Capital fundraising for conservation projects differs from that for many other organizations with relatively well-defined natural constituencies, like schools and disease charities. Unless the goal is wildly optimistic for the local community, a conservation organization’s capacity to raise money will be related to internal factors...
27 May 2025 By David Allen, Development for Conservation For whatever reason, land trusts all over the country are exploring the possibility of launching capital campaigns – and most of them for the first time. If you are one of them, and you were to call me...
3 October 2023 By David Allen, Development for Conservation OK – so call me a purist. I think that capital campaign fundraising should be about private, charitable gifts for specific project outcomes. It’s not a $5.0 million capital campaign if $3.0 million comes from taxpayers. That would be...
7 December 2020 By David Allen, Development for Conservation Last week, I started a post on capital campaigns, because I have been hearing from land trusts exploring capital campaigns for projects ill-suited for campaigns – specifically to raise money for operating endowment, stewardship endowment, land protection “opportunity”...
30 November 2020 By David Allen, Development for Conservation Before I start on today’s post, I have a request. I will get Giving Tuesday emails all day as I’m sure you will. I am interested in the subject lines. What are people using to get/draw attention? I...
15 June 2021 By David Allen, Development for Conservation Much of this post was originally published in 2014. I have updated it and reprised it, because I am noticing a significant uptick in the number of organizations considering campaigns and feasibility studies. I hope it is helpful. So...
17 November 2020 By David Allen, Development for Conservation Cold water time. Ready? Nobody cares about your birthday more than you do. (Not even your mother.) In fact, for the vast majority of people you have met during the years since your actual birth day, your annual celebration doesn’t...
By David Allen, Development for Conservation In the early days of Nature Conservancy history, the organization spent a great deal more time figuring out how to buy land than they did how to take care of it later. As a result, by the mid-1980s, TNC nationally...
By David Allen, Development for Conservation When I was first learning about major gift fundraising, the “must-see” teacher of the craft was Bill Sturtevant. He and the late author Jerry Panas ran the consulting practice called the Institute for Charitable Giving. Both Sturtevant and the Institute...
By David Allen, Development for Conservation Let’s say you need to raise some money for a specific project. You’re thinking capital campaign. Somebody asks you whether you’ve done a feasibility study. As you consider the question, several other questions come up. Do we have to? Aren’t feasibility studies...