Starting a capital campaign can be daunting and it can hard to know if you’re in the position to start. There are some key ways your organization will know it’s time to turn your idea into a reality.
The first step in a capital campaign comes when your board transforms ideas about the need for a new animal shelter into actually planning to fund the construction.
This can happen in one of several ways:
- Your animal shelter is simply too old and worn down and/or generally requires an inordinate amount of human and financial resources to repair and maintain;
- An animal shelter evaluation reveals that the physical conditions of the shelter have deteriorated to such a point that the building needs to be replaced or completely renovated;
- Your animal shelter has come under scrutiny for its poor physical conditions in the news or social media;
- Your shelter has exceeded its capacity for care (handling more animals than the facility has a reasonable capacity to handle);
- In rare instances, a major donor steps forward with a donation of at least 25% of the total needed to fund construction of a new building.
If your shelter can check off at least two of these situations, then a new shelter is needed. If you can check off three or more, the need is critical.
There are six factors in groups who have been successful with a capital campaign.
Your organization has:
- a good reputation in the community.
- A well- known and respected board of directors and the executive director
- a compelling case for support that describes a need it addresses for the local community.
- financial support from the local community
- a diverse array of funding sources ranging from individual donations to foundation grants to business and corporate support.
- a strategic plan in place to achieve its goals.
You can use these six factors to determine what needs to strengthen if it wants to maximize your chance for success in a capital campaign.
Access the Rescue Learning Center for more information.
