The Biggest Mistakes Nonprofits Make in a Capital Campaign
Capital campaigns can be transformational. They can also be exhausting, frustrating, and—if you’re not careful—far more difficult than they need to be.
After working alongside nonprofits of all sizes on feasibility studies, campaign planning, and execution, I’ve noticed a pattern. When campaigns struggle, it’s rarely because the mission isn’t worthy or the community doesn’t care. More often, it’s because a few very common mistakes were made before the first ask ever happened.
Here are some of the biggest ones—and how to avoid them.
1. Skipping the Internal Readiness Work
This is the most common mistake we see, and it’s usually driven by good intentions. There’s momentum. There’s urgency. There might even be a match or a major opportunity on the table. So organizations jump straight into “campaign mode” without slowing down to ask some hard but necessary questions.
I’ve seen firsthand how powerful it can be to not skip this step.
When I served as campaign counsel for the Milaca Scholarship Foundation, we knew we were going to move forward with a campaign regardless. We had a significant match challenge already set before us. But we still chose to conduct a feasibility study.
That decision paid off. The study didn’t slow us down—it strengthened us. It helped spark ownership among our strongest stakeholders, surfaced new campaign leadership, and ultimately led to the identification of a campaign co-chair and a quarter-million-dollar lead gift.
That kind of outcome doesn’t happen by accident.
Doing the internal readiness work ahead of time helps you answer questions like:
Is our CRM meeting our current needs—and is it equipped to handle a capital campaign?
Is our donor data clean, accurate, and usable?
Do we already have donors who could be strong major-gift prospects?
Does our staff actually have the bandwidth to take on campaign work alongside their existing responsibilities?
None of these questions are glamorous—but all of them matter.
2. A Weak (or Wandering) Case for Support
Another common pitfall is a case for support that tries to do too much—and ends up doing too little.
This often shows up as:
Too much data and not enough meaning
A rambling narrative with no clear throughline
A compelling problem, but no clearly articulated solution
A solution…without a strong call to action
A strong case for support should do three things clearly and succinctly:
Explain the need
Present a compelling solution
Invite the reader to be part of making it happen
If your case leaves people nodding politely but unsure what you’re actually asking them to do, it’s not doing its job.
3. Recruiting the Wrong People for the Steering Committee
Campaign leadership matters—a lot. And “well-known” doesn’t automatically mean “well-suited.”
Strong steering committees are intentionally built with a mix of:
Visionaries
Trusted community leaders
Doers and follow-through people
Internal and external stakeholders
Most importantly, they’re made up of people who are willing to learn, stretch, and grow.
Not everyone needs to be a solicitor. But everyone needs to be ready to serve as an ambassador for your organization and your campaign. If someone isn’t willing to talk about the project with enthusiasm and confidence, they’re probably not the right fit for a leadership role—no matter how impressive their resume is.
4. Going Too Fast (Without Setting Clear Expectations)
Campaign excitement is a good thing. It means people care. But unchanneled enthusiasm can actually hurt you if it leads to rushed decisions or unrealistic timelines.
A full capital campaign—including preparation, quiet phase, public phase, and celebration—often takes two to three years, sometimes longer depending on readiness and scope. That timeline isn’t a sign of inefficiency; it’s a reflection of how long it takes to build trust, relationships, and momentum in a healthy way.
Slow and steady really does win this race.
How to Start Strong (and Avoid These Mistakes)
If you’re thinking about a capital or capacity campaign in the next 6–18 months, the smartest thing you can do is pause before the feasibility study and assess your readiness.
That’s exactly why we created the Start Strong Campaign Launch Lab.
In just a few hours of your team’s time, the Launch Lab helps organizations evaluate where they are today across four core pillars of campaign success—vision, leadership, donor relationships, and systems—and identify the most important next steps to move forward with confidence. The process includes a guided readiness survey, a one-on-one strategy call, a custom campaign readiness brief, and short video training to help boards and staff understand the campaign process .
If you want to avoid common campaign pitfalls—and build clarity, confidence, and momentum before your first ask—I’d encourage you to take a look.
Learn more about the Start Strong Campaign Launch Lab Here
Starting strong doesn’t guarantee an easy campaign—but it dramatically increases your odds of a successful one.
