Campaign Planning, or, How I learned to Stop Worrying and Enjoy the Ride

“We’re campaign planning.”
“We’re in the quiet phase of the campaign.”
“We’re in campaign.”
“We’re doing post-campaign analysis.”
“This will be part of the campaign.”
“Everybody/our main competitor is already in campaign.”

I’m willing to bet that each of you reading this have heard one of these phrases at your workplace in the last six months. Campaigns are the great unstoppable force of nonprofits, a freight train that, as a researcher, you can either ignore to your peril or cling to for dear life. But what if there’s something better than avoidance or scrambling? While I’m not going to promise you peace of mind the next time you hear “campaign” bandied about in your presence, I will be walking you through some lessons learned that, with any luck, smooth out the journey. 

Ideally, at any stage of the campaign cycle, research will be right in the thick of it, informing strategy, being consulted, and kept in the loop on information support needs. Alas that we don’t live in an ideal world! You may get advanced warning about the type and amount of support that is expected, but often, for researchers, campaigns come out of a clear blue sky in the form of an urgent request for in-depth prospect lists in time for tomorrow’s campaign cabinet meeting. 

So given that we don’t live in an ideal world where everyone is mindful of workloads, timelines, and reasonable amounts of preliminary planning, how do we plan for the unexpected?

Let’s start with what we can control, namely, our own work. While it’s impossible to plan for every possible outcome, it is possible to get some ducks aligned such that, when called upon, they could be considered to be, in more or less, a row. 

For campaigns, what research is most often called upon to provide are:

• Volunteers
• Prospects at particular giving levels
• The ability to track both

So what are we doing to do about this? Adopt an “always on” attitude. 

Firstly, campaigns always require volunteers who can give or get significant gifts, volunteers with networks, volunteers with influence. Your organization may have specific volunteer needs – such as geographic representation, community representation, corporate representation – but the bottom line is volunteers who enthusiastically champion your organization’s mission. How you, as a researcher, can be planning for campaigns is to have a running list of identified volunteers, either current or prospective, who could step up for campaign duty. 

Secondly, campaigns require prospects, and not just any prospects, but prospects that fulfill specific and particular needs. Depending on the size and scope of the campaign, this may mean filling in a gift pyramid with prospects at specific donation levels, or prospects with specific interests. The objective is to have prospects that will meet these giving levels and giving interests at the ratio required to meet the overall goal. How you as a researcher can be planning for campaigns is to include data points such as capacity indicators and giving interests in your prospect pool tracking. 

Thirdly, campaigns require a way to track and report on both of the above things, and to be able to do both in a way that is accessible and as automated as possible. How you, as a researcher, can be planning in advance for this is to determine what might be valuable to report on, and see if it’s 1) already being tracked and 2) if it’s not being tracked, determining what’s the best way to track it with the minimum amount of fuss? 

These are all conversations that you can and should be having with your leadership on an ongoing basis, as well as part of any campaign planning. Communication is always key, but is especially important during campaigns, as by their nature, they include stressors such as tight timeframes, specific targets, and unexpected hiccups (database migration mid-campaign, anyone?). Never pass up an opportunity to seek clarity, always overcommunicate rather than undercommunicate, and wherever possible, get it in writing. 

In addition to the always-on mindset, be proactive in building relationships across teams, and be an active and supportive partner beyond your own team. This is obviously easier said than done, but is well worth the time, effort, and soft skills, because the better your internal network, the less likely it will be that a campaign will sneak up on you. Having good relationships with your peers on the database team and analytics team will be invaluable when it comes to reporting requirements and being able to facilitate changes and updates; having good relationships with the campaign team and open lines of communication can help encourage reasonable timeframes and clear understanding of needs. 

Finally, know that campaigns can be good at whipping up excess stress, as they come with specific targets and deadlines, and because of that, can exert additional pressure. And the pressure starts at the top and gains weight all the way down – which means as researchers, we can be in the position to be on the receiving end of frantic emails and phone calls making a lack of prospect lists be life-or-death situations. It’s easy to get swept up in the urgency, and as professionals in a service role, our first instinct will be to respond as though it is indeed life-or-death. This is an excellent first step to burnout! Take a deep breath, keep perspective, and remember that you are one of many valued contributors doing your best with what you have in the timeframe that you have available. Set and hold your boundaries, stay professional, and celebrate your efforts wherever you can. 

At the end of the day, campaigns are many things – learning opportunities, career-builders, and most importantly an amazing way for your organization to boost its profile, fundraising efforts, and impact. Do your best, support your peers and leadership, and give yourself a big pat on the back for being a campaign champion. 

Note: this article first appeared in The Scoop, Apra Canada’s e-newsletter. Love this article? Join Apra Canada for more insightful and thought-provoking content by experts in the field at https://apracanada.ca/