Should You Go . . . or Should You Wait?

The Long-Term Benefits of a Capital Campaign.

Over the past year or so, numerous organizations have decided to put their fund-raising plans “on hold,” until such time as economic conditions improve. In recent months, we’re pleased to report, many others have decided to move forward, in a spirit of cautious optimism. That’s a point of view we share. Indeed, we hit upon it in our last newsletter. One of the main points we shared was that much of what determines whether an organization should move forward is based more on its own readiness, versus external economic conditions.

Historically speaking, Americans have always been willing to get behind a worthy cause, regardless of any peaks and valleys in the economic cycle. And those organizations that have planned and prepared conscientiously have usually succeeded in raising significant amounts of money.

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Regardless of peaks and valleys in the economic cycle, Americans have always been willing to get behind a worthy cause.

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Such organizations, as well as their donors and volunteers, realize that the needs of their constituents can’t wait for ideal fund-raising conditions. They’re also aware that there are many good reasons, beyond achieving their short-term objectives, to undertake periodic capital and/or endowment campaigns. When an organization faces a “go/no-go” decision, the long-term benefits should be kept in mind.

A major capital campaign, for example, provides an excellent opportunity to:

• Review your organizational priorities, and make sure that they’re reflected in your fund-raising program.
• Offer your CEO, board members, and development staff a chance to exercise leadership (as well as to work together for a common goal).
• Present your organization’s case for support to all of its important constituencies—from current and past trustees to members, subscribers, alumni, etc.
• Keep your organization in the public eye—making it easier for people to learn about your organization and appreciate the good work it does.
  
  

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  When an organization faces a “go/no-go” decision, the long-term benefits should be kept in mind.

• Provide hundreds of people with a way to connect with, and get involved in, your organization—and in the process, to contribute something meaningful to its advancement.
• Attract and activate scores of new donors and volunteers, including some future board members and prospects for major gifts. (It’s this phenomenon that makes it possible to strengthen the annual fund during a capital campaign, rather than compete with it.)
• Build the capacity of your development office—through the process of “gearing up” for the capital campaign.

When you’re deciding whether to move forward with a capital campaign or wait for a more auspicious time, it’s important to keep all these benefits in mind.

And don’t forget: Once the “external conditions” are more auspicious, everyone will be talking about conducting a capital campaign!

The Winning Campaign

Seven Essential Elements of Success

What ingredients are essential to a successful capital campaign?

This is the question we explore in “The Winning Campaign,” the latest addition (our eleventh volume!) to The Goettler Series.

In volume 11, you will learn about the seven elements we believe are crucial, based on more than 35 years experience in planning and directing winning campaigns for nonprofit organizations:

1. A solid organization

2. A worthwhile project

3. A compelling case for support

4. Availability of sufficient financial resources

5. Qualified and committed volunteer leadership

6. Pacesetting leadership gifts

7. A realistic and well-executed plan of campaign

For the details, be sure to request your complimentary copy of Volume 11. Refer to page 3 for more information.

What's the Focus of Your Campaign?