One of our consultants Herb Buwalda, has developed a great plan for churches that focuses upon the 3 M’s of debt reduction.  As anyone in the stewardship industry will tell you raising funds to pay off debt is some of the hardest dollars you can raise.  I always joke that... Read More

One of the most oft asked questions about capital campaigns is, “how much time does it take?”  The answer is, it depends.  However here is a principle to apply… The longer time you give to your campaign the greater the likelihood of success! I typically answer... Read More

Before you chose your next partner for your capital campaign let me share with you why we charge less than our competitors.  Last week one of my clients sheepishly told me that my fee was more than 50% lower than the other companies they interviewed.  I was not surprised by that.... Read More

“Tell me what you don’t like about capital campaigns and I might agree with you!”  That is what I told a lay leader this past week.  She preceded to tell me that in the churches last capital campaign the deacons of the church knocked on the doors of members... Read More

Few pastors know how to preach a capital campaign series.  Failing here is where many a capital campaign is derailed.  For any church the most powerful tool for communicating the need and message of a capital campaign is the platform or pulpit.  Yet if you don’t use this... Read More

Before you start your next capital campaign you had better learn how to earn the right to ask.  If you have a capital campaign that is more than six months from now you need to start building the foundation for that campaigns success sooner rather than later.  To do that you have... Read More

Do you know what the chicken or the egg question for capital campaigns is?  You remember the old quip, “Which came first, the chicken or the egg?”   While it might be a silly question none the less we often wonder what should come first in planning.  The chicken or... Read More

Vision paves the road for a great capital campaign but passion is the fuel for success.  I have been telling church leaders for years that vision is what gains dollars for any and everything in the church.  Yet without a passion to pursue that vision it will run out of fuel and... Read More

One of the biggest landmines you have to navigate in picking a firm to help with your next campaign is the changing field of capital campaign companies.  Just last week learned the leader in our industry for almost twenty years, RSI, had been purchased by another firm.  It... Read More

If you are about to start raising funds for a project you need to know how to avoid wasting time with a capital campaign.  “Wait,” you say.  “Shouldn’t you be trying to convince readers to have a capital campaign?  Yet here you are talking about wasting... Read More