8 Ways Your Board Can Drive Momentum in a Capital Campaign

A capital campaign is a major pursuit for any organization, no matter the dollar amount. But success, especially in times of economic uncertainty, requires consistent participation from trustees. How can leaders tap their board members’ talents and maintain momentum during a yearslong campaign?

Having a clear plan for trustees — and knowing their strengths — is key, experts say. Board engagement is also a balancing act. Amid the flurry of introductions and meetings and gifts, it becomes tempting to see trustees as partners and workers, says Jill Smayo, a veteran of capital campaigns for hospitals, arts, and human-rights organizations who is currently chief development officer at KCRW, a nonprofit public media station in Los Angeles.

“You get into a good zone with your most engaged board members. But you also have to remember, these are very generous people who are giving not only their money but their time,” she says. “Be very deliberate about sharing success and gratitude with them throughout the process.”

To help you strike that balance, the Chronicle spoke to several experts with experience steering boards through multiyear drives. Here are their top tips.

Involve Your Board From the Start

The experts agree: Trustees’ input is essential from the earliest stages of a capital campaign.

A committee composed of senior staff and a few board members who are experienced in fundraising can draw the blueprint for the campaign. Trustees should also be involved in reviewing an organization’s prospective donors and landing on a financial goal. Determining the right dollar amount is critical, experts say: Meticulous work upfront, ideally with the board’s input, is the best way to land on a magic number that is ambitious but realistic.

Ashleigh de Villiers, president of De La Salle North Catholic High School, in Portland, Ore., worked on the school’s $26 million capital campaign several years ago as vice president for advancement. She says in the very beginning, during the feasibility study, one or more board members attended each of the 40 or so exploratory meetings with major donors, along with senior leaders from the school.

“This was the biggest trick of the trade that set our campaign up for success,” she says. By involving those trustees so early, she says, “it really brought our donors into the ‘why’” — to renovate one campus building, and construct a new one — “and from there, we built the case to the board.”

Bringing a few trustees into the process early, and having them liaise with the full board, builds a strong foundation and keeps everyone informed, says Christal Cherry, CEO of the Board Pro, a consulting firm focused on nonprofit clients. By the time the campaign gathers steam, there should be no surprises, she says.

“When you go to the full board to get their buy-in, there should be no one objecting to what you’ve put together,” she says. Some trustees may still have questions, she adds, “but everyone should be clear that this campaign is needed, that it’s realistic, and you feel you are prepared to be successful.”

Define Roles and Expectations Clearly

In a capital campaign, board members have three roles: to invest, inspire, and influence, says Gail Perry, president of the Gail Perry Group and a fundraising consultant who works closely with nonprofits and their boards. Trustees should make a campaign gift they’re proud of. They should think about who they know and how they can help behind the scenes and serve as ambassadors who can spread the message out in the community.

Clarity about these roles from the outset can help prevent any errant fundraising attempts and reassure board members who are not comfortable with fundraising that they aren’t expected to go out and rustle up donations.

Enthusiasm sometimes leads board members to ask for donations prematurely, Perry says. “They’re well-meaning, but they’re not trained in the warm-up activities you do with a donor before asking for a major gift. If they do it out of the blue, it comes as an affront. So it’s very important that we help them understand their roles.”

Use Trustees’ Talents Wisely and Give Them Tools to Succeed

In any group, there are people who love process and details and those who enjoy strategy and vision. Ask yourself which board members fall into each camp. Whose ideas and skills do you need most at the beginning, and whose talents will shine once you roll up your sleeves and get to work?

De Villiers says her board members got involved with specific committees according to their skills and interests. Those who felt comfortable with fundraising sat on the capital campaign committee. Others helped on the building committee, supporting the president of the school in negotiations with contractors and development of the broader construction project. And a few more helped on the finance committee, keeping track of how the school was going to fund the project.

Not everybody is a fundraiser, “but everyone wants to help in some capacity,” says Carla Lavender, vice president of development at Advocates for Children. Lavender started as a fundraising consultant to the organization during its first capital campaign, which ended in 2024. Ultimately, the charity raised $8 million — nearly double its original goal — for two new buildings.

Some trustees wrote thank-you notes, she recalls, while others enjoyed making introductions. The key: “Figure out what skill set they can bring to the table.”

