Materials Development
By implementing this plan on your own, you have saved thousands of dollars. Now is the time to invest in the materials for this campaign in the following areas:
Quality
The printed materials you develop for this campaign should be of the highest quality. Even if you use the copy machine for your Sunday bulletins, don’t attempt to save money on your printed materials. Hire a graphic artist from outside your congregation to design your materials. If you don’t like their design, you will have no obligation to use it anyway. You can continue to make changes until you get what you need. Graphic artists are creative people and they may want to give you what they like instead of what you need. Don’t be shy; ask for what you need.
The printed materials for this campaign make a subtle, but very important statement about the importance of the campaign. When a prospect sees a quality communications piece, they realize the church is serious about this effort. Investing in quality materials will raise far more money than it costs. I recommend using an 80 lb. coated stock and the best graphic arts designer you can find.
If you are not aware of any excellent graphic arts designers in your area you can go online to Fiverr or Upworks for your choice of designers worldwide. Emily (who you can reach at [email protected]) was not in the same state when she designed the sample brochures included in this website. Emily is a professionally trained graphic designer and you can see the quality of her work by reviewing the enclosed sample brochures. Nadene (who can be reached through Fiverr at nadeneester) did all the line art illustrations in this website and she does not even live in the United States. She is an art instructor and is especially gifted in communicating human emotion through line art. Both of these professionals are highly skilled, but even more important they are both committed Christians. This is very important in developing any any material for your capital campaign as they understand what you are trying to communicate.
Size
To continue the theme above, printed materials should be of a substantial size. I recommend an 8 x 10 or 6 x 9 for the finished pieces to command the prospect’s attention. As a polite person you may feel you should not be pushy, but this is an area where we want to be sure to get and maintain the prospect’s interest. The size of the type used should also be substantial. I recommend 20-point bold letters that reach out to the prospect. Many major donors are older and reading the campaign materials should not be a challenge. Your designer may say they prefer small unobtrusive letters.
Just tell them that is fine, but you need something that has a more powerful presence. You are their employer and your graphic artist will honor your wishes if they are firmly stated.
Phrases instead of sentences
The goal is to have materials that communicate at a glance. Our society believes they do not have the time to actually read anything. “Just give me the main idea and do it quickly” is the unspoken demand. If the prospect can understand what we are communicating in less than a few seconds we have achieved our goal.
It will be easier to understand my meaning if you review what a church conducting a DIY Capital Campaign actually used.
Volume of Materials
Determine the total number of communication pieces needed, and then print at least 50% more than your most generous estimate. An increase in the total number of items printed will cost you very little more money. What’s even worse, if your supply gets low you will be tempted to ration the distribution of important information.
You have already achieved the major savings of not having a fundraising consultant. Don’t pinch pennies on the volume of materials you may need.
Campaign Name
This is more to identify this fundraising project as separate from other church fundraising (i.e., The Youth Camp Fund, Easter Egg Hunt Fund, The Seniors Travelling Fund, etc.)
The enclosed samples use the name “Dare to Dream” but you can be as creative as is appropriate for your congregation.
Specific Communication Pieces
The Case Statement Brochure
This document presents the case for support of the project. Stated simply, it answers the question, “Why should I make a major multi-year commitment to building a new facility?” Follow this presentation on the Case Statement Brochure Sample to more easily understand its application. Specific facts about your situation will be unique, but guidance from the following general statements will still apply.
The front panel of this document should clearly state the challenge in as few words as possible and engage the prospect’s interest. The goal here is to get the prospect to open the brochure.
If the first panel presents the situation and asks what can be done, the second panel should clearly answer that question. When answering any major issue, a Christian’s first response should always be “Go to God in Prayer”. When you ask the question “What can we do?” the obvious answer is always prayer. You can then use this space to report on the answers to prayer you have received to date. Don’t feel you must explain in detail; just state briefly what you have learned to date.
The third panel can then state the challenges a new facility can address. The challenges you want to address may be very different but they are still very real.
