Q3: time to annual campaign
Timing is everything!
With an upcoming election this fall, you never want to be in the middle of an annual fundraising campaign while the news cycle is focusing on something as important as our presidential election.
Our Q3 checklist will help you start planning now so that by election night you’ve already got one win under your belt.
We can bring you through the entire Annual Campaign process or just train your team. Schedule a call with us… ask us more about what this can look like.
01 Gather your team
The decision makers, the creative types, the visionaries, the do-ers — it takes all types to make a campaign successful. Don’t fixate on recruiting the wealthy people only-- everyone has something to contribute and everyone can be trained.
Pro tip: Go through a directory or list of supporters and think about who might be excited by this campaign. Pick some unusual suspects.
02 Set your goals
Goals start with the amount of money you need to raise, but also include the number of donors and the spirit behind your asking. Contrary to what your instincts might be telling you about giving right now, stick to data that informs your goals, not your fears about timing. It’s also really important to look at what your data is telling you.
03 Train your team
Everyone on your team can be trained to make a successful ask. We can customize strategies for your team based on our experience with everything from one-person shops to national organizations. We don’t own cookie cutters.
04 Run your campaign
It is a good idea to do some initial asks of key donors, so that once you publicly launch your campaign you already have a win, with 4-6 weeks left to get to the finish line. Remain transparent in your process and share good news. Share weekly updates with the whole organization or congregation, including your numbers, stories, and strategies on how you are getting to your collective goal.
If you’re a DYI-er
Look for our recently-released curriculum, produced by Sanctified Art. In it you’ll find an extensive list of practical tools to help you run your campaign, along with ways to explore a deep spiritual dimension of fundraising that comes from delving into your own money stories, individually and corporately—plus exploration of the theological implications of fundraising. We highly recommend purchasing the entire curriculum to help you through this process.
However you tackle your annual campaign, it’s always helpful to talk it through with a professional, and we’ve got your back. We offer everything from one-off coaching sessions to end-to-end support to help you reach your goals.
