How to Hire a Capital Campaign Consultant to Help You Thrive
Nonprofits of every size and experience level have the power to launch successful capital campaigns that jumpstart their fundraising capacity well into the future—but they don’t have to do it alone.
Hiring a capital campaign consultant to provide strategic guidance is a crucial step for many nonprofits on their journey to launch a capital campaign. These experts can help your organization through every phase of your campaign, from determining its feasibility to thanking major donors after its completion.
In this guide, we’ll cover all the ways a capital campaign consultant can help your nonprofit thrive and the steps needed to hire one. Specifically, we’ll address:
Whether you’re launching your organization’s first capital campaign or you’re a seasoned fundraising professional, there’s a consultant out there who can propel your nonprofit to new heights. Let’s dive in so you can find the perfect fit for your organization.
What Does a Capital Campaign Consultant Do?
A capital campaign consultant is a fundraising expert who helps nonprofits plan, launch, and complete major fundraising campaigns. Depending on the organization’s needs, capital campaign consultants can provide a single service or assist the nonprofit throughout the entire campaign.
Each consultant’s services and specialties will vary, but their main services typically include:
Fundraising feasibility studies: Capital campaign consultants can conduct an in-depth, unbiased feasibility study for your nonprofit, interviewing key stakeholders and major donors to determine if you have enough support to run a successful capital campaign. They’ll analyze both your internal readiness and external support to provide you with a research-backed report about what you can do to prepare your nonprofit for success.
Capital campaign strategic planning: Consultants can help you navigate the complex capital campaign planning process, from finalizing realistic goals and timelines to developing a convincing case for support.
Major donor research: Major gifts should account for 60-80% of your total fundraising revenue, so it’s critical to have a clear plan for identifying, cultivating, and securing major gifts for your capital campaign. A consultant can provide professional prospect research services to help you find all the data you need to build relationships with qualified major donors.
Fundraising training: Some consultants can provide fundraising training for board and staff members to educate them on capital campaign best practices and prepare them to run a successful campaign. They might cover major donor solicitation tips, prospect research strategies, and more.
Ongoing counsel and support: Capital campaign consultants can provide ongoing guidance throughout your entire campaign if needed. This support may include helping you plan your campaign kickoff, working through any roadblocks that arise, and helping you shift the campaign’s direction if needed.
Not every consultant will offer all of these services, and this list isn’t exhaustive. We’ll explain more later in this guide about how to determine which services you need and find out if potential consultants offer them.
How Do You Know You Need a Capital Campaign Consultant?
Any type of fundraising consultant can help your nonprofit grow and succeed, but hiring one is a big investment. To determine if hiring a capital campaign consultant is necessary, it’s important to be upfront about your organization’s needs and resources before diving into your search.
Evaluate your budget, fundraising goal, and staff members’ experience. Then, have internal conversations with your nonprofit’s leadership to discuss the feasibility of hiring a consultant. Certain organizations may especially benefit from working with a capital campaign consultant. For instance, it’s a good idea to work with a capital campaign consultant if:
Your organization is launching a capital campaign for the first time.
You have a smaller, less experienced fundraising team.
You want to increase your fundraising capacity long-term through a successful capital campaign.
You have room in your budget to hire a qualified consultant.
Partnering with a capital campaign consultant can get expensive, and not every organization has the budget or need to hire one for the entire duration of the campaign. You may determine that you only need to hire a consultant for one part of the campaign or to provide select services as needed. In your search, be sure to look out for how consultants offer their services and discuss your organization’s unique needs to ensure they can accommodate them.
Qualities of a Top Capital Campaign Fundraising Consultant
If you’ve determined that you do want to hire a capital campaign consultant, take time to familiarize yourself with the qualities you should look for as you start your search. After all, you’ll likely be working with this consultant for an extended period, so you want to choose someone you’ll enjoy working with long-term.
As you dig deeper into recommended consultants and others that you find in your research, look for the following important qualities:
Experience working with similar nonprofits on capital campaigns
Good communication and management skills
Trustworthy and aligned with your organization’s values
Access to the best research tools and resources
Determined to empower your team to thrive long-term
Pay special attention to the About sections and case studies on potential consultants’ websites to find this information. Read about their backgrounds, specialties, and fundraising philosophies, and ensure that they seem well-rounded and qualified. When you start contacting your top choices, you can ask any follow-up questions you may have and get a feel for how well you might work together.
How to Hire a Capital Campaign Consultant: 6 Steps
Now that you know the basics, let’s walk through each step of the selection and hiring process.
1. Ensure you’re prepared to hire a consultant.
Before you start your search, your entire team should be committed to launching a capital campaign and open to the idea of hiring a consultant. Along with a fundraising consultant, most organization’s capital campaign teams are comprised of:
A capital campaign chair
Board members
Capital campaign planning and steering committee members
Volunteers
All of these team members are important, but it’s especially crucial to get buy-in and approval from board members and your nonprofit’s leadership team.
Have conversations with board members, leadership, and your development team to discuss the benefits of hiring a capital campaign consultant. These stakeholders will be key players in running your capital campaign and making strategic decisions, so they must be ready and excited to work with a consultant if you hire one.
Once key stakeholders are on board, work together to determine your budget, goals, and timeline for hiring a capital campaign consultant.
