Transformative Campaign Built on Significant Giving
Clare Jordan, 10/1/24
The driver for a significant campaign is not the nonprofit’s needs; it is the needs of the community the nonprofit serves.
It can sound like semantics, but it is more than words, and those who do it best recognize the importance of framing the need you are working to address it both in terms of relevancy and urgency. Here’s how it works:
- Relevancy: Consider a significant need, cause or concern that anyone can see and understand (mental wellness, hunger, addiction, workforce readiness…), and then relate that critical need to your mission, making it relevant to your campaign or appeal.
- Urgency: Next, add urgency to your request for funding with a thoughtful explanation of why funds are needed now and how your organization is best positioned to meet those needs.
A CapDev client who learned this philanthropic lesson well is celebrating the grand opening of its new facility today, October 1, 2024. North Raleigh Ministries (NRM) learned how to motivate significant giving in their “Building Strong Foundations” campaign using these methods:
- Recognize needs: NRM has been working to fulfill its mission of equipping people in crisis with the resources and skills they need to achieve stability for 20 years. They are well known and loved for providing financial literacy and food assistance to community members in crisis, yet they lacked sufficient space and staffing to meet the demands of a growing North Raleigh community. “People could see a great need,” said Joshua Starling, Director of Development. NRM knew they needed to build their capacity, a common nonprofit concern.
- Assess the path forward: NRM set about determining how much space could meet their longer-term needs and where they could find it in a tight real estate market. And they assessed their own staffing needs to build up the team they would need to provide additional programs and services.
- Partner with professionals: NRM worked with realtors, builders, and fundraising consultants to purchase and renovate a new building, to expand its program offerings, and to hire and compensate qualified staff to operate it.
- Make a plan: The best solutions come from truly studying the problems and thinking creatively about how to build systems that work better for those who need them. It was determined that the purchase of a new building was imperative for the successful delivery of NRM’s programs. They addressed their specific challenges with innovative solutions, growing from 6,000 to 19,000 square feet, adding grocery assistance, in-house training and meeting space for support groups, childcare, and kitchen training that enabled their programs to work for those who need them most.
- Plan a campaign: Campaign planning starts after the vision is crafted and approved by the board. NRM engaged CapDev to build a campaign plan and to help implement that plan in order to raise $4 million to fund its bold, new vision. Now at about $3 million towards its goal, NRM is on track to complete its campaign, adding four new zip codes to now serve 11 of Raleigh’s 15, increasing parking and is now accessible by public transportation.
- Champion significant giving: NRM has a good relationship with the Lonnie & Carol Poole Family Foundation who wanted to strategize ways to leverage their gift to do something “significant.” Their lead gift motivated others to increase their gifts to do something more significant as well, such as a couple who doubled their gift to 6-figures. Even corporate and government donors wanted to give in a way that brought significant impact, like a gift from Wake County’s Community Capital Project.
- Build capacity: NRM is adding three new services and up to six new program staff. And even in the midst of its biggest campaign ever, NRM exceeded its annual campaign goal by $13,000 by encouraging campaign donors to give more broadly. They’ve also added more volunteers who help in the expanded food pantry, providing childcare, and even pastoral care.
- Celebrate: NRM hopes that the grand opening celebration today will energize donors and boost recurring giving. Celebrations are also an opportunity to consider what’s next and to share ideas and build relationships for the future. “There is more to do,” said Starling. Having expanded program and service offerings, some capital needs such as window replacements and an elevator, remain, so the work of securing philanthropic support continues.
Significant giving creates transformational campaigns, the kind with transformational impact on people’s lives, and that is what matters most. This campaign is truly living into its name, building a strong foundation, not only for North Raleigh Ministries, but significantly, for those they serve.
“We are called to encourage one another and build each other up. The campaign is motivating people to give, empowering us to build up our community.” – Donna Pygott, NRM Executive Director
See highlights from the Grand Opening Celebration HERE.