Planning Your Capital Campaign Kickoff Event: 4 Tips

Capital campaigns are your nonprofit’s largest and most intensive fundraisers, so it makes sense that they require a special type of event to draw public attention. Enter the kickoff event, a planned celebration that launches the public phase of your capital campaign.

But kickoff events aren’t just about generating excitement and sharing your mission with the public. According to Donorly’s guide to capital campaign planning, these events also help you “identify prospective major donors, strengthen relationships with community leaders, and introduce your mission to brand-new audiences—ultimately ensuring that you have a strong, passionate support base that will see you through the capital campaign and beyond.”

This means you should take extra care in planning a kickoff event that truly inspires long-term support for your nonprofit. We’ve compiled four tips to help you do so.

1. Identify Your Target Audience

First, consider who you’ll invite to your campaign kickoff event. While leaving the event open to the public to attract new supporters may seem natural, it’s still important to be strategic with your invitations.

At a minimum, you should personally invite key stakeholders like:

• Major donors who contributed during the quiet phase. Include all donors who already gave a major gift to your campaign in the kickoff event. Thanking these donors publicly and engaging them throughout the rest of the campaign is vital to retaining their support long-term.
• Board members. Guests will appreciate seeing your board members’ support for the campaign first-hand. Since capital campaigns are such large-scale, impactful endeavors, it’s vital to show that your organization is united in pursuing this goal.
• Community leaders. Inviting influential community members to make an appearance can inspire all new groups of people to learn about your campaign. Ask leaders like local politicians, business owners, or directors of like-minded organizations to join your event.
• Prospective major donors. If you’ve identified any supporters who may be willing and able to make a major gift in the future, invite them to engage with your nonprofit at the kickoff event. Even if they don’t give to this campaign, sending a personal invitation will help you cultivate future support.

Depending on the size of your event and your current fundraising progress, you may also consider targeting prospective supporters, new community members, or even the broader public.

2. Choose an Engaging Format

With your target audience’s preferences in mind, decide if your kickoff event should be fully in-person, virtual, or hybrid. Which format will generate the most engagement and donations for your unique capital campaign?

Consider the pros and cons of each format when making your decision:

• In-person events give guests more opportunities for social connection and networking while making it easier for your nonprofit to strengthen relationships with key stakeholders. However, in-person events come with more costs and limit who can attend, potentially impacting your total fundraising revenue.
• Online events open up your kickoff to a much wider audience and increase accessibility for guests. Supporters who live out of town, have prior commitments, or might otherwise struggle to attend an in-person event can participate from home. Online events are more cost-effective, but these events may be less engaging for guests. Plus, you run the risk of supporters getting discouraged by technical issues.

Your audience is another important consideration when choosing the right event format and fundraising strategies. For instance, if you have a large target audience and want to invite as many supporters as possible, you might choose to host both in-person and online events. This way, you can invite certain donors to the live event (major donors, community leaders, etc.) while encouraging other supporters who can’t be there live to participate in an event online.

Remember that you may need an event management app if your event includes virtual elements like livestreams, live chat, and gamification. Explore your options by getting peer recommendations and browsing online software reviews from other nonprofits. Ideally, your solution should be cost-effective, easy for guests to use, and scalable for future events.

3. Plan Speeches and Activities

Next, determine what should happen during the event itself. Kickoff events come in various shapes and sizes, so there’s no standard agenda you need to follow. However, you’ll likely want to include a few speeches and at least one activity for guests to participate in.

Depending on your budget, target audience, and how casual or professional you want the event to be, you might choose to include a:

• Groundbreaking ceremony
• Community block party
• Tree planting ceremony
• Special one-time performance
• Time capsule burial ceremony

Along with a few engagement opportunities, consider who should speak at the event. Your capital campaign kickoff is a chance to share the vision behind your campaign with the broader public. Choose one or more leaders who can explain your vision eloquently and persuasively.

Your nonprofit’s staff and board members aren’t the only people you should consider for speaking opportunities. Long-time supporters, people who have been impacted by your mission, and influential community members can all be great choices for speakers who inspire guests to give. They can share their personal stories and emphasize the goals and benefits of your capital campaign from a new, relevant perspective.

Have a senior member of your team introduce any guest speakers at the event to make them feel welcome and supported. After a short speech from a member of your nonprofit’s leadership team, you could invite one of your lead donors to speak about their passion for your cause and how this campaign will further it. Then, you might unveil a rendering of a donor recognition plaque or wall to honor the major donors who’ve already contributed to the campaign. 

4. Strategically Market the Kickoff Event

Finally, plan an event marketing strategy that leverages the power and reach of various communication channels. For instance, you might promote the event via social media, email, direct mail, flyers, and more. Whichever channels you choose, ensure they align with your target audience’s communication preferences.

You’ll also need a PR strategy—how will you get press coverage for your event to generate more attention throughout the community? Brainstorm several media outlets and contacts you can approach, such as local news stations, newspapers, and influencers in the community. Write tailored press releases they can share, including any relevant images or videos that might make them more impactful.

After speaking to the media and sending personalized event invitations, plan several touchpoints to remind supporters about the event and generate excitement in the weeks leading up to it. Send reminder text messages, post teaser videos, and share relevant updates via email.

When you design promotional materials for social media or your website, ensure their visual style aligns with the rest of your capital campaign’s branding. According to Getting Attention’s nonprofit marketing statistics, posts that include images have a 650% higher engagement rate than those that don’t—so you definitely want to incorporate cohesive visuals into your event marketing strategy.

With these tips, your team will be on its way to planning an engaging capital campaign kickoff that drives public support. Remember that your kickoff is only the beginning of your campaign’s public phase, so budget your time and money accordingly. While you want to kick off the campaign with a bang, be sure you can sustain that energy in the coming months!