5 Reasons You Shouldn't Start A Church Capital Campaign

Do you need to raise money for a new ministry initiative or to cover a big expense?

A standard fundraising tool many church leaders have used to raise the funds they need is a capital campaign. They have a history of success, and there are many organizations and resources you can consult for help.

At Generis, we’ve helped more than 13,500 faith-based organizations to raise more than $17.1 billion for Kingdom expansion. During this time, we’ve observed that running traditional capital campaigns isn’t the right tactic for every church and situation. In other words, a church capital campaign is a versatile fundraising tool that works exceptionally well for many situations—but not all.

What is a Church Capital Campaign?

A church capital campaign is a focused, goal-oriented fundraising effort aimed at collecting a large amount of money within a set time frame for big projects. These projects are community-driven and might include renovating buildings, constructing new facilities, paying off debts, or buying new equipment. 

Unlike regular donations, which cover the church's day-to-day expenses, a capital campaign is about raising money for significant investments that need a lot of financial support. A capital campaign is also strategically planned and financially transparent to ensure that it is mission-focused and broadly supported. Successful campaigns are generously funded by the congregation and other supporters.

A church might use one or more of the following methods to support a church capital campaign:

• Organize events to engage the community and raise awareness (and support) through these events
• Support the campaign through various means, such as selling assets
• Ask church members to donate resources to achieve the campaign goals
• Lead volunteer teams for campaign activities, such as cleaning up a new building site
• Ask donors to commit to long-term support of the church's mission

Enter One Fund Initiatives

If you’d like to:

• build new facilities to accommodate growth
• fundraise to meet or exceed your financial target for a specific goal
• mobilize resources for construction and renovation at your church
• inspire others to participate and give to a campaign
• expand the church's capacity for ministry

….then you’ll want to consider this alternative approach to capital campaigns. 

Envision this:

Instead of asking your congregation to give “over and above” their regular giving toward a project (or projects), what if you lead your church to consider their total giving?

Know what’s surprising about these initiatives?

In working with more than 300 churches, we have not only observed an increase in overall giving, but we have also witnessed accelerated giving toward specific capital projects or initiatives.

Related: How to Track Giving at Your Church

As we help people  lead their congregation to pursue God in their giving, we also coach church leaders  to direct their church to participate in what God is calling them to do together. For your church, this can be purchasing a larger building to reach more people, expanding your current facilities, or supporting more missionaries.

Thousands of churches and ministries trust Tithe.ly with their online giving and mobile giving solutions. Schedule a call and one of our team members would be happy to show you a demo of our products so you can see for yourself how Tithely can increase giving, simplify church admin, and help you engage with your church.

5 Bad Reasons to Start a Church Capital Campaign (and What to Do Instead)

Do you need to run a church capital campaign or a One Fund initiative?

It depends.

To help you think through what’s best for you and your church, here are five wrong reasons to start a church capital campaign and why you may need to consider the second option  instead.

#1. Your giving metrics are not as strong as you would like.

A traditional church capital campaign won’t change your giving metrics (much). You need an approach that leads with discipleship—not a project.

A giving analysis of most of the churches we’ve worked with shows:

• 30-40% of attendees give $0.
• 30-40% of attendees give $1-$500 annually.
• 80% of attendees give less than $10 per week.

Traditional capital campaigns focus on funding the project(s), and that is why  this approach works so well. However, the limitation of traditional campaigns is that they don’t boost overall giving significantly—if at all. Additionally, the traditional approach doesn’t onboard new givers well.

In (traditional) campaigns, your congregation typically experiences some ambiguity: Give “over and above” what?

For non-givers, a traditional church capital campaign could potentially exclude them or, because they’re asked to go “over and above” nothing, they may experience only a short-term increase in giving—without true discipleship of growth in generosity.

#2. You’ve run 3-4 successful capital campaigns for churches.

Repeated traditional campaigns may produce a diminishing return over time or even feel routine. You need something fresh.

A One Fund approach provides a true “this is different than anything we have done before” feeling, which is especially crucial to your faithful, long-time givers.

