Doubling Down: Exceeding Campaign Goals Through Collaboration

What does it take to double a $1 million fundraising goal while launching your organization's most ambitious initiative to date?
Center City Public Charter Schools faced a compelling challenge: how to fund a citywide makerspace that would bring equitable STEAM education to students across Washington, DC. With limited major gifts experience and an underdeveloped board engagement strategy, the school needed to transform its fundraising capacity to match the scale of its vision.
This session presents a roadmap for building a successful capital campaign from the ground up. You'll learn how Center City partnered with FundEd Strategies, and Frontwood Strategies to create an integrated approach spanning fundraising strategy, communications and community engagement that raised nearly $2 million over three years.
Key elements we'll explore:
Strategic Planning: How to structure a comprehensive strategic plan with clear milestones, targeted prospect research, and coordinated outreach across multiple stakeholder groups.
Board Activation: Practical strategies for engaging and empowering board members to become fundraising champions through intentional relationship mapping without burning them out or scaring them away.
Integrated Communications: Executing a multi-phase communications strategy including donor events, exclusive content, and media relations that secured coverage from local news outlets.
Collaborative Partnerships: Working effectively with consultants and communications firms to strengthen your case, capacity, and messaging.
Leadership Alignment: The critical role of executive leadership, including board members, in building funder trust and unifying stakeholders.
Capitalizing on the elements above Center City raised nearly $2 million and opened a transformative makerspace that now serves students citywide with robotics, 3D printing, engineering and design experiences.
This session is ideal for development professionals, executive leaders, and board members seeking proven strategies to build fundraising capacity, engage reluctant boards, and execute capital campaigns. Attendees will leave with actionable tools and a framework they can adapt for their own ambitious initiatives.