Campaigns

Quick Summary: Create focused fundraising campaigns with clear goals, track progress in real-time, and inspire generosity with visual thermometers and momentum reports.

Overview

Great ministry requires resources, and campaigns help your church rally around specific visions. Whether you're raising $500,000 for a new worship center, $15,000 for a mission trip to Honduras, or $3,000 to replace the ancient church van, campaigns transform abstract goals into concrete progress that inspires action. When people see the thermometer climbing and know exactly how their gift contributes, generosity multiplies.

Relius campaigns are dead simple to create but powerful in impact. Set a financial goal, choose a timeline, link the campaign to one or more funds, and start tracking. Donations flow in from all channels—online giving, cash, checks, text-to-give—and automatically count toward your goal. Display a live progress thermometer on your website, share updates in emails, and celebrate milestones as you march toward completion.

The best campaigns tell compelling stories. Not just "We need a new roof," but "For 60 years, this roof has sheltered our community as we worship, serve, and grow together. Now it's time to invest in the next 60 years." Pair your campaign's financial goal with a vision, and watch your congregation step up with unprecedented generosity.

Key Concepts

Campaign Goal: The target dollar amount you're aiming to raise
Campaign Fund: A designated fund that collects all donations for this specific campaign
Progress Thermometer: A visual display showing how much has been raised toward the goal
Campaign Timeline: Start and end dates that create urgency and focus
Pledge vs. Actual: Tracking both commitments (pledges) and received gifts (actual donations)
Campaign Milestone: Intermediate checkpoints like 25%, 50%, 75% that trigger celebrations

Getting Started

Step 1: Create Your Campaign

Navigate to Giving → Campaigns and click New Campaign. Give it a compelling name (not just "Building Fund 2025" but "New Sanctuary: Our Future Home"), set your financial goal, and choose start and end dates. Select which fund(s) donations should count toward—typically a dedicated campaign fund.

Step 2: Add Campaign Details

Write a description that inspires: explain why this campaign matters, what will be achieved, and how gifts make a difference. Upload photos or videos that visualize the vision—architectural renderings for building projects, photos of missionaries for trip sponsorships, or images of the old equipment being replaced.

Step 3: Launch and Promote

Once created, share your campaign! Embed the progress thermometer on your website, announce it from the pulpit, send email updates with current progress, and post milestones on social media. Link directly to the campaign's giving page so people can donate with one click.

Features

Creating Fundraising Campaigns

Every campaign needs these core elements:

Name – Memorable and vision-focused (e.g., "Hope for Honduras Mission Trip 2025")
Goal Amount – Specific and achievable based on your church size and history
Timeline – Creates urgency; most campaigns run 30-90 days for short-term needs, 1-3 years for capital projects
Linked Fund – Dedicated fund that separates campaign donations from general giving
Description – Tells the story: why this matters, what it will accomplish, how people can help
Visibility – Public (shown on website) or private (internal tracking only)

Example: "Summer Camp Scholarships 2025" - Goal: $8,000 - Timeline: March 1 to June 1 - Description: "Every child deserves a week of camp, but not every family can afford it. Your gift provides scholarships for kids who need financial assistance to experience God's love in the great outdoors."

Setting Goals and Thermometers

Your campaign goal should be ambitious yet attainable. Review historical giving, consider your congregation size, and factor in major donor capacity. It's better to set a $50,000 goal and exceed it than set $100,000 and stall at 60%.

The progress thermometer is your visual motivator. Relius automatically calculates percentage complete and displays it in beautiful, shareable graphics. As donations arrive, the thermometer fills in real-time. Place this widget on your homepage, in email newsletters, and on screens in your worship center.

Psychological tip: People give more when they see progress. A thermometer at 70% inspires "Let's finish this!" A thermometer at 10% might discourage, so consider launching campaigns with lead gifts from major donors to show early momentum.

Progress Tracking and Reporting

Monitor campaign performance with built-in analytics:

Total raised – Sum of all donations to campaign funds
Pledged vs. received – How much has been committed vs. actually given
Donor count – Number of unique givers participating
Average gift size – Helps gauge engagement levels
Daily/weekly trends – See when momentum spikes (often after announcements or emails)
Top donors – Identify major supporters for personal thank-yous

Export campaign reports for your finance team, board presentations, or congregation updates. Share milestones publicly: "We're halfway there! $25,000 raised toward our $50,000 goal—thank you!"

