Capital Campaigns 101: How to Keep Your Big Goals—and Your Books—on Track

You’ve got big ideas for your nonprofit. Maybe it’s a mission-driven program you’re finally ready to launch. Or a few laptops so your volunteers can stop sharing one. Maybe you need supplies for after-school art classes, a tent for outreach events, or just enough funding to bring on a part-time coordinator—so you can finally breathe.

You’re not aiming to create a headquarters or manage a million-dollar campaign right now. You just need a focused plan to raise a specific amount of money for something that will help you grow.

But once the donations start coming in, you’ll need a clean, simple way to track everything. When money has a purpose, your records should reflect that.

This post will walk you through what that kind of fundraising effort looks like, why it matters to track it separately from your day-to-day budget, and how to do it without getting overwhelmed.

What Is a Capital Campaign (and Why Should You Care)?

If you’re unfamiliar with “capital campaign,” don’t worry. Most small nonprofit leaders don’t come across it unless they’ve worked at a larger organization or taken a fundraising course. It sounds formal, maybe even a little intimidating. The word capital alone brings up thoughts of big money, big teams, and big projects.

But really, a capital campaign is just a focused effort to raise money for a bigger-than-usual goal.

>>>It’s not about how large your organization is, it’s about how intentional your fundraising is.

The difference between a regular fundraiser and a capital campaign often comes down to purpose. Regular fundraising keeps the wheels turning—monthly rent, program costs, staffing, utilities. Capital campaign funds, on the other hand, are earmarked for something outside the norm. It’s usually time-bound, goal-specific, and tied to a long-term benefit.

And it doesn’t have to be flashy or complicated.

You don’t need to run a gala. You don’t need a thermometer graphic (unless you want one). You just need a well-defined goal that will help you grow—and a plan to raise money specifically for that goal.

Here’s the part most small nonprofits don’t realize: You may already be doing something like this—you just haven’t called it a capital campaign.

If you’ve ever set out to raise a chunk of money for a one-time expense or a strategic move, like hiring support staff, upgrading tech, launching a new program, or finally building a cushion to stop the constant cash-flow juggling act… that’s the spirit of a capital campaign.

>>>Calling it what it is matters.

Not because of labels—but because when you recognize something as a campaign, you treat it differently. You plan for it. You track it separately. You communicate about it with clarity and confidence.

You don’t need a six-figure goal or a dedicated fundraising team to run one. You just need intention—and a simple way to keep the finances clean and clear.

Why You Need to Track Capital Campaign Funds Separately

Here’s where things can get messy—fast.

Let’s say you start raising money for a specific project: a new initiative, a tech upgrade, or a part-time hire. Donations start coming in and you get excited. You categorize the funds into your general donations account and move on.

But a few months later, you’re knee-deep in numbers, trying to figure out which donations were for the campaign, how much was spent, and what is left.

That’s the moment nonprofit leaders start sweating.

Because the money was raised for a specific purpose—but now it’s tangled up with your day-to-day funds.

Why it matters:

• It muddies your financial reports.
• You want to show your board, accountant, or even a donor that the money raised for X was used for X. If it’s lumped in with your regular revenue, that becomes difficult—and can make your books misleading.
• It creates cash flow confusion.
• Capital campaign money often sits in your account for a while before it’s spent. If you’re not tracking it separately, it might look like you have more available funds than you actually do—because some of it is already committed.
• It complicates tax and grant reporting. If you don’t track campaign funds separately, it’s harder to report restricted income accurately on Form 990 and nearly impossible to give clear reports to grant funders. Even informal fundraising appeals can create donor restrictions, and without clean records, you’re left scrambling to prove you used the money as promised.

Here’s the part many small nonprofits overlook: If you raise money for a specific purpose, even informally, those funds are considered restricted.

That means you’re expected—by funders, your board, and yes, the IRS—to track them separately and use them as promised. The restriction doesn’t have to be formally documented by the donor. If you ran a campaign or appeal with a specific goal in mind, you’ve created an implied restriction just by how you framed the ask.

• It impacts donor trust.
• Donors want to know that the money they gave for a certain purpose, was used for that purpose. Even if you do use it properly, if you can’t show a clean paper trail, it weakens credibility—and makes future fundraising harder.

>>>It’s about clarity, not just compliance.

Tracking capital campaign funds separately isn’t just some bookkeeping technicality—it’s a tool that protects your mission for three reasons.

