The Capital Campaign Incubator, on one page for your board.
Eight weeks, January 6 to February 24, 2027, that build the documents a capital campaign runs on, for your own organization, with Emily Bocking’s eyes on the work. It ends with a written verdict: ready, not yet, or not ready.
What it is
The step before the feasibility study. A study averages $30,000 to $60,000, often more, and checks whether donors will give. The Incubator builds the case, the budget and the prospect list the study checks, for about a tenth of the price. Arrive at the study with them built and it costs less and says more.
A campaign is a business. It runs on a validated budget, a case, a plan, a clean database and a board that has met donors. One of those gets built each week, on your organization, not on a template.
Who it is for
The executive director of a charity whose board has put a capital campaign of $1 million to $20 million on the table, before anyone has paid for a feasibility study. Ten organizations at most, each with two seats every week.
It is not for an organization already in a campaign. That is a consulting conversation, and a different one.
What the board gives
Two hours, from two people. The board chair attends week three, Board & Leadership Alignment. The treasurer attends week five, Financial Clarity & Feasibility. Each is one live hour, recorded, with the working session after it open to them if they want it.
Every other week, the second seat is the ED’s to fill: a fundraiser, a finance person, a committee chair.
What you leave with, by week eight
- Your readiness baseline, and the reframe that stops the begging
- A vision statement and a “why now” brief
- A board alignment brief and talking points
- A draft case for support, tested with three real readers
- A full budget workbook: project, campaign and operating
- An infrastructure audit and a stewardship plan
- A gift table and your top 50 prospects, scored
- A reputation audit, a 90-day plan, and the written readiness verdict
Plus a re-assessment against the entry quiz: proof on paper of what moved in eight weeks.
How a week works
Wednesday, the live session. Friday, the working session, cameras on, everybody building. Monday, open office hours. Each runs 10:30 to 11:30 am Saskatchewan time, CST (11:30 Eastern, 9:30 Mountain, 8:30 Pacific). Everything is recorded and posted within 24 hours.
About three hours a week for the ED. Most of it can be watched on your own schedule.
What it costs, and when
$2,997 per organization, in full or three payments of $1,199. Most EDs can approve it without a board vote; if yours needs a resolution, this page is the summary.
Enrol by November 27, 2026 for three early sessions in December. Enrolment closes December 18. Cohort One begins Wednesday, January 6, 2027. The next cohort runs in March.
Who runs it
Emily Bocking, CFRE, founder of Brazen Fundraising & Advisory Services in Saskatoon. Twenty years in fundraising, more than $50 million raised in direct asks, campaigns from $750,000 to the $180 million one she is running now. This is the first cohort, which is why it is $2,997.
The decision in front of the board
Approve $2,997 for one of ten seats in Cohort One, and name the board chair and the treasurer as the second seat in their weeks.
Questions first? Book a 20-minute fit call with Emily, or come to the free class, The Readiness Gap, Tuesday, November 17 at 10:30 am Saskatchewan time (CST): brazenfundraising.com/readinessgap.
The full page: brazenfundraising.com/capitalcampaignincubator