are?

The Power of Peer Support for a Capital Campaign

Your peers understand your stress and your struggles. Their campaigns might be different in many ways — with larger or smaller goals and in rural or urban settings — yet they are eerily the same.

You are all over the country at different types of organizations and in different states, yet meeting on Zoom makes you feel as though they are in the next room.

You don’t meet these peers once, ask some questions, and never hear from them again. You meet week after week, on a regular basis, throughout your campaign.

You ask questions and learn from other’s experiences. Your questions are often answered by multiple people – peers and experts who join the call. You hear how several people would approach the challenge you face.

Some weeks, you don’t have a question of your own, but you join to learn by listening and even offering your experience.

Thankfully, these weekly meetups are not the blind leading the blind, because seasoned campaign experts are facilitating the discussion.

“What fantasy land is this?” you might be wondering.

A Weekly Dose of Capital Campaign Peer Support

These weekly, peer support calls are built into the fabric of Capital Campaign Pro’s support system. Every client who works with us is encouraged to join these “member’s only” peer support / group coaching calls.

These intimate calls are in meeting (not webinar) format. In other words, you see the names and faces of each participant on screen. Average meetings have ten participants, so everyone gets a chance to participate and engage.

What type of questions get asked on these weekly calls?

No question is off limits. Here are some sample questions from the last few calls:

• The momentum of our campaign has slowed. What can we do to get back on track?
• I have a donor who isn’t calling me back, any suggestions?
• We don’t have an obvious campaign chair. Is it okay not to have a chair?
• The board isn’t getting as engaged as I thought they would. Any recommendations?
• How are others thinking about naming opportunities? We’re not building a building so don’t have traditional spaces to name.

The whole group brainstorms together and offers suggestions based on personal experience. Our experts weigh in and help facilitate the discussion.

The best part? Everyone leaves motivated and inspired!

What Have We Learned About Peer Support?

When we started these weekly peer support calls more than five years ago, we weren’t sure what to expect. The idea was based on a professor’s “office hours” where people could drop in and get their questions answered.

But they have turned out to be so much more…

The true value comes, not from our team of expert facilitators, but from the peer support and networking. In other words, learning from one another — those who are in the trenches alongside you.

Unexpected Benefits Across the Board

The power of peer support has been a surprising and unexpected benefit of working with us for most of our clients.

• Where else would they meet others, all around the country, going through campaigns at the same time?
• Where else would they be encouraged to connect with a consultant’s other clients?
• Where else would they meet colleagues, peers, and mentors?

How to Find Peer Support for Your Campaign

How can you join these weekly groups?

We believe so strongly in the power of peer support that we have created a DIY program for those who don’t want 1:1 campaign advising. Click here to learn more about it.

And, if you do want to work 1:1 with one of our campaign experts, of course you can take advantage of the weekly peer support calls too!