Preparing Your Board for a Campaign

An Independent High School With an Ambitious Strategic Plan

Clayton* is a seasoned chief development officer at an independent high school that is nearing its 100th anniversary. The school’s board of directors recently adopted a strategic plan, gathering input from students, faculty, parents, alumni, and school leaders. Clayton thinks of this board as something of a dream team: generous, committed, and equipped with a broad range of skills and perspectives. Several members are alumni who credit the school with shaping their lives. Evelyn, the board chair, is an alumna with a grandchild enrolled. Her family has attended the school for generations. 

The  recently created strategic plan sets the school on a path to become recognized as the leading independent high school in the region by achieving four big but attainable goals: 

1. Bolster academics by hiring teachers with advanced degrees to mentor students interested in doing original research 
2. Improve college placement by hiring senior staff members in college counseling and revamping the counseling process
3. Create a top-tier high school athletics program by building a new sports complex and investing in dedicated coaching staff
4. Expand financial aid so the most promising students can attend regardless of their ability to pay.

The school had never before undertaken such a wide-ranging plan, tackling scholarship, college placement, athletics, and financial accessibility. 

Questions that Arise when Boards Contemplate Campaigns

At the board’s annual retreat, Clayton and Priya, the head of school, presented a blueprint to operationalize the strategic plan. Every initiative was a logical next step in the school’s mission, but those initiatives would require significant resources. Clayton and Priya made a compelling case that the only way the strategic plan could be realized was to launch a comprehensive campaign. As they laid out their case for a campaign, there were many questions. 

The board chair, Evelyn, said that in her work on another board, a consulting firm had been hired to conduct a feasibility study that provided reliable analytics on how much could be raised, a range of gifts table based on the organization’s own data, recommendations on staffing, and a tested case for support that later evolved into beautiful campaign collateral. She was enthusiastic about the prospect of a major fundraising campaign at the school, but proposed hiring seasoned fundraising consultants to map the steps to success. Everyone agreed it would be wise to get professional support for this epic project. Clayton knew that success would also hinge on something beyond numbers and projections: the active participation of the board itself. Evelyn invited discussion.

One alumna leaned forward: “How can we help? Are we expected to fundraise ourselves?” Another asked if the board would be expected to solicit their friends. A third trustee raised a concern: “When I was on the historical society board, our campaign plateaued halfway through. How do we avoid that?”

A Wide Range of Roles for Board Members to Play

Clayton explained that if the board elected to go ahead with a campaign, each member’s participation would begin with a personal commitment. “Every trustee will be asked to make a gift that is personally meaningful to them,” he said. “Your leadership in giving will set the tone for the entire community.” Then he addressed the role of trustees in fundraising: “Not everyone is required to share contacts or make asks,” he assured them. “If you feel compelled to participate in fundraising, we’ll be happy to provide training and pair you with staff or fellow trustees. What we would more likely ask is that you open doors, make introductions, and share your story of the school with others.” His answer seemed to ease any anxiety about “cold calling.” 

CFA Founder and CEO Paul Johnson reinforces Clayton’s point about board participation: “When trustees make a gift that is meaningful to them, they not only fund the campaign—they model a culture of philanthropy. Gifts from leadership are powerfully persuasive for other donors, but beyond giving, board members can help in a wide variety of ways that fit with their strengths and busy schedules. They can serve as ambassadors in the community, invite prospects on a tour to meet staff and leadership, host an event, or join the campaign committee if they wish to play a bigger role.”

Sharing the Vision Builds Trustee Confidence 

Though the board was still in an investigative mode, Clayton knew it wouldn’t hurt for them to strengthen their skills in telling stories of the school’s impact and linking those narratives to their own values and life experiences. He distributed a one-page case statement for each of the initiatives and asked trustees to pair up. Each pair took turns presenting an initiative, linking it to a personal story, and practicing how they might share it with a colleague or friend.

At first, the room buzzed with nervous energy. Some trustees stumbled; others read from the handout. But as the minutes passed, voices grew stronger, and stories more inspirational. One alumna who was an athlete recalled life lessons she’d learned about leadership and noted that the sports complex would enable many more athletes to develop those skills. Another trustee, a scholarship recipient, spoke of how financial aid had been a life-changing opportunity for him. By the time Clayton asked for volunteers to tell their stories to the whole group, several were eager to share. In just 20 minutes, abstract initiatives had become heartfelt narratives.

Communication and Celebration Create a Cohesive Board and a Successful Campaign

With energy levels high after the storytelling session, Clayton looped back to the question about plateaus. On a whiteboard, he sketched the arc of a typical campaign: early lead gifts, a mid-campaign lull, and a public push at the end. “Let’s talk about this middle plateau,” he said. “What would it feel like to be halfway through and struggling?”

Trustees spoke of discouragement, doubt, and the temptation to scale back. Then, Clayton asked them to collaborate on designing countermeasures. They came up with hosting centennial-themed alumni gatherings, running feature articles on student scholarship in the alumni magazine, and sharing monthly updates with major stakeholders to regain momentum. 

While Clayton felt it was prudent to let the board consider how they might handle a setback, he also felt it was important for them to know a campaign would also bring wins– like new faculty hires, new funding for students in need, and breaking ground on the new sports center.

To illustrate this, he returned to the campaign timeline on the whiteboard and sketched in milestones worth celebrating: principal gifts, crossing the halfway mark, and the public launch. He invited trustees to imagine how they would recognize donors and one another along the way. Ideas ranged from receptions to spotlight videos on social media to thank-you notes from students. The mood brightened as trustees envisioned celebrating together.

Paul Johnson encapsulates campaign dynamics: “Plateaus are inevitable. A campaign is a marathon. As the months unfold, there are triumphs and challenges, and sometimes there are moments when not a lot happens. If there is a lull in fundraising, communication is imperative, so the group can work together to get back on track. Similarly, when things are going great, celebration is fuel. Recognition for individual contributions and shared achievements creates energy and momentum. When CFA is providing campaign counsel to a nonprofit, we typically advise campaign committees to create a fundraising dashboard to easily track and share progress. This helps to keep the relevant players apprised.”

The Results

By the end of the retreat, Clayton was seeing a visible shift. Trustees who didn’t know a lot about campaigns now seemed more comfortable with the idea. They had practiced telling the story, anticipated challenges, brainstormed solutions, and realized that there would be victories large and small along the way. 

The campaign still had a long road ahead—beginning with the feasibility study—but together they had taken the first steps toward charting the school’s path into the next century.

Paul Johnson offers a final observation: “Every organization has unique strengths and challenges going into a campaign. Very few have all their ducks in a row. At CFA, we meet clients where they are, tailor our advice, and guide them toward customized strategies and solutions. We work with clients and their boards to build a bridge between their present-day challenges and a visionary, empowered, and impactful future.”

Partner with Us

Are you preparing for a campaign? Do you wonder how to fully engage your trustees? CFA has guided nonprofits nationwide in equipping boards for campaign success. Contact CFA today to learn how we can help.

*Disclaimer: Client confidentiality is paramount in our work with each and every organization. The story in this article is fiction, based on real situations drawn from CFA’s broad experience serving nonprofit organizations.

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