Advancement · Community & Giving

A committee that gives,
then visits, then asks.

Campaign committees stall in familiar ways: members who have not given yet, prospect lists too long to work, assignments nobody visits. Add each member with their own commitment and their assignments. The organizer tracks visits and asks against assignments, totals the committee’s own giving and dollars raised, and flags where to step in.

Add a memberWhat you get
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Included with Caveat Classroom and Whole-school licenses. Or get it in the Development and giving kit, $39 for 27 items.

Committee

The worked example is made up: a chair who has given and visited four of five prospects, a member with twelve prospects and no visits, and a member who has made two asks before their own commitment. Saved on this device only.

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What you get

Advancement · Community & Giving$12 · included with Classroom and Whole-school licenses

What you finish with
A record per committee member: initials, role, area led, own commitment and whether it is made, prospects assigned, visits, asks, dollars raised and four checks. Works out visit and ask rates; totals dollars raised and the committee’s own commitments made against promised; ranks members by visits; flags asks before giving, a chair with no gift, more than seven prospects and assignments with no visits.
Who it is for
Development directors, heads of school and campaign chairs running a capital or comprehensive campaign.
Format
Browser organizer with a saved record per member. Prints one member, the whole committee in a table or a blank member sheet; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); exports and imports a file.
Access
$12 one-time, yours on every device you sign in on; the tool opens once you are signed in with it. Included with Caveat Classroom and Whole-school licenses. Also in the Development and giving kit ($39) and the Advancement Suite pass ($99), and 1 more bundle. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The Community & Giving space in Caveat Advancement.
Support
Questions about access, an order or a correction: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. Add each member when they join.
  2. Record their own commitment first.
  3. Assign about five prospects each.
  4. Update visits and asks before every meeting.
  5. Reassign prospects nobody has visited.

Add a member

Give, visit, report

How a campaign committee worksGiveEvery member makes theirown commitment first.The committee’s giftsset the tone.VisitAbout five prospectseach.A staff member on thefirst visit.ReportVisits and asks at everymeeting.Reassign what is notmoving.How a campaign committee worksGiveEvery member makes their own commitmentfirst.The committee’s gifts set the tone.VisitAbout five prospects each.A staff member on the first visit.ReportVisits and asks at every meeting.Reassign what is not moving.
Five prospects per volunteer is a common working guide, not a rule; some members can do more, many do fewer.

Give first

A volunteer who has made their own gift can say “I gave, and I hope you will join me,” which is the most persuasive sentence in fundraising. Campaign planners expect the committee and board to commit before the public phase starts.

Short lists get worked

Twelve names on one volunteer’s list usually means twelve names nobody visits. Five, with a staff member on the first visit, gets meetings on the calendar.

Sources

  1. Council for Advancement and Support of Education. Campaign management and volunteer leadership (case.org).
  2. Association of Fundraising Professionals. Capital campaign practice and the Donor Bill of Rights (afpglobal.org).
  3. Pierpont, R. (2016). Capital campaigns. In Achieving Excellence in Fundraising (4th ed.), Tempel, Seiler and Burlingame, eds. Wiley.
  4. National Association of Independent Schools. Trustee and volunteer roles in fundraising (nais.org).

The worked example is made up. Nothing you type is sent to Caveat. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.