Campaigns and Readiness Planning

At Cardenio Consulting, we believe that the most effective capital campaigns are comprehensive—designed to meet a range of institutional needs while engaging a broad base of donor support. A well-structured comprehensive campaign allows your school or organization to set specific goals for capital projects, endowment growth, and annual giving, while offering donors the opportunity to invest in the areas that matter most to them.

To ensure your campaign is strategically aligned with your mission and poised for success, we work closely with you to assess readiness and define key components such as feasibility studies, case development, donor segmentation, and timeline creation—providing the insight and structure necessary to launch with confidence and deliver lasting impact.

Laying the Groundwork for a Successful Campaign

Given the wide-ranging needs typically addressed by a capital campaign, we believe that planning for a comprehensive campaign is the most strategic approach. A comprehensive campaign allows your institution to set clear, individual goals for capital projects, endowment growth, and annual giving—while engaging a broad range of donors by aligning their interests with specific funding opportunities.

At Cardenio Consulting, we work closely with your team to identify the foundational elements necessary to tailor your campaign to your institution’s mission, culture, and ambitions. This collaborative process ensures your initiative is both achievable and deeply rooted in your community’s priorities.

A Case Statement

A compelling case statement is the foundation of every successful campaign. Built on a well-articulated strategic plan, it communicates your institution’s mission, vision for the future, and the specific funding priorities that will bring that vision to life.

At Cardenio Consulting, we help you craft a case that is clear, inspiring, and donor-focused—one that not only outlines the “what” and “why,” but also connects emotionally with your community and motivates lasting support.

Campaign Feasibility Study

A well-executed feasibility study is essential to setting a realistic campaign goal and determining your institution’s readiness for success. At Cardenio Consulting, we guide this critical early phase by conducting comprehensive internal and external interviews to evaluate both capacity and commitment.

Internal interviews typically include the executive leadership, stakeholder teams, alumni, friends, and current and former board members. External interviews engage current and potential donors, as well as individuals who may be considered for future leadership roles. These conversations serve not only to test the viability of the campaign goal and the appeal of the case statement, but also to begin cultivating prospective leadership donors.

Once interviews are complete, our team evaluates the findings and provides a detailed report that includes raw data, key insights, and clear recommendations to inform your next steps and help you move forward with confidence.

Effective Campaign Management

Once the final goal has been recommended to and ratified by the institution/organization, the comprehensive campaign will spring from a well-constructed plan that will lead to success. The plan will include:

A Timetable for the Campaign

Once the board formally commits to moving forward with a comprehensive campaign, the process begins with a quiet phase. During this critical period, Cardenio Consulting works with your team to engage current and prospective donors most closely connected to your institution, focusing on securing leadership-level gifts. The goal is to raise at least 50% of the campaign total during this phase.

Following the quiet phase, a campaign kickoff event marks the transition to the public phase. This event serves to celebrate early success, recognize leadership donors, and generate momentum for the broader community effort.

In the final phase, the campaign expands its reach. Broader outreach efforts target the wider donor base, offering opportunities for supporters at all giving levels to participate and help bring the campaign to a successful close.

Cultivation and Solicitation of Prospects

During the quiet phase of the campaign, Cardenio’s Managing Partners will work closely with institutional leadership and the Campaign Committee to coordinate donor outreach and schedule visits with key prospects. A Cardenio Managing Partner will be available to accompany a foundation volunteer on each visit to provide guidance and support.

To maintain campaign momentum, the Cardenio team will also manage a comprehensive visit schedule, ensuring a combined total of at least 15 accompanied or independent prospect visits per month throughout the quiet phase.

Interim Program Management

From time to time schools and other nonprofits find themselves in need of outside support to shoulder day-to-day program leadership. Cardenio is capable of assuming roles and responsibilities in several school program areas. In the event a school is moving through a personnel transition, on a search for new leadership, or supporting a new program or campaign, Cardenio’s partners are able to work on both short and long term assignments depending on your needs.

Cardenio is able to customize the work as directed by the school and include a systems library of actions and a training component to keep the consistency and implementation of initiatives in place until the school has secured their own staff.