Free resource
The Campaign Readiness Checklist
Fifteen benchmarks that decide whether a campaign succeeds, drawn from the same readiness review we run in a full feasibility study. Score yourself honestly with your leadership team: one point for every statement that is clearly true today.
- 1. A case bigger than a building. We can explain, in donor language, what this campaign changes for the people we serve, not just what it constructs or funds.
- 2. A tested goal. Our goal comes from evidence about donor capacity and willingness, not from what the project costs or what the board hopes.
- 3. Committed executive leadership. Our CEO understands the campaign will claim a third or more of their time and has decided it's worth it.
- 4. A board that gives. Every board member gives annually, and the board understands it will be asked to give sacrificially, early, before anyone else is asked.
- 5. Volunteer campaign leadership in sight. We can name credible candidates to chair and serve on a campaign cabinet, people with influence, affluence, or both.
- 6. A real prospect pool. We can identify roughly three to four qualified prospects for each gift required at the top of our gift range chart.
- 7. Lead gift potential. We have relationships, today, with donors capable of gifts at 10 to 20 percent of the goal.
- 8. Development staffing to carry the load. Our team can run a campaign and protect annual giving at the same time, or we've budgeted to make that true.
- 9. Clean, usable donor data. Our CRM tells us accurately who gives, how much, how often, and who is connected to whom.
- 10. Healthy annual giving. Retention and revenue trends are stable or growing. A campaign amplifies a program's health; it doesn't repair it.
- 11. A stewardship habit. Donors hear from us promptly, personally, and specifically about what their gifts accomplished, before we ask again.
- 12. Gift policies in writing. We have board-approved policies for gift acceptance, pledges, naming, and how campaign gifts are counted.
- 13. A planned giving doorway. We can accept and recognize legacy gifts, because campaigns surface them and unready organizations lose them.
- 14. A campaign budget. We know what it costs to raise this money and leadership has accepted that investment as part of the goal.
- 15. Organizational alignment. The campaign flows from our strategic plan, and program, finance, and marketing leaders see it as theirs, not just development's.
Scoring your organization
12 to 15: You're ready to test a campaign formally. A feasibility study will sharpen the goal and surface your lead gifts.
8 to 11: You have a foundation and real gaps. Six to twelve months of targeted work, often on the board, data, and stewardship items, changes your campaign's ceiling.
Below 8: Launching now would spend your credibility. Build first. That's not a failure; it's the finding that saves organizations years.
Want a second opinion on your score?
Bring your checklist to a free 30-minute call. We'll tell you which gaps matter most and which you can safely ignore.