1. It gives you better visibility.
2. It makes your reports easier to understand.
3. It builds trust with every stakeholder who touches your numbers.

Whether you’re prepping for a board meeting, applying for a grant, or just trying to sleep better at night knowing your finances are straight—this one habit can make a big difference.

How to Track a Capital Campaign

Once you’ve set a clear fundraising goal for your capital campaign, the next step is to make sure the income and expenses tied to that campaign are tracked separately from your regular operations. This doesn’t have to be complicated, but it does need to be intentional.

Below, I’ll walk you through how to set this up in QuickBooks Online based on your subscription type—and how to do it in Excel if that’s what you’re using.

If You’re Using QBO Ledger, Simple Start, or Essentials

The best approach with these versions is to use your Chart of Accounts to organize campaign activity in a way that’s clear, consistent, and easy to report on. With the right setup, you’ll be able to track your progress and stay on top of your campaign finances without confusion.

Option 1: Using Subaccount Structure

This method lets you group your capital campaign activity under one parent account for better visibility in your reports.

Steps:

• Create an Other Income parent account called: Capital Campaign
• Then create two subaccounts underneath it:
• Capital Campaign Contributions (Other Income)
• Capital Campaign Expenses (Other Expense)

This keeps your campaign activity tidy and grouped in one section when reviewing reports.

Option 2: Separate Income and Expense Accounts

This option skips the parent account but still separates the activity.

Steps:

• Create one Other Income account: Capital Campaign Contributions
• Create one Other Expense account: Capital Campaign Expenses

Your reports will still show these totals, but they won’t be grouped together unless you customize them.

Tips to Keep It Clean:

• Always assign income and expenses to the correct account
• Use clear memo lines to label campaign-related transactions
• Only enter funds that have been received or spent—not pending gifts or promises

If You’re Using QBO Plus or Advanced

These plans offer more flexibility, and you can choose how deep you want to go with tracking. The easiest way to start? Use the Chart of Accounts just like above:

• One Other Income account for contributions
• One Other Expense account for campaign costs
• Or use the subaccount structure if you prefer grouped reporting

But if you want to go further, you can set up additional tracking layers.

Option 1: Use Projects

• Create a Project for the campaign
• Assign all related income and expenses to that Project
• Review built-in reports to see totals, profitability, and campaign-specific performance

Option 2: Use Classes

• Create a Class called “Capital Campaign”
• Assign that Class to each transaction tied to the campaign
• Run a Profit & Loss by Class report to isolate results

Tips to Stay Consistent:

• Choose one tracking method period—either Subaccounts, Projects, or Classes
• Don’t mix methods; it makes reports a bit messy
• Keep categorizing contributions and expenses correctly

If You’re Using Excel to Track Your Campaign

No software? No worries. You can still track your campaign manually with a simple MS Excel spreadsheet or Google Sheet. You just have to make sure that you stay consistent. This is what I recommend doing.

Option 1: Create two sections or tabs

1. Campaign Income
   • Columns: Date, Donor, Amount, Method, Notes
   • Optional: Column to check off when funds are received
2. Campaign Expenses
   • Columns: Date, Vendor, Amount, Category, Note

Then, keep a running total subtracting the Total Expenditures from the Total Income.

Option 2: Keep everything on one tab

Use positive numbers for income, and negative numbers for expenditures. Make columns for the following items to track information:

• Date
• Donor/Vendor Name
• Amount (+/-)
• Payment Method (mostly for income items)
• Category/Account
• Notes

Excel Tips:

• Use clear and consistent category/account names (e.g., “Design – Campaign” or “Venue – Campaign”)
• Use formatting or color coding to highlight different types of entries (e.g., green for received, yellow for pending)

No matter which method or platform you use, the goal is the same—to keep your campaign activity separate from the rest of your financials. Getting used to doing so saves you time, reduces confusion, and builds trust with donors, board members, and funders down the road.

In Summary:

Tracking your capital campaign separately doesn’t mean adding more complexity, it means adding clarity. Whether you’re raising $2,000 or $200,000, you deserve systems that reflect your purpose and protect your progress.

>>>This isn’t about being fancy, it’s about being intentional. And when your mission depends on every dollar doing its job, that intention matters.

So go ahead—set the goal, make the ask, and keep the tracking simple but clear.

You’ve got this. And if not, I’m only a few clicks away.