The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s capital campaign was a well-choreographed project that breathed new life into the organization’s fundraising plan

By Margaret Battistelli Gardner

Despite anticipation that such a huge and aggressive campaign might detract from gifts to its annual campaign, Ailey found that it saw slightly elevated numbers overall. Rink attributes that to the fact that any small losses that might have resulted from donors simply shifting their support were offset by those who supported both the annual and capital campaigns. The key was to conduct the capital campaign while not backing off of the annual effort.