Capital campaigns are not only a chance for an organization to raise significant funding beyond annual campaign goals, they are a chance to inject new focus and energy into all levels of staff and structure. The high-potential capital campaign demands long-range focus, lateral integration throughout an organization, and they require just as much planning as they do asking. Those embarking on such a daunting and exciting project would do well to prepare themselves with Nonprofit Essentials: The Capital Campaign, by Julia Ingraham Walker. Part of the APF Fund Development Series, Walker — a capital campaign specialist with more than 20 years experience as an independent fundraising consultant — has written a guidebook suitable for senior staff members and fundraising professionals looking for an overview of the topic.

Walker's primary emphasis is on the steps necessary to properly plan a capital campaign. Though these campaigns are typically mounted in order to raise funds for new or renovated facilities, many organizations find it useful to integrate them with endowment campaigns in order to sustain an organization in its long-range goals. Following this idea, Walker points out that because of a capital campaign's length and resource requirements, it can and should be used to reinforce or rebuild the organization's objectives. Organizations must spend time assessing their abilities to support the needs of a campaign, particularly in terms of staffing and in the willingness of the organization's senior staff and board members to commit their time and influence to the campaign. Walker stresses broad staff involvement and encourages a holistic view of long-term fundraising, all of which will contribute to the organization's health long after the campaign has closed.

A variety of planning techniques and devices are discussed, including campaign plans, feasibility studies, campaign budgets, gift tables (or "donor pyramids"), and multimedia promotional materials. In lieu of case studies, each tool is explained both with anonymous anecdotes and fictional samples that show the tools in action. This further stresses the book's hands-on focus and broadens its appeal to a variety of nonprofits. In perhaps the most useful and detailed chapter, Walker leads readers step-by-step through the process of designing and making pitches to prospects, her bullet points giving concrete words and techniques to those who have planned their campaigns carefully yet still find themselves floundering when it comes time to request dollar amounts. As Walker points out, "the biggest reason for solicitation failures is a failure to actually ask for money." Her smart, no-nonsense approach to "the ask" will bolster any fundraiser's skills.

Beyond the step-by-step are a few points on new trends in philanthropy and advice for targeting new constituencies and the differences in tactics that may be necessary when approaching them. Walker also advises on how to build relationships with your capital campaign donors, particularly in terms of rewarding their gifts and maintaining positive and professional interactions, even when your perfectly-planned project hits a snag. Though the section on closing the campaign may seem anti-climactic, one would hope that future books in the "Nonprofit Essentials" series — perhaps on nonprofit sustainability — will further satisfy the appetites whetted by Walker's smart, interdependent approach to the capital campaign.

For citations to additional materials on this topic refer to the Literature of the Nonprofit Sector Online, using the subject headings heading "Capital campaigns."