Photo Caption: A look back at the 2020 Building on the Rock groundbreaking at Southwest Christian School, featuring Missy Gale and Laura Hutyra celebrating an exciting milestone in the school’s growth.
Twenty years ago, I met M. Gale’s founder and CEO, Missy Gale.
I was in my first week on the job at the Fort Worth Zoo, working in a role split between public relations and development. On the fundraising side, I was supporting a $22 million capital campaign. Within several months, through a combination of circumstances, opportunity and (I’d like to think!) some hard work of my own, my responsibilities for the campaign grew significantly.
Anyone in a nonprofit probably knows some version of this story. We wear a lot of hats. Teams and resources have limits, priorities shift and important work still needs to move forward. Sometimes that means stepping into responsibilities that stretch us and learning quickly along the way. Looking back, did I have all the experience and expertise at that point in my career that I would eventually gain in campaign work? Of course not.
But I wasn’t doing it alone, and neither should you.
I had an incredible team around me, with people bringing different strengths, relationships and expertise to the work. We were fortunate to have an extraordinary Campaign Chair in Ramona Bass, a steadfast leader and philanthropist in North Texas and beyond. She understood the power of personal engagement and gave generously of her time and relationships to open doors, make introductions and sit down one-on-one with prospective donors for the peer-to-peer conversations that moved the campaign forward.
A small but committed group of campaign volunteers did the same, hosting gatherings, connecting us with people in their networks and joining donor meetings. Our Zoo Director, Mike Fouraker, and the full leadership team understood the importance of the campaign and made themselves available when we needed them. We stayed closely connected with the architects and project planners so we could accurately communicate the vision, plans and progress for the new exhibit.
And the campaign reached well beyond the development office. Colleagues across public relations, marketing, animal care, facilities, security and other areas of the Zoo stepped in whenever a donor visit, event or opportunity called for their expertise. Looking back, I can see more clearly just how many people had a hand in our success.
And then there was Missy.
Missy’s role became much more than that of a campaign consultant to me. She was a sounding board, a teacher and always a mentor. At that stage of my career, I had plenty of questions—some strategic and some very foundational. Missy never made me feel uncomfortable asking them. She took the time to help me understand not only what needed to happen next, but how to do it well.
I vividly remember developing invitations for campaign host events and sending them to her for feedback. She walked me through how to structure the gatherings, what the agenda should accomplish and how we should follow up with guests afterward. Those may sound like small things, but when you’re managing your first major campaign, they aren’t small at all.
And the remarkable thing is that none of this necessarily required hours and hours of her time. What mattered was the intentionality and the care. She paid attention. She made herself available at the moments when her experience could make a difference. And she cared about helping me learn the work rather than simply telling me what to do.
Long after the Zoo campaign ended, she stayed connected as a mentor and friend.
That first campaign became an incredible education for me. I continued learning through other campaigns and fundraising roles at the Zoo and other nonprofits over the years, but many of the lessons I learned alongside Missy and that first campaign have stayed with me.
One of the biggest is pretty simple: successful campaigns depend on having the right people around the table and ensuring each understands the role they can play.
Twenty years later.
This year marks 20 years since Missy and I first met.
In 2014, I joined M. Gale. Since then, I’ve had the opportunity to serve in several roles, learn from an incredible team and work alongside nonprofit leaders through campaigns and other important fundraising initiatives. Last year, I had the honor of being named M. Gale’s first President, working alongside Missy in her role as CEO.
It’s a pretty remarkable full-circle moment when I think about it. The person who helped guide me through my first capital campaign is now someone I have the privilege of working alongside to lead M. Gale into its next chapter. Our relationship has changed a lot over those 20 years, from consultant and young fundraiser, to mentor and mentee, to colleagues and now CEO and President. Through all of those chapters, Missy has continued to do something I experienced from the very beginning: share what she knows, invest in people and give them room to grow.
Campaign work has changed quite a bit over those same 20 years, too. Technology has transformed how we research prospects, manage data, communicate with donors and track progress. Digital communications give us more ways to engage people, and today, AI and other emerging tools can help teams analyze information, develop ideas and work more efficiently. We should take advantage of those advancements. But when I think about what made that first campaign successful and what I see working in campaigns today, the people, their expertise and the relationships among them still matter just as much.
Judgment matters. Trust matters. Knowing when to bring the right person into a conversation matters. A committed board member opening a door matters. A campaign chair willing to make the ask matters. Staff members who understand their organization and donors matter. Project planners who keep everyone informed matter. And experienced counsel who has seen the opportunities and challenges of many campaigns can help a team anticipate what comes next.
Building the right campaign team
Every organization and every campaign is different, but most successful campaigns require several groups to work closely together. As you think about your own campaign team, consider the roles each will play:
Executive leadership: The CEO or Executive Director connects the campaign to the organization’s vision, keeps fundraising priorities aligned with organizational needs and plays an important role in donor and volunteer relationships.
Board leadership: Board members provide governance, oversight and accountability while lending their own commitment and credibility to the effort. They should understand the campaign’s purpose, financial implications and the role they can play in its success.
Campaign chairs and volunteers: Strong volunteer leaders bring relationships and influence that staff alone often cannot. They open doors, make introductions, participate in cultivation and, importantly, engage in peer-to-peer solicitation.
Development and organizational staff: Fundraising professionals provide the daily coordination, donor strategy, prospect management and follow-through that keeps a campaign moving. Colleagues across communications, finance, operations and programs bring expertise that connects the campaign to the organization’s broader work.
Project planners and technical experts: For campaigns involving facilities or other major investments, architects, construction teams, financial advisors and project managers need open lines of communication with the fundraising team. Project scope, budgets and timelines can change, and fundraisers need accurate information to communicate with donors.
Experienced campaign counsel: Most nonprofit professionals will lead relatively few major campaigns over the course of their careers. Campaign consultants bring the benefit of experience across many campaigns and organizations, helping teams assess readiness, establish realistic goals, develop strategy, anticipate challenges and keep the many pieces of the work moving together.
Having all of these people involved is only part of the equation. They also need to communicate:
Establish clear roles and regular communication early.
Make sure project planners understand what fundraisers need to know.
Help board members and volunteers understand where their relationships can make a difference.
Give staff clear responsibilities.
Use counsel as a resource—ask questions, test ideas and take advantage of the experience they bring from other campaigns. I certainly did.
The relationships that carry us forward.
When I think back to that first campaign at the Zoo, I remember the people as much as the work itself. I remember the meetings and donor visits, the questions I had, the challenges we worked through and the excitement of watching plans become reality. I remember how much I learned from the people around me.
Today, I’m grateful for the relationships that have lasted well beyond that first campaign. I’m grateful for everything Missy taught me then, for the mentorship that followed and for the trust she has placed in me over the years.
I’m also reminded that none of us does our best work alone. The tools available to us will continue to change, and I hope we’ll keep finding better and more efficient ways to use them. But I’m convinced that successful campaigns will continue to depend on people bringing their experience, relationships and individual strengths to the table, and being willing to learn from one another along the way.
That was true during my first campaign 20 years ago. I believe it’s every bit as true today.
If your organization is considering a capital campaign or another significant fundraising initiative, I’d welcome the opportunity to talk about what you’re planning, the team you’ll need around you and how M. Gale might help.
Your partner in purpose,
Laura Hutyra
As President, Laura Hutyra is a results-driven leader focused on M. Gale team collaboration and operational goals across all of the company’s departments. Laura also serves as a consultant to help clients navigate organizational and fundraising solutions that maintain mission promises. She is a seasoned campaign fundraiser, with experience managing multi-million dollar campaigns.