Campaigns are getting longer, with loftier goals, and are increasingly tied to the legacies that senior administrators will leave with the institutions they lead. All of this makes celebrations of successful campaigns even more momentous.
Paramount to the ongoing philanthropic strength of these intuitions is the delivery of two important messages when celebrating campaign success – gratitude and momentum.
Stewardship and acknowledgement of donors and contributors big and small underpins the sentiment that campaigns are about more than dollars – they are about the impact that those dollars unleash. Explicit recognition, which allows campaign donors to see themselves and their peers as invaluable members of the institution’s community, can bolster cultivation and increase future philanthropy.
Although a celebration marks the close of a finite campaign period, communicating continued momentum is key. Celebration storytelling should strike the delicate balance between showing progress and impacts, with great specificity, without undermining ongoing philanthropic need. Attendees of a successful campaign celebration should feel immense pride for what has been accomplished, as well as hope for the possibilities of the future.
