To Campaign Or Not To Campaign: That Is The Question

Nick Fellers | April 17, 2008

Let’s do word association:

What comes to mind when you see this word?

CAMPAIGN

Add your thoughts in the comments section below. Will be interesting to see what people say.

You know we’re really big on vocabulary. Words have meaning. Words are important. This ‘word’ may be the granddaddy of them all. Especially if your definition of campaign involves feasibility studies, committees, a ‘capital campaign launch’, etc.

Think about this: It’s often easier to raise $5M than it is to run a $5M campaign.

Some readers are not allowed to start a campaign without jumping through a number of hoops in their community.

Last week I was with an organization on the east coast. This organization had completed the funding $40M of projects in the last three years. We were gathered to strategize the next project: to be around $10M. This gathering (nine people total) included major, major community philanthropists and long-time high-level supporters.

One of the board members asked if this was going to be a ‘campaign’. What followed could best be described as a ‘freak out session’.

“We have too many capital campaigns in this city already.”
“If we’re going to do a campaign we might want to look at the annual campaign model the Y uses.”
“I don’t want to do a feasibility study.”
“Campaigns are scary.”

Mind you, we had $40M toward $50M and roundtable full of people with capacity (also strong relationships).

Sometimes we would do better to let go of the baggage associated with campaigns and just execute on a plan to fund projects or fund a vision.

If you haven’t done so, read Tom’s campaign book for many more high-level thoughts to help you with your campaign.

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29 Comments So Far

Mike - April 17th, 2008 10:47 am

A one-year project now in it’s third year…

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David Davis - April 17th, 2008 10:49 am

Your book. No more feasibility studies. Agreed. I do think organizations still need to take their time planning.

Also a word coming to mind: Commodity. Everybody does a campaign and so they’ve become a commodity.

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Andrea Cody - April 17th, 2008 1:22 pm

napoleon

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John Mitterling - April 17th, 2008 1:23 pm

“work” comes to mind!

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Rob Warner - April 17th, 2008 1:27 pm

A big, focused push for funds.

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MJ Fanella - April 17th, 2008 1:33 pm

Nick -

Since being at training camp we’ve blown everything up. No longer doing a campaign!!! We’ve simplified, have our buckets and we’re pushing on priorities in those buckets for the next 1000 days.

Extra good news?

No committees
No brochures
No functions
Just visits (still need to do more but we’re having a lot of success)

[Reply]
Esther - April 17th, 2008 1:34 pm

Well, right now I’m thinking about presidential campaigns, so “manipulation” is what I think of - even though we’re heading into an endowment campaign ourselves!

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Nick Fellers - April 17th, 2008 1:37 pm

@ Esther

Hah! Good one. And true… how’s that for a happy picture?

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Kitty - April 17th, 2008 1:44 pm

Maybe they have a big picture.

Coordinated, comprehensive, thought all the way through.

Everyone is on board for the whole project rather than just pieces of it.

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Willy - April 17th, 2008 1:45 pm

“Irritation” comes to mind first - with national politics dragging on for another 200-or-so days, and, on a note closer to my work, about to begin a LONG, as-yet-to -be-detailed march which I’m hoping to avert toward an as-yet-nebulous goal which I’m working to simplify and focus as soon as possible!

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@ Kitty - April 17th, 2008 1:53 pm

I think this is the ‘good’ in the word campaign - which I didn’t really cover in this article.

The good
- Focus
- Beginning and End (a wrapper)
- Creates a sense of urgency
- The big picture / whole project - great points!

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Mary Migliorelli - April 17th, 2008 1:59 pm

“Campaign”= “fatigue”, political & military connotations, mobilizing, battle/struggle, etc.

INSTEAD: Just visit. Share the compelling stories & present the opportunity. Focus on “assets” - the strengths, resources, partners, intellectual capital, processes you bring to this work and the impact you’re having. Helps us understand together what we might build on, and how additional resource$/investment$ in the right place at the right time will have greater impact.

Also, notice how the energy shifts when you shift from “needs” oriented conversations to “asset-based” conversations.

I read somewhere recently that one of the Goldman prize winners noted: “Martin Luther King Jr. did NOT say, ‘I have a nightmare.’ He said, ‘I have a dream.’ ”

Just visit. Share the dream & its impact, and present the opportunity. And keep doing it, person to person.

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Valerie Venezia - April 17th, 2008 2:10 pm

It’s funny, I’ve always thought of this as a “war” word….
A military campaign. Let’s “take the hill!”
We even have “missions.” Hmmm.

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Tish Gibbs - April 17th, 2008 2:13 pm

Organized effort or special push. I think of politics and scary fund raising drives

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Paul Jolly - April 17th, 2008 2:18 pm

A chance to change the internal dynamics of an organization: invite the opinions of people not usually allowed into the inside circle, think about our impact instead of organizational “needs”, ask our supporters for a bigger gift than we would otherwise have the courage to.

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Patricia Williams - April 17th, 2008 2:32 pm

What came to my mind was “organizing, mobilizing, creating momentum, and taking whatever action is effective to create a positive solution to a specific, pressing problem.”

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kim - April 17th, 2008 3:14 pm

as in stewardship campaigns

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Dave - April 17th, 2008 5:16 pm

Amen, Brother! There are plenty of times where we just need to get the heck out of our own way.

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Anne Nolan - April 18th, 2008 3:40 am

The word WORK springs to mind, which is fine if you have support from your Board/Committee and the work is well prepared and in manageable pieces. I’m still scared of the idea of visits but will keep plugging away at it.

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Mike Patterson - April 18th, 2008 10:22 am

Several words come to my mind: precision, planning, focused, military.

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Tom Vosper - April 18th, 2008 12:47 pm

I am in complete agreement. Why campaign? Just sell the vision and the dream and do it all year around!

Campaign is a tired word - it’s like another tired word - SALE - every store has a SALE sign in the window. Stores all start looking the same.

What makes you stand out from the rest - your vision - your dream - your impact!

Sell it!

[Reply]
Nick Fellers - April 18th, 2008 1:34 pm

@ Tom Vosper

Tom, have not met you in person, but I know I like you.

A ‘deeper thought’, many orgs, in the absence of a vision to sell will develop a rationale around ‘a campaign’.

Campaign = Negative Connotation (often, not always)
Campaign + No Vision = A rough go… and more importantly, it’s not fair to the community and stakeholders

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John Button - April 18th, 2008 3:11 pm

At this time all I think of is politics and I’m tired of it.

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Sue Ann M. - April 18th, 2008 4:10 pm

Champion comes to mind. Champions move campaigns forward with passion and drive. Without champions, there is no campaign.

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Gerald Hundt - April 18th, 2008 4:27 pm

ASKING

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George Fisher - April 20th, 2008 9:17 pm

Campaign according to the Australian Thesaurus means; Movement; Operation; Drive; Fight; War; Promotion; Work; Push; Struggle; Canvass; Battle; Run for election; cause, and a great effort.
Just Ask!

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Michelle - April 21st, 2008 6:09 am

politics, elections, battle, war

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Michelle - April 21st, 2008 6:10 am

I feel sure that you are going to tell me it as another meaning for fundraisers …

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Tim Horrigan - April 22nd, 2008 3:26 pm

A campaign always implies to me something that has a beginning and ending, and implied that someone is “part of the campaign” or “not part of the campaign” rather than an ongoing relationship.

Campaign is “extra work” rather than an ongoing part of your job of funding the vision.

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