Rescue Mission Capital Campaigns


When it comes to assuring the future growth and success of Rescue Missions, few activities will yield as significant an impact as a Rescue Mission capital campaign, helping the Rescue Mission to take a substantial leap forward in the fulfillment of its mission.

What is a Rescue Mission capital campaign?

A Rescue Mission capital campaign is an intense effort on the part of a Rescue Mission to raise significant dollars in a short period of time, typically for acquiring, constructing, or renovating a building.

How does a Rescue Mission capital campaign differ from any other type of capital campaign?

Let’s face it. Rescue Missions are unique. You don’t raise money for a Rescue Mission capital campaign like you would for a college, university, hospital, museum, or any other type of non-profit. On the plus side, Rescue Missions serve an important community function, and are a vital Christian outreach. They also typically have a significant donor list from years of direct mail fundraising, supporting relationships with local churches, and often have opportunities for broad community support, which means you may also have opportunity to look to local businesses, foundations, and individuals for some significant gifts. On the other hand, Rescue Missions do not have wealthy alumni, well-heeled members, or even a well-connected Board in many instances. Finally, Rescue Mission capital campaigns are distinct from other community campaigns in one very important way, and that is that they are based on Christian Stewardship principles. A Rescue Mission capital campaign is not about tactics or techniques. Rather, it is a program rooted in Biblical stewardship principles to lead your constituents through a time of prayerful consideration of how God would have them respond to the needs and opportunities in your community.

How long does it usually take to run a Rescue Mission capital campaign?

A Rescue Mission capital campaign will generally proceed through four distinct phases: an initial Pre-Campaign / Feasibility Study, followed by the three phases of a comprehensive campaign: a "Quiet" Leadership phase, a Public Campaign phase, and the Fulfillment phase.

The pace of your Rescue Mission capital campaign will depend primarily on three things: 1) how well your campaign activities are planned out, 2) how timely your Rescue Mission campaign committee members are on following through on their assignments, and 3) your donors’ timing. Some donors will give you a final answer during the same visit that you ask for a gift. Others may require more time in order to pray, consider, and discuss before making a final decision.

In general, most Rescue Mission capital campaigns take 12-18 months to complete the planning and the active campaign phases, and up to three years for pledge payments to be fully collected.

What are some common mistakes Rescue Missions make in conducting a Rescue Mission capital campaign?

  • Not conducting a Pre-Campaign / Feasibility Study
Comprehensive pre-campaign planning is an essential element of a major capital campaign—many campaigns have been scuttled by a premature or ill-planned launch. A capital campaign is too important to the future of your Mission to proceed on blind faith! When considering a major Rescue Mission capital campaign, an internal assessment of your Mission’s readiness, and an external assessment of the willingness and ability of the Mission's constituency to support the campaign should be conducted. The purpose of the Pre-Campaign / Feasibility Study is to provide objective data to assist in making critical decisions to determine the likely success of a Rescue Mission capital campaign.

  • Going public too soon
The success or failure of most Rescue Mission capital campaigns is generally determined before they are even publicly announced. For almost any major Rescue Mission capital campaign, it is almost impossible to reach the final goal through small gifts. One of the most common mistakes is to assume that if you get some good publicity at the launch of your campaign the whole community will rally to the cause and give once you formally announce your campaign. They will, but they won’t give at the level you will need to succeed. The major gifts you raise during the Quiet / Leadership Phase of the campaign will make or break your eventual success. Don’t rush to make an announcement. Focus first on the face-to-face meetings with these key major gift donors – they are critical to the eventual success of your Rescue Mission capital campaign.

  • Not seeing the campaign through to completion
When most people think of a Rescue Mission capital campaign they think of only the public phase, which represents the middle part of the campaign. Truth is, however, the success or failure of most Rescue Mission capital campaigns is determined at the beginning and the end. The most important part of the campaign is in the early phases, when most of the planning is conducted and the major gifts are secured. The end stage of the campaign is also critically important, however. Most people who give to a Rescue Mission capital campaign will do so with a multi-year pledge. Too often campaign committees pack up and go home once they have secured a sufficient amount of cash and pledges to complete the project. But what if a sizeable amount of these pledges are not collected? Or what if once building commences the costs of the project are a little higher than anticipated? At the end of the day, the campaign is not going to be a success until the project is complete and all the pledges are fulfilled. The Fulfillment Phase of the campaign is important to ensuring that the vast majority of pledges are fulfilled, and that new gifts are continually being secured to replace that small percentage of pledges that will go unfulfilled and/or to offset unexpected cost increases or overruns, ensuring that your Rescue Mission is not burdened by unforeseen cash flow problems down the road.

Why should we choose to use a capital campaign consultant to provide capital campaign counsel to help us with our Rescue Mission capital campaign?

A Rescue Mission capital campaign is one of the most significant initiatives your Rescue Mission will undertake. It is a complex undertaking, and is critically important that it be done right. To succeed, a Rescue Mission capital campaign must have a very high profile. This means that if it flops, it will be a high-profile flop. You also generally only have one shot at getting it right. There are many ways that a Rescue Mission capital campaign can “go off the rails”, and when it does it can be very difficult to get it back on track.

With so much at stake, most Rescue Missions wisely choose to retain a Capital Campaign Consulting Firm to help guide them through their Rescue Mission capital campaign to a successful completion.

What are the benefits of retaining a Capital Campaign Consulting Firm to provide Rescue Mission capital campaign counsel for our Rescue Mission capital campaign?

As the saying goes, when you need expertise hire an expert.

At Keystone Consulting, our consultants will work with you to craft a customized Rescue Mission capital campaign fundraising plan to help your Rescue Mission turn your vision into reality as current and new friends are taught Biblical stewardship principles and are asked to make gifts over and above their current involvement with the ministry.

We are experts in providing the counsel and assistance to successfully complete a Rescue Mission capital campaign that will help your Rescue Mission take a substantial leap forward in the fulfillment of its God-given ministry.

Keystone Consulting personnel have extensive experience in guiding Rescue Missions through successful campaigns. We have helped many other Rescue Missions just like yours raise tens of millions of dollars for their Rescue Mission capital campaigns, and would welcome the opportunity to assist your Rescue Mission in meeting its goals.

For more information please call us at (800) 382-0094, or via email at info@keystone-consulting.com.