Campaign Communications Phase 1: Planning

Successful campaigns rely on much more than a team of crackerjack gift officers and donors willing to give. 

They are the result of careful assessment, planning, consensus building, communications development, message testing, and intentional engagement, and anyone who tells you differently is either lying or one of the luckiest fundraising professionals you’ve ever met. 

We approach campaigns—especially comprehensive campaigns for an entire institution—as a continuum with six key phases ranging from initial planning to post-close activities, and each of these phases has its own unique communications needs. It’s a complex topic, which is why this is the first in a series of blog posts dedicated to the six phases of a campaign. 

Let’s start at the very beginning, and demonstrate how communications are integral to each step along the way. 

PHASE 1: PLANNING 

Feasibility studies are critical during this period to assess the viability of a campaign and determine priorities, set monetary goals, and identify the donors who have the capacity to make your campaign successful. And a feasibility case is the primary vehicle you would use for communicating the potential impact of fundraising priorities to donors. 

A feasibility case is only a preliminary document and its greatest value is in eliciting responses from donors about what institutional priorities and language they do and do not find compelling. 

Standard practice is for a specialized firm to handle feasibility studies alone, sometimes in collaboration with a writer who generates the case. However, we recommend that you include writers in at least a handful of donor interviews so that they can hear the responses themselves and incorporate this feedback into future versions of the case. 

Finding synergy between fundraising and communications consultants in this period also keeps donors from having essentially the same conversation multiple times with different parties, leading to a better donor experience. 

Key communications services and deliverables:

• Feasibility case for support