Frequently Asked Questions in a Church Capital Campaign.

In working with more than 3,500 churches since 1989, we have seen steps and patterns repeated that end up limiting church capital campaign results. Our team of 30+ navigators have come across a few frequently asked questions that we would love to take a moment to answer: 

Can we do a Campaign ourselves? 

• It is possible. But we’ve learned that most churches do not have the manpower or time to maintain traditional responsibilities in leading a church as well as running a campaign on top of those duties. Instead of trying to split your already depleted energies between two huge responsibilities, it can be much more effective having a coach to assist with the fundraising side.
• Executing a Capital Campaign is not difficult, in fact, we will tell you how to do that part for free. At Generis, we’re more concerned about transforming the hearts of your givers than raising capital; however, when you work with our team, you will often raise capital and transform the hearts of your givers. This is a much different result to expect when working with us than doing it yourself.   

What types of Capital Campaign? 

• A traditional campaign is not your only option. While that is supremely effective when trying to raise a significant amount of funds in a short amount of time, there are other options.
• Establishing a long-term giving culture is essential. The mission of your Church requires such funding and part of pastoral care is to teach stewardship via the lens of discipleship. One way to do this is with the One Fund initiative. While there are benefits to a traditional capital campaign, certainly, the One Fund is a way to categorize all raised funds to the general fund rather than pinpoint to one individual purpose. If you need to raise your giving in general, the One Fund approach might be for you.
• In this case, the imperative purpose is to teach the congregation, in general, to give. From those who have never given before to those who regularly donate, this method can encourage further giving than whatever has happened previously. If the majority of your attendees are not giving on any given month (as research indicates and our work with thousands of churches validates), the One Fund approach, while outside of the comfort zone, can be ultimately effective. The One Fund eliminates the confusion of multiple pleas for money and streamlines everything into one giving fund. It teaches the giver the fundamental principles of being generous, and that principle by and large transfers beyond the giving initiative.
  

What types of mistakes do churches often make in campaign?

• This is a loaded question as we have seen many mistakes since 1989. We have compiled a 3 part series outlining the 11 Common Mistakes in a Church Capital Campaign to help you hit your mark. 

What does Generis do for churches needing to raise Capital? 

• With our experience, we pull from countless challenges we’ve met to give you more than just a general idea of how much your church might raise. We will assess your history and your current giving numbers in order to predict how much you might be able to raise. We will teach you how to generate the optimal amount of funding for your project through different avenues. We will give you the optimal plan for your church to raise the funds needed. Ultimately, we will help you make your God-sized vision a realistic possibility.

At Generis, we have worked with over 3,500 organizations and have helped them raise more than $7 billion dollars for Kingdom expansion by accelerating generosity through coaching and capital capital campaigns. We would love to have a conversation with you to hear how we can help your vision become a reality.