In a blog post we shared on February 1st, we briefly addressed the common misconception that capital campaigns are not fundraisers, but we wanted to expound on what makes them different.  

We made the statement that many church leaders have the misconception that capital campaigns are all about money, but fundraisers are all about money.

A good capital campaign is all about Jesus.

So what are the difference between fundraisers and capital campaigns?

They both involve raising funds, but there are two staunch differences between capital campaigns and fundraisers.

1) Fundraisers are events. Capital campaigns are spiritual journeys of generosity.

A fundraiser is an EVENT you invite people to raise money for a particular cause, but a church capital campaign is a spiritual journey of generosity that takes place over an extended period of time.

Fundraisers can work great for raising relatively small amounts of money in a short period of time, but they rarely transform the life of the giver.

Capital campaigns, on the other hand, not only raise larger amounts of money than fundraisers, but they can be life-changing experiences for those who participate in giving.

In a church capital campaign, you can redeem the lengthy amount of time it takes to reach a specific financial goal and use it as an opportunity to disciple your people.

You do this by asking them to seek God and ask Him how much He would have them sacrifice over a given period of time to further the mission and vision of your church.

Imagine 21-Day Devotional

2) Fundraisers are about getting something FROM people. Capital campaigns are about wanting something FOR people.

In a fundraiser, you don’t have much opportunity to add value to your givers.

They are one-time events that are about asking people for money, and then once the event ends, the experience is over for the giver.

Fundraisers are about getting something FROM people.

However, because church capital campaigns are about taking people on a spiritual journey of generosity, they are about wanting something FOR your people.

When it comes to personal finances, everyone in your church is somewhere on the scale of the 4 S’s.

They are either in a place of:

• Struggle

• Stability

• Surrender

• Sacrifice

The Goal of a Capital Campaign

In a capital campaign, your goal is to shepherd people towards whatever their next step is in their journey of generosity.

If they are in a place of struggle, you can provide them with financial discipleship resources that help them get to a place of stability.

If their finances are stable, but they aren’t tithing, you should teach them what God’s word says then challenge them to be obedient to Him.

Finally, if they are tithing and have surrendered their finances to God, you should point them to sacrificial giving – generosity that goes above and beyond the tithe.

Final Thoughts

Doing a capital campaign instead of a fundraiser allows you to take your people on a spiritual journey of generosity that helps them live more surrendered, sacrificial, generous lives.

If you’re interested in doing the same for your people, an awesome resource to use is our FREE 21-day devotional, Imagine.

You can actually use it IN a capital campaign and can be a great way to disciple your people on their spiritual journey of generosity.

Download your copy below today!