The fourth panel is an opportunity to present a narrative financial summary. Your details will be different, but this is where you explain how the prospect’s donation interacts with other resources to make the entire project possible.
The fifth panel should then explain how this capital campaign will be conducted. The approach of this campaign may be very new to your congregation. You will need to convince them that the unpleasant aspects of the traditional campaign they are expecting have been eliminated. The three general answers to this question presented in the sample are universal and will apply to all campaigns. Everyone wants their time and privacy respected and no one can object to God being the prospect’s personal solicitor.
The sixth and seventh panel will then explain exactly how the campaign will work. We want to eliminate all misunderstandings and surprises. All prospects must understand that their sealed pledge will be collected at the end of this meeting. This fact can not be stressed too much. Much preparation has gone before but now is the decision point where the amount of the prospects pledge is placed in writing. Don’t assume this has already been said many times and thus does not need to be repeated. This is the harvest time after a long growing season.
I prefer to keep the back panel (panel 8) almost blank as I want each prospect to focus on the information inside. Contact information is not necessary as this document simply presents information.
One or two encouraging scriptures can also be included in the case statement, but remember the goal of the case statement is to present the case for support as briefly as possible. I recommend making the initial draft of your case statement brochure as short as possible and when completed go back and eliminate one half of the words. I know you have much to share, but your prospects are still only going to give this document a glance. While the Case Statement presents the case for support and explains the mechanics of the campaign, the formal meeting invitation will help each prospect prepare for their home meeting.
The Home Meeting Invitation (See Home Meeting Invitation Sample)
This will be the second formal written piece of campaign information the prospect receives. As mentioned earlier it is also large enough to not be lost on a desk or kitchen table. Even if this home meeting is incorporated into a home fellowship meeting, it is still important to provide a formal invitation. This invitation gives advance notice of the giving decision point and encourages the prospect to pray in advance of the meeting. The scriptures to be included can be selected by your Minister or Elders, but remember to keep it brief as it will only get a glance. Reminding all prospects that the sealed pledge envelopes will be collected at the end of the meeting is a vital part of this document. This reminder can not be stated two often. You may feel embarrassed to keep repeated this statement but it remains key to the success of your campaign. While it is stated many times thought the campaign some prospects will only hear it once or twice. Remember your greatest wisdom will only get a glance.
The Pledge Card (See Pledge Card Sample)
Like all documents in this campaign, the pledge card is large enough to easily read and complete. Most pledge cards are too small to easily complete. There is no need to create this difficulty. Make the pledge card big enough (again probably 8 x 10) to easily complete. The prospect will not see the pledge card until the meeting so it can not be completed in advance. Ideally it should be on a card stock so it is easy to complete on your lap. The larger size for this pledge card will also permit easier filing for the Church Treasurer. This document is only for reporting a decision, so brevity is again important. It again states this pledge will be confidential, time efficient, and God focused. Most capital campaigns cover a 5-year period. For most prospects 3 years may not be long enough for a major gift and 7 years is too long for accurate plans.
Church Foyer Display
Visual people will better understand your project if they can see an artist’s conception of the final product in the church foyer. Your architect will be able to provide a quality color drawing or if you want to go first class your architect can recommend a modelmaker to create a 3-D model of your new facility. This is another area requiring a minor investment, but it will help some congregation members to better understand the project.
Graphic Artist Selection
In this day of the internet, you are not limited to local talent for design or specialized skills in preparing your materials. Emily (who you can reach at [email protected]) was not even in the same state when she designed the sample brochures included in this website. Emily is a professionally trained graphic designer and you can see the quality of her work by reviewing the enclosed sample brochures. Nadene (who can be reached through Fiverr at nadeneester) did all the line art illustrations in this website and she does not even live in the USA. She is a former art instructor and is especially gifted in communicating human emotion through simple line art. Both of these professionals are highly skilled, but even more important they are both committed Christians. This is very important in developing any materials for your capital campaign as they understand what you are trying to communicate.
