Make certain to send payment reminders each month that a payment is due. Nothing will stall a good campaign faster than not sending payment reminders. The payment reminders should be in the form of a personal, positive update letter with a simple statement indicating total gift, amount paid to date and the balance remaining. Remind the donor how important their timely payment is to successful conclusion of the campaign.

You probably don’t need a sophisticated computer program – unless you have hundreds or thousands of donors. A simple spreadsheet program and some staff time should be sufficient.

Keep the campaign newsletter going. Show progress. Make sure all the donors understand how the plans are progressing and why their continued support is important.

Keep close tabs on those donors who made one-time cash gifts. On the anniversary of their gift, contact them and ask them if they would consider supporting a specific part of the project – or even general operating support. You’ve accomplished the hardest – their first gift. If you do the rest well, they can turn into the foundation of a major gift effort.

Publish the results of the fund raising … and pledge redemption. Let your donors know how close your organization is to collecting all of the funds needed. In essence, create a "mini-campaign" that focuses on cash in the bank.

Have periodic building events. Have a "ground blessing", then, a couple of months later, host a "ground breaking." As the project proceeds, have different on-site celebrations. Keep the enthusiasm high by emphasizing the original reasons for the campaign, and how much closer you are to the goal as the pledges are paid.

Make sure all outstanding solicitation visits are closed. Re-visit those prospects who haven’t made a decision yet and re-explain how important their support is.

In the case of donors who aren’t paying, plan to re-visit them with the same leaders who received the gift to begin with. Don’t be timid – communication is the key!