Stephen, will you hire a consulting firm to help you with the campaign? Those firms often propose volunteer structures they prefer after they conduct your readiness assessment. The firm will also develop volunteer handbooks or proprietary training materials. So, you might wait to engage with that firm before doing too much to change the internal structure.
Often, there will be a "Campaign Cabinet" during the very early stages of the "quiet" phase of the campaign. This is a small group led by institutional leadership with only a handful of donors who have made substantial commitments (lead donors) and will help the institution prepare for a broader push both in fleshing out campaign details based on your campaign plans and to identify others to participate in a broader Campaign Steering Committee.
With campaign planning well underway and key donor volunteers identified, you often establish this committee with the Cabinet as its nucleus and another two dozen or so more. Here, you must be careful to keep the Steering Committee manageable. The larger they are, the harder they are to manage! Think how difficult (sometimes) it is to staff and manage your board! Meeting frequency for this group won't be as often as the Cabinet. Some organizations will time these meetings with the regular Board meetings.
From here, you may establish sub-committees with a Chair(s) reporting to the Steering Committee. Again, Counsel will lend advice as to the right number and purpose. The committees could be established by geography, donor type, campaign purposes and programs, and other logical constructs.
I prefer a limited use of volunteers under one campaign structure. When you add Campaign Advisory Committees for different purposes, the lines of authority and purpose become blurred. I'd try to stick within the Campaign Steering Committee structure with sub-committees focusing on those niches rather than creating additional "boards" that require more leadership and internal staff resources.
John
John H. Taylor
Principal
John H. Taylor Consulting, LLC
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