About Course
Capital Campaigns
CPD Accredited – July 2026 Edition
A comprehensive, UK-focused training course for charities and voluntary organisations planning to raise a significant sum for a major project, from a new building or major renovation to specialist equipment or an endowment fund.
Who Is This Course For?
This course has been designed for anyone involved in planning, leading or supporting a capital fundraising campaign in a UK charity or voluntary organisation. Whether you are a:
- Trustee or board member considering a significant capital project and needing to understand what is involved
- Chief Executive or senior leader responsible for championing and overseeing a campaign
- Fundraiser tasked with developing and delivering a campaign strategy
- Volunteer playing a key role in a community-led capital project
- Finance lead wanting to understand the fundraising and governance context around a capital campaign
- Project manager responsible for delivering the capital project the campaign will fund
This course will give you a thorough, practical grounding in what a capital campaign involves, how to plan and structure one, where the money comes from and how to run it compliantly and ethically from start to finish.
Course Overview
6 modules · Average 3 to 4 hours to complete · Work at your own pace
Understanding Capital Campaigns
What is a capital campaign and is your organisation ready to run one? This module defines exactly what a capital campaign is, a focused, intensive fundraising effort with a specific financial goal, a defined timeframe and a tangible outcome, and how it differs from annual fundraising. You will explore what capital campaigns can fund, from new buildings and major renovations to equipment, land acquisition and endowments, and the regulatory framework that governs them, including the Charities Act 2011 and 2022, the Fundraising Regulator’s Code and UK GDPR.
Planning Your Campaign
Thorough planning before a single ask is made is the single biggest determinant of campaign success. This module covers how to set a realistic financial goal, create a campaign timeline, build your campaign team and steering committee, and get your legal and financial foundations in place. You will work through a gift pyramid to understand how a small number of major gifts will drive the majority of your target, and you will learn what governance and financial controls the Charity Commission expects to be in place before a major campaign launches.
Developing Your Case for Support
Your case for support is the document that will persuade donors, trusts and funders to invest in your campaign. This module shows you how to build one, combining the emotional story of why the project matters with the rational evidence of need, outcomes and value for money. You will learn how to tailor your case for different audiences, from major individual donors to grant-making trusts and corporate sponsors, and what the Code of Fundraising Practice requires in terms of honest and transparent representation.
UK Funding Sources
Where does the money come from? This module maps the full range of funding sources available to UK charities running capital campaigns, charitable trusts and foundations, major individual donors and Gift Aid, the National Lottery Heritage Fund and other lottery distributors, corporate sponsors, statutory funders and community fundraising. You will learn how to approach each source effectively, what each requires in terms of application and relationship, and how to build a diverse funding mix that reduces the risk of campaign failure.
Campaign Execution
How do you actually run a campaign from start to finish? This module covers the quiet phase, building major gifts before going public, the public launch, maintaining momentum, tracking progress against your gift pyramid, managing campaign communications and handling the risks that derail campaigns. You will also learn what happens when things do not go to plan: how to manage a shortfall, whether to extend a campaign, and how to communicate honestly with donors and funders throughout.
Stewardship and Follow-Through
What happens after people give? This module covers the stewardship obligations that follow a successful campaign, how to thank donors appropriately, name a building or facility compliantly, report back on outcomes, and manage the transition from campaign mode to ongoing relationship. You will also learn how to capitalise on the relationships built during the campaign to strengthen your long-term fundraising programme, and what your reporting and accounting obligations are to the Charity Commission post-campaign.
What You Will Learn
On completion of all modules, you will be able to:
- ✓ Understand what a capital campaign is, what it can fund and how it differs from annual fundraising
- ✓ Assess your organisation’s readiness to run a capital campaign using the eight key readiness factors
- ✓ Build a realistic campaign plan including financial goal, gift pyramid, timeline and team structure
- ✓ Develop a compelling, legally compliant case for support tailored to different funder audiences
- ✓ Identify and approach the full range of UK funding sources available for capital projects
- ✓ Run a campaign ethically and compliantly from quiet phase through to public launch and completion
- ✓ Deliver excellent post-campaign stewardship that protects funder relationships and supports future fundraising
Benefits for You and Your Organisation
✓ Raise More Money, More Confidently
A well-planned capital campaign can transform your organisation. This course gives you the knowledge and tools to plan and run one that succeeds, without the costly mistakes that derail underprepared campaigns.
✓ Stay Legally Compliant
Understand your obligations under the Charities Act 2011 and 2022, the Code of Fundraising Practice and UK GDPR, and run a campaign that is compliant, transparent and trustworthy from first ask to final report.
✓ Build Lasting Donor Relationships
Capital campaigns create your organisation’s best long-term donors. This course shows you how to steward campaign supporters into lifelong friends of your charity.
✓ Protect Your Trustees
Trustees are personally responsible for major fundraising campaigns. This course equips trustees and senior leaders with the governance knowledge to oversee a campaign with confidence.
✓ A Resource You Will Keep Using
Download and save the course for future reference, a practical guide you can return to at every stage of your campaign, from initial planning through to post-campaign reporting.
✓ Recognised Achievement
Complete all six modules and receive a personalised, printable CPD-accredited certificate of completion to demonstrate your continuing professional development.
– Amie Elliott, GeckoFundraising Ltd
How It Works
Complete your purchase using our secure online card payment. Access to the full course is granted immediately upon payment being received, no waiting, no delay.
Work through the modules online at any time, at your own pace. Your progress is saved automatically in your browser, so you can dip in and out across multiple sessions to fit around your work. Please complete the course on the same device and browser throughout, as your progress is stored locally and will not transfer between devices.
Once complete, save the course as a PDF to keep on your desktop. Return to it whenever you need it, a practical reference resource you will use again and again.
Complete all modules and generate your personalised, printable CPD-accredited certificate of completion instantly, at no extra cost, a record of your professional development to share with trustees, employers or commissioners.
Course Investment
One-off payment including VAT · No subscription · Instant access on payment
- Complete online at your own pace, 3 to 4 hours on average
- Full course available to download and save for future reference
- Links to authoritative UK legislation and official guidance throughout
- Personalised, printable CPD-accredited certificate of completion on finishing all modules
- Course content covers the legal framework for charities in England and Wales · Also available in course bundles and the Full Catalogue (£649 including VAT)
Access to the course content is granted immediately upon receipt of your completed online card payment. You will be able to start learning straight away.
Important: complete this course on one device
Your progress, knowledge-check answers and certificate details are saved locally in the browser you use to open the course. They are not stored on our server and will not transfer to another device, or to a different browser on the same device. Please start and finish the course using the same device and browser. Clearing your browser history or site data, or using a private or incognito window, will also erase your progress. Your downloadable copy of the course is unaffected and can be opened anywhere.
Course Content
Capital Campaigns
Capital Campaigns