Yes, You Can Hold a Fall Capital Campaign, If…

There is still time to get in a fall capital campaign if, you start planning now!  Every day you delay to make a decision about your campaign makes it a bit more difficult to have a campaign in the fall.  If you miss this window of opportunity you will be pushed back into the next year.  What that means is the loss of thousands of dollars.  In this post, I want to lay out some key thoughts to help you plan for a potential campaign this fall.  First, let’s look at…

The Window of Opportunity for Fall Campaigns – You have basically two-time frames by which you can hold a capital campaign, spring or fall. Spring’s timeline is based upon Easter as everything in a church calendar revolves around Easter. For the fall your window of opportunity is from the start of school until the week before Thanksgiving.

Here is what I have found…

Most mistakes made in a capital campaign occur weeks and months before the launch of the campaign.  Effective planning is essential for a successful campaign.  You cannot hurry the process.  Too often churches wait until the last minute to start thinking and planning for their next capital campaign.    Next let me share with you a cardinal truth to capital campaigns success…

The more time you give yourself to planning your campaign the greater degree of success you will have.  So, the clock is ticking even though we are essentially weeks from fall.  Not all campaigns are alike.  Some take longer to plan for than others.  Typically I advise a minimum of three months from start to finish.  The more complex the project, what you are raising money for, the longer the period of time needed to prepare and plan.  Here is a final key thought…

Doing it yourself WILL limit what you will raise!  I could line up pastors who thought they would save money by doing their own campaign only to find out that they were wrong.  Campaigns can be complex.  An expert in the field can help you avoid potential mistakes.  They also keep you accountable to be on target and on time.  If for no other reason this legitimizes the fees firms charge you.  The value we bring to the table will more than pay for the fee.

Capital campaigns are not dead but they are different! Given the changes forced upon us by society and COVID it is past time we recognize that the how of raising capital dollars has changed not the why. The traditional approach to raising capital dollars must be dramatically different. The process, or the how of raising capital must carefully be thought out. One thing hasn’t changed,

Growing churches will always need to raise money over and above their yearly budgets. Whether to fund new facilities, renovate existing facilities, or to pay off debt the need for capital dollars will never cease. That is the why. Yet the how must change to meet the changes of our day. We specialize in the how!

So, yes, you can have a successful capital campaign if you start planning immediately! We are here to help!

Mark Brooks – The Stewardship Coach