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Home > The Building Process > Launching the Capital Campaign
Launching Your Capital Campaign
Having completed your campaign feasibility study, you're now ready to gain approval from the Archdiocese to go ahead with the capital fund drive. The fundraising efforts for larger buildings usually require a full-fledged capital campaign. (With the cost of construction so high, most projects quickly get to a size that requires a formal and sustained capital campaign.)
For a sizeable building project, capital campaigns usually span three years or may need to be multi-phased. The first portion of a campaign often begins with what is called a "quiet phase," in which potential large donors are approached to secure pledges that will give the campaign an initial boost. The quiet phase is followed by a public launching of the campaign. The public launch involves parish meetings, hands-on work with a campaign consultant to plan for and coordinate activities, and lots of volunteer recruitment and training, so that volunteers can approach parishioners in groups or in one-on-one meetings.
If a project is financed by a capital campaign, the Archdiocese requires that at least 50% of the funds must be received in cash before the building process can begin. This requirement can prove beneficial in several ways. If you are reaching your campaign targets, banks will be more inclined to loan you money than if your campaign is lagging. If your campaign is proceeding slower than expected, and you need to revise or delay your project, you will have that flexibility and be less likely to over commit. In difficult economic times, it is especially critical that you get a historical feel for how the campaign is proceeding before making a financial commitment to a project.
CFC maintains lists of capital campaign consultants in our Guide to Selecting Consultants.
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