#3. Your project may not inspire everyone in your church.

Project-based campaigns may only interest people with a specific stake in that particular ministry.

When my wife and I were young parents, a campaign to update or build new children’s ministry space would have really captured our hearts. We would have been “all in” as our kids were involved in that ministry, and so were we.

That same vision would still garner our support, but because our kids are older and we’re empty nesters, we won’t have the same level of passion as before.

Even more difficult are those campaigns for debt reduction or campus maintenance. It’s not especially motivating to inspire large financial gifts to replace that million-dollar HVAC system.

The vision cast in a One Fund includes every single ministry the church currently supports, along with new funding priorities you desire to add. It’s about children’s ministry, student ministry, missions, discipleship, outreach—everything you do. There’s something in it for everyone to get behind.

#4. You want to encourage long-term generosity.

A successful  capital campaign for church growth  will raise funds for that new project. But at the end of the church capital campaign, general giving will most likely remain close to where it was when you started. There’s nothing bad about this; it’s just a reality with the traditional “over and above” approach.

So what happens with your ongoing ministry plan (budget)? It’s helpful to grow funding for existing ministries and missions and for new ministries you’d like to begin.

A One Fund initiative creates a “long tail of generosity” as the initiative focuses more on the heart change of the giver instead of the need of the church.

Often in traditional campaigns, donors see their campaign commitment as “their” money. When a traditional church capital campaign ends, givers typically repurpose those “over and above” dollars back to their budgets. But in a One Fund, givers are less likely to return to a lower level of giving because they see the enhanced amount as growth in their relationship with Christ.

For example, One Fund campaigns have a two-year timeline. In year three), we see churches retain 40-60% of the new giving.

Let me explain.

Let’s say a church has $1 million in income before launching a One Fund. During the season, they double their annual giving to $2 million. That church will likely receive $1.4 million to $1.6 million in year three—after the “campaign” has officially ended.

#5. Your church is growing.

It’s difficult to onboard and engage new families who begin attending in the middle of your traditional capital campaign process.

We always try hard to engage new families. But most will view the campaign in progress as something you did before they arrived. So they’ll often wait for the next campaign  and plan to commit to it when it rolls around.

In a One Fund, a new attendee is part of the initiative as soon as they begin giving. Even if they don’t make a written commitment, a new giver has joined the effort.

So, which should we go with?

In closing, let’s be clear: The traditional capital campaign for churches remains a healthy and viable approach to raising money. It also might be the best approach for your church at this time.

However, the One Fund initiative is a new, fresh, and discipleship-based approach that may be a more useful direction for your church to consider. At the very least, it’s a viable alternative that merits your attention.

Is your church considering these options?

Frequently Asked Questions

Are church capital campaigns biblical?

Throughout the Bible, there are inspirational stories of God's people coming together to fund specific projects. For example, in Exodus 35-36, the Israelites contributed materials for the construction of the Tabernacle. In 1 Chronicles 29, King David led a well-organized and inclusively designed fundraising effort for building the temple.

These examples show that organized efforts to gather resources for significant religious projects have a biblical foundation. Such visionary initiatives were clearly communicated and responsibly managed by the leaders.

Who controls the money in a church?

Typically, a team of trusted individuals controls the money. This team often includes church treasurers, financial committees, and the church board or elders. They are responsible for managing the church's finances, ensuring that the financial plans are achievable and well-organized. This includes budgeting, accounting, and financial reporting.

In many cases, decisions about significant expenditures or financial plans are made collectively by the church leadership, often with input or approval from the congregation, ensuring that the process is inclusively designed and responsibly managed.

What is money given to church called?

Money given to the church is commonly referred to as "tithes" and "offerings."

A "tithe" is traditionally 10% of a person's income, given as a contribution to the church. "Offerings" are additional gifts beyond the tithe, which can be designated for specific purposes such as missions, building funds, or other church projects. These contributions support the church's operations, ministries, and special projects, reflecting the community's commitment to visionary and inspirational projects.

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