All About Capital Campaigns: Nonprofits, Fundraising, Major Gifts, Toolkit

What does it actually take to launch a $40 million campaign when your organization has almost no fundraising history?

Andrea Kihlstedt sits down with Wendy Connors, CEO of the Hertz Foundation, for a candid, behind-the-scenes look at one of the most remarkable campaign transformations in recent memory. The Hertz Foundation supports science and engineering PhD students — but for most of its history, it barely fundraised at all. When ...

Where are your biggest campaign donors going to come from? If you're like most nonprofit leaders, the answer feels like "somewhere out there" — a major philanthropist who just needs to hear your story.

In this episode of All About Capital Campaigns, Amy Eisenstein and Andrea Kihlstedt are here to challenge that assumption — and bust the three most common donor myths that derail capital campaigns before they even get st...

Three clients. One week. All of them over goal. And then the question no one fully prepares for: what do you do the day after?

In this episode of All About Capital Campaigns, Amy Eisenstein and Andrea Kihlstedt celebrate a remarkable milestone — three CCPro clients crossed their campaign finish lines in the same week — and walk through exactly what nonprofits should do in the hours, days, and weeks that follow.

Because going over goa...

What do you do when your biggest donor wants to fund something that isn’t in your campaign plan? Or when a wealthy prospect makes you uneasy but you can’t quite explain why? These are the kinds of ethical gray areas that surface in nearly every capital campaign—and most organizations aren’t prepared for them.

In this episode of All About Capital Campaigns, Andrea Kihlstedt and Amy Eisenstein tackled the uncomfortable but essential t...

When most nonprofit leaders hear "capital campaign," they picture a new building. A groundbreaking ceremony. Architectural renderings. But what if the most transformative investment your organization could make isn’t a building at all — it’s the people who do the work?

In this episode of All About Capital Campaigns, Andrea Kihlstedt spoke with Esther Landau, Senior Director of Advancement Services at the Arc San Francisco,...

Most nonprofit leaders think of a capital campaign as a one-time event — a massive push that happens once, maybe twice in the life of an organization. But that mindset can actually hold organizations back. The most effective nonprofits treat campaigns as a recurring cycle, and understanding the right cadence can make the difference between an organization that grows strategically and one that stalls.

On a recent Capital Campaign Pro...

Before launching a capital campaign, most nonprofits hire a consultant to conduct a feasibility study. The consultant interviews donors, disappears for a few weeks, and returns with a report and a number. It’s the way it’s been done for decades. But a growing number of organizations are choosing a different path—and getting dramatically better results.

In this episode of All About Capital Campaigns, Andrea Kihlstedt sat down with Em...

Every fundraiser has been there. A donor expresses interest, maybe even during a feasibility study, and then goes completely silent. Emails go unanswered. Calls aren’t returned. You’re being ghosted.

It’s one of the most frustrating experiences in nonprofit fundraising, and one of the most common. On a recent Capital Campaign Pro podcast episode, Amy Eisenstein and Andrea Kihlstedt shared a real client story and practical strategies...

What do you do when a donor gives before you even ask?

In this episode, Amy Eisenstein and Andrea Kihlstedt explore one of the most overlooked—and potentially costly—moments in capital campaign fundraising: the preemptive gift.

While it may feel like an easy win, an early donation can actually limit a donor’s full potential if not handled strategically. Amy and Andrea walk through a real-world story and break down how experienced fun...

You got into nonprofit work to make a difference. So why does it feel like you’re running on empty most days?

On this episode of All About Capital Campaigns, Amy Eisenstein sat down with Indra Lahiri — an organizational psychologist, certified traumatic stress specialist, and founder of Indraloka Animal Sanctuary — to talk about what burnout really looks like, why it’s more dangerous than most leaders realize, and what you can actua...

When the economy dips, political tensions rise, or a major funder pulls back, nonprofit leaders often hear the same refrain from anxious board members: "Maybe we should stop fundraising until things settle down." It sounds reasonable on the surface. But reacting out of fear rather than strategy is one of the most damaging things a nonprofit can do—especially in uncertain times.

The instinct to hunker down is understandable...

Many organizations assume a polished campaign brochure is one of the first things they must create for a capital campaign. That assumption can slow down the most important work of building a compelling campaign.

In this episode of All About Capital Campaigns, Andrea Kihlstedt talks with Sarah Plimpton, Vice President and Chief Happiness Officer at Capital Campaign Pro, about campaign communications and why the traditional campaign b...

If your campaign committee members agreed to make calls but nothing is happening, this episode will change how you respond and improve your results.

In this episode of All About Capital Campaigns, co-founders Amy Eisenstein and Andrea Kihlstedt tackle a common frustration in capital campaigns: committee members who accept prospect portfolios and then stall. The assignments are clear. The meeting is approaching. The report forms are ...

Will a capital campaign drain your annual fund or strengthen it in ways you never expected?

In this episode of All About Capital Campaigns, Andrea Kihlstedt talks with Hilary Jansen, Director of Philanthropic Engagement at Community MusicWorks in Providence, Rhode Island, about what actually happens to annual fundraising during and after a major capital campaign. Community MusicWorks recently completed a $15 million building campaig...

What if the biggest barrier to your capital campaign success is the phrase “we don’t have time”?

In this episode of All About Capital Campaigns, Amy Eisenstein and Andrea Kihlstedt pull back the curtain on a truth that experienced fundraising consultants see every day: organizations that prioritize real conversations with major donors outperform those that try to outsource or avoid them. Drawing from their work with nearly one hundr...

Most capital campaign advice comes from stories and experience. This episode brings three years of real data that confirms what actually works and what common fears miss.

In this episode of All About Capital Campaigns, host Amy Eisenstein is joined by Steven Shattuck, Director of Engagement and Technology at Capital Campaign Pro, to share findings from the third annual Capital Campaign Benchmark Report. Drawing on responses from mor...

A snowstorm shuts down a city, a systems failure brings operations to a halt, or a major campaign gift suddenly falls apart. Moments like these reveal how strong a nonprofit’s donor relationships really are.

In this episode of All About Capital Campaigns, host Amy Eisenstein is joined by Capital Campaign Pro co founder Andrea Kihlstedt to explore how nonprofit leaders can engage donors as true partners during moments of uncertainty,...

Hiring a capital campaign consultant can quietly shape the success of your entire campaign, long before a single dollar is raised.

In this episode of All About Capital Campaigns, hosts Amy Eisenstein and Andrea Kihlstedt walk through how nonprofit leaders can involve their boards, educate their teams, and choose a capital campaign consultant with clarity and confidence. Amy and Andrea share why the consultant selection process itsel...

Your largest capital campaign donors often give early, generously, and then quietly disappear from view. That silence can cost you far more than most organizations realize.

In this episode of All About Capital Campaigns, hosts Amy Eisenstein and Andrea Kihlstedt talk candidly about what strong stewardship looks like during the long middle stretch of a capital campaign and why the period after the initial gift is where future success...