You should also equip your trustees with the necessary tools. “Don’t assume your board members know your mission and your clients,” Lavender says. Give them talking points, share success stories, and provide regular updates so board members gain confidence about how they can support the campaign.

Mitigate Risk but Make a Plan B

If there is disagreement on your board about the correct path forward, Perry says, “you’re not ready to raise big money yet.” Do the upfront work to get everyone in agreement about the campaign plan, experts say. Conflicts only make things harder down the line.

People may disagree about the financial goal of the campaign or feel uneasy about soliciting large gifts, Perry says. That’s when development staff should step in to educate trustees on how campaigns work and the long, slow process of approaching a donor for a major gift — and reassure wary board members the goal is within reach.

Sometimes campaigns falter. They fall short of their goal or take a decade to limp over the finish line. That’s why it’s important to think through all the worst-case scenarios in advance, Cherry says.

“What’s going to happen if things don’t go well? How are you going to manage that with your funders? It could be embarrassing — so how are you going to manage the PR?” she says. “You do everything you can to mitigate risk, and if things go wrong, what’s your Plan B?”

Foster Camaraderie to Keep the Momentum Going

If a campaign starts to sag and lag, it’s danger time, Perry says. “When a board doesn’t see progress, they start to worry.”

After the initial excitement fades, staff need to be organized and keep everyone on track, experts say. They recommend bringing board members into regular meetings with donors, hosting frequent coffee catch-ups or lunches, and keeping them apprised of the campaign’s progress.

De Villiers recalls that once the campaign settled into a rhythm, every board member had a chance to shine. Different phases brought out different strengths, she says. Aside from the board chair, she adds, “very few people were operating at a high level the entire time.”

A sense of cohesion and camaraderie on the campaign committee is helpful, de Villiers says. On her school’s nine-person capital campaign committee, she aimed for team spirit. “We had a lot of team meetings and lunches, just making it fun for them to be around each other.”

Ask Trustees to Open Doors and Make Connections

Unless a board member has prior experience with fundraising, they shouldn’t be on the hook for making asks. Instead, experts say, use board members to make introductions. Salons, dinners, other social gatherings — all can help in generating interest in and awareness of an organization’s nascent campaign.

Lavender recalls how Advocates for Children’s board members helped make connections and get the conversation going. During the early stages of the campaign, wealth screening revealed 35 individuals who had the capacity to give anywhere from $100,000 to $1 million.

“The board was there 100 percent of the way,” Lavender says. “They knew the people on the prospect list; 75 percent of them they knew personally. Some even had their cell numbers in their phones. They knew about their families and knew about their businesses. They had a wealth of information.”

Encourage Creativity

During the life of a capital campaign, there will be moments that require unorthodox thinking. Although you want everyone thinking like a team, do allow room for good ideas that arise organically.

Smayo recalls how one KCRW board member landed a key gift in an unexpected way. The trustee was the capital campaign’s co-chair and committed to partnering with a certain funder whose work focused on people experiencing homelessness. “But they’d never given to public media,” Smayo recalls, and the campaign “wasn’t a straight alignment with the areas they support.”

It took a year of conversations and meetings before the trustee was able to help the organization broker a proposal in which KCRW would do a three-year project telling the stories of vulnerable populations within Los Angeles — bringing attention and understanding to the issues the funder cared about.

“That’s a lot of tenacity from a board member,” Smayo says.

Creativity can also be the lifeline a reluctant board member needs to fully support the campaign.

One trustee at Advocates for Children didn’t embrace the vision of having larger facilities. “She liked the idea of the organization having a small, hometown kind of feel,” Lavender recalls. So development staff crafted a proposal in which the board member’s donation to the capital campaign supported a specific area of work. “She was very pleased,” Lavender says. “She did not feel like her dollars were going to construction but to building out the work she thought was important.”

Remember to Give Thanks

It’s a simple truth that bears repeating: Trustees are volunteers and deserving of frequent and sincere thanks, experts say.

“‘I’m the only one getting paid to do this,’” de Villiers recalls thinking during her school’s capital campaign. “I’m grateful for their commitment to our school, and it’s up to me to help them feel connected to the mission and want to continue advocating on our behalf.”

Try to encourage staff to adopt a selfless mindset with trustees. It doesn’t matter if a staff member makes hundreds of phone calls before finally landing a big gift, Smayo says: “We give the credit to the board member who made the connection.”