Best Practices for Capital Campaigns

Capital campaigns (major projects like buildings, land purchases, renovations) require special attention:

Plan before you ask – Have architectural plans, cost estimates, and timelines ready before launching
Secure lead gifts first – Approach major donors privately before the public launch; 50% of your goal should come from 10-20 key donors
Use multi-year pledges – Most people can't give $10,000 at once, but $200/month for 4 years is doable
Create giving tiers – Name levels like "Foundation ($50k+)", "Cornerstone ($25k+)", "Pillar ($10k+)" to inspire bigger gifts
Communicate relentlessly – Monthly updates minimum; weekly during critical pushes. Show progress, tell stories, celebrate givers
Set stretch goals – When you hit 100%, introduce a bonus goal (like better finishes or debt-free completion)
Involve the congregation – Let people sponsor rooms, equipment, or features with name plaques

Advanced Features

Multi-Fund Campaigns

Some campaigns span multiple funds. A mission trip might include "Travel Fund," "Project Supplies," and "Missionary Support." Create one campaign linked to all three funds, and Relius tracks total progress across the umbrella goal while maintaining separate fund accounting.

Matching Gift Challenges

Supercharge generosity with matching campaigns. When a donor offers to match up to $10,000, create a campaign with that built-in goal and prominently display "Every dollar you give is doubled!" Matching challenges often close faster and inspire larger individual gifts.

Campaign Milestones & Automated Celebration

Set milestone markers at 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100%. When a milestone is reached, Relius can automatically trigger thank-you emails to all campaign donors, post to social media, or notify your communications team to send an update. Celebrating progress sustains momentum.

Donor Recognition Levels

Create giving tiers with associated recognition. Donors who give $1,000+ might get their name on a permanent plaque, $5,000+ could receive a private thank-you dinner with leadership, and $25,000+ might have a room named in their honor. Track tier participation within the campaign.

Recurring Campaign Donations

Allow donors to set up recurring gifts specifically for the campaign. Someone might pledge $100/month for 12 months toward your building fund. Relius tracks these commitments separately and counts them as they arrive. Recurring gifts provide predictable cash flow for project planning.

Campaign Sub-Goals

Break large goals into smaller targets. A $500,000 building campaign might have sub-goals: $100k for land, $300k for construction, $100k for furnishings. Track progress on each phase separately while showing overall completion. Helps donors see exactly where their gift goes.

Time-Limited Giving Days

Create 24-hour or week-long giving sprints. "Giving Tuesday" campaigns or "End-of-Year Push" with compressed timelines create urgency. Send real-time updates throughout the day: "We've raised $12,000 in 6 hours—help us reach $20,000 by midnight!" Live progress inspires action.

Best Practices

Cast vision before asking for money – People give to compelling futures, not budget shortfalls
Start with silent phase – Secure 30-50% of your goal from major donors before public launch
Keep timelines realistic – Short-term campaigns (30-60 days) for smaller goals; 1-3 years for capital projects
Update progress weekly – Regular communication sustains momentum and reminds people to give
Celebrate milestones publicly – Every 25% reached deserves recognition and renewed call to action
Tell donor stories – "The Martinez family gave $500 because..." gives permission for others to step in
Make giving easy – One-click links from email updates directly to campaign giving pages
Thank personally and promptly – Campaign gifts deserve special recognition beyond standard receipts
Plan for overage or shortfall – What happens if you raise 110% or only 85%? Communicate the plan upfront

Common Questions

Q: What if we don't reach our campaign goal by the deadline?

A: You have three options: extend the timeline with renewed push, scale back the project to match funds raised, or move to a pledge-based approach where people commit to future gifts. Communicate transparently with your congregation about the plan.

Q: Should campaign donations count toward regular giving for tax purposes?

A: Yes, campaign gifts are tax-deductible charitable donations and should be receipted like any other gift. Keep campaign funds in separate accounting categories, but they're still regular donations for IRS purposes.

Q: Can donors split a gift between the campaign and general fund?

A: Absolutely! When recording donations (or on online giving forms), allow split gifts. Someone might give $150 total: $100 to the building campaign and $50 to general operating. Honor donor intent.

Q: How do we track pledges vs. actual donations?

A: Record pledges separately from donations. When someone pledges $5,000 over two years, note it in their donor profile. As they fulfill with actual gifts, Relius tracks fulfillment percentage. Campaign thermometers can show either pledged amounts or actual receipts—choose based on your philosophy.

Q: What's a reasonable campaign goal for our church?

A: A general rule: annual operating budget × 1-2x for a 2-3 year capital campaign. A church with $300k annual budget might raise $300k-$600k over 2-3 years. Short-term campaigns (missions, equipment) often target 10-30% of annual giving in 1-3 months.

Q: Should we pause regular giving during a capital campaign?

A: Never! Campaign gifts should be "over and above" regular tithes and offerings. Clearly communicate: "Continue your faithful regular giving while supporting this special project." Pausing regular giving creates budget crises.