Feeling the Fear and Doing it Anyway!

Fear, we all experience it. Large major gift campaigns instill fear into every one of us. We can accomplish all the tasks we assign ourselves — forming a compelling and urgent case, identifying the prospective donors, recruiting the leadership, developing a solid plan…but success boils down to asking donors for financial investment.

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Onward! But Are You Ready?

Whether you call it a Capital Campaign or a Comprehensive Campaign…the excitement and fear are the same. Most nonprofit professionals rarely have the opportunity to be on a development team that is conducting a large fundraising campaign. Even fewer of us have the opportunity to lead the effort. I have been a frontline fundraiser for over 30 years leading both large and small development shops. And, I have been fortunate to lead three large campaigns, two comprehensive campaigns and one endowment campaign. If you are one of the lucky few that has been anointed the privilege of leading your organization’s upcoming campaign, let me share some advice.

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