2. Define your organization’s needs.
Next, outline the specific services you’re looking for from a capital campaign consultant. Jot down any services you know you’ll need, then use the following questions to help you identify any other areas where you might need a consultant’s help:
Do you know who your lead and major donors are? If you know exactly who your major donors are and can confirm that they’re prepared to donate to the campaign, you likely won’t need a feasibility study. If you don’t, determine if you’re able to perform an internal assessment or will need a consultant to perform a full feasibility study.
Where do you stand with major donors? Do you have a strong base of support, or do you need to conduct research to find more prospects or get to know your donors better? Maybe you just need help convincing major donors to give additional donations on top of their annual gifts. Outline all of the ways you could use a consultant’s help to strengthen major donor relationships and secure the gifts you need.
Do you already have a campaign plan? If you already have a thorough capital campaign plan, you may not need a consultant to assist with strategic planning. If you’re just at the beginning of your planning phase, however, you may want a consultant’s help with budgeting, goal setting, and creating your case for support.
How experienced is your fundraising team? This question will help you determine if you need a more hands-on consultant or not. If this is your first capital campaign, you might need ongoing support throughout the campaign and/or additional team training.
Speak with the members of your capital campaign planning and steering committees to get their input, as well. They’ll be leading the way, so they likely have a better idea of everything they could use a consultant’s help with.
3. Create a request for proposals (RFP).
With your outlined needs and goals in mind, it’s time to create a request for proposals (RFP).
An RFP is an external-facing document that asks potential capital campaign consultants to create a proposal for how they would approach your capital campaign.
This document should include all the information they need to get an understanding of the campaign and the services you require. At a minimum, your RFP should include each of these main components:
Basic information about your nonprofit’s mission, size, and history
Your capital campaign’s purpose, goals, and vision
The campaign’s projected timeline and budget
Services desired from the consultant and key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure their success
Proposal submission guidelines, such as the length of the proposal and a deadline for submitting it
Don’t do anything with this document right away—you won’t need to publish it anywhere or publicize it. Instead, hold onto it, and be prepared to send it to potential consultants once you’ve determined who your top contenders are.
4. Research consultants and their approaches.
To find potential consultants, start by looking into any recommendations you’ve received from other nonprofits. Then, search online for other consultants with positive reputations. Explore the website for each of your options and look for the qualities of top consultants we discussed earlier.
As you research, take notes about each consultant’s
Specialities and specific services they offer
Success stories, especially of organizations similar to yours
Core values, philosophies, and approaches to fundraising strategy
Locations and whether or not they work remotely
Write down any questions you have about consultants who stand out so you can ask them directly later. Most importantly, make sure their core values align with yours since you’ll be working with this consultant for multiple months or even years.
5. Contact your top choices and submit RFPs.
Once you have a shortlist of potential capital campaign consultants, contact each one and set up short conversations to discuss the potential of working together. Ask any questions you have about their experience, services, and approach to capital campaign consulting.
If they seem like a good fit, send them your RFP and set a deadline for them to craft a proposal. Give them at least two weeks so they have enough time to create a thorough plan of action. Additionally, ask them to send you a few references that you can contact to hear from nonprofits they’ve worked with firsthand.
6. Make your decision.
After receiving proposals, review each one and discuss it with your team. If needed, you can contact consultants to request more details or ask them to make changes to their proposal. Contact each consultant’s references, continue internal discussions, and then make your decision once your team is all on the same page.
Once you’ve decided, reach out to your chosen capital campaign consultant and finalize a contract. Be sure to discuss pay expectations upfront, along with any changes you want to make to the contract. When the contract is finalized, you’re ready to start working together on your campaign!
The Donorly Approach to Capital Campaign Consulting
The capital campaign consultants at Donorly offer a variety of services to help small and mid-size organizations fundraise beyond their size. Our consultants specialize in prospect research, major donor fundraising, capital campaign support, and more. Whether you need an unbiased feasibility study or counsel throughout every phase of your capital campaign, we can help.
The Donorly approach focuses on data-backed strategies and people-focused fundraising. Our capital campaign consultants are:
Research-focused in every aspect of your campaign
Experts at prospect research and major donor fundraising
Specialists in helping small and mid-size nonprofits increase their fundraising capacities
Well-versed in helping nonprofits through their first capital campaigns
The Donorly team believes that any organization can launch a successful capital campaign and will empower you to reach your fundraising goals now and in the future. We focus on the human aspect of fundraising, and our approach has helped lead all kinds of nonprofits to success.
Wrapping Up
Researching and choosing a consultant can feel like an involved process, but it’s worthwhile to find an expert who can help your nonprofit thrive. With the right capital campaign consultant by your side, your nonprofit will be well-equipped to launch a capital campaign that funds major projects, brings you closer to your donors, and boosts your entire organization’s fundraising capacity.
Eager to learn more about launching a successful capital campaign? Check out these additional resources:
Capital Campaigns: A Success Guide for Small Nonprofits. Need a refresher on capital campaign basics? Explore the essentials of every capital campaign phase and the steps to run a successful campaign.
Creating a Capital Campaign Plan: Complete Guide & Template. Use our free template and guide throughout your campaign’s planning phase to keep your staff members on track. Learn all the essential parts of a capital campaign and how to plan for them.
Finding Major Donors: How to Identify & Secure Major Gifts. Major donors are essential to the success of any capital campaign. Read up on all the best practices for identifying, cultivating, and securing the major gifts you need for your campaign.
