What Is a Board’s Role in a Capital Campaign?
When colleges and independent schools begin discussing a capital campaign, conversations often focus on the goal, whether it’s the dollar amount, the timeline, the project list, and the eventual public launch.
But before any of that matters, one critical question must be answered: Is your board prepared to provide leadership for the campaign?
A common frustration that we hear from presidents and heads of school is, “Our board is supportive, but they’re not actively engaged in fundraising.” Conversely, we often hear trustees say, “We were never told exactly what was expected of us.”
Capital campaigns require clarity and it is crucial to define and communicate clear roles to trustees. For your board, they must understand their specific role in the campaign. That may include providing introductions to prospective donors, hosting events, participating in philanthropic investor meetings, thanking supporters, serving on campaign committees, and, of course, supporting the campaign with a gift.
Note these four crucial roles that your board should be embracing during your capital campaign.
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Leadership Giving Sets the Tone Early
Before a campaign goes public, it must build quiet credibility. That credibility begins with the board. Board members should make early and significant commitments during the quiet phase of the campaign. 100% participation from your board demonstrates belief in the vision at the highest levels.
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Unified and Consistent Messaging
It is your job to ensure that board members are educated about your campaign and equipped with the necessary information. Trustees should be able to confidently articulate why the campaign matters, why now is the right time, how the campaign aligns with the institution’s strategic priorities, and what impact gifts will create.
Trustees don’t need to memorize scripts, but they must understand the campaign and be aligned behind its goals.
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Trustees Open Doors and Provide Support
Once equipped with the right messaging, trustees should open philanthropic doors for the school. They should share their networks, cultivate donor relationships, and solicit philanthropic investments in coordination with the development team.
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Moving from Meer Approval to a Sense of Ownership
Boards provide a valuable role in governance. While governance is important, transformational campaigns require boards to embody a sense of ownership. The board-level conversation should shift from “How is the advancement office doing?” to “How are we progressing?”
As a college or independent school leader, don’t misconstrue this as an opportunity to remove or shift your responsibilities. Instead, this is a call to embrace your board as a partner in your capital campaign and to ensure that they are educated, engaged, and charged with a specific role to charge toward success.
Final Thoughts
A capital campaign is one of the most visible and consequential initiatives an institution will undertake. The campaign’s trajectory is shaped long before the public launch and it is shaped in board meetings, in major gift conversations, and in clarity of roles and expectations.
Often, it can be very helpful to have a strategic fundraising partner participate in the role setting and role communicating processes. At AdvancementEDU, we help colleges and independent schools prepare their boards for active, strategic campaign leadership. From feasibility studies to board education, we partner with institutions to ensure that leadership alignment leads to fundraising success.
If you are considering a campaign, we would welcome the opportunity to discuss how to position your board, and institution, for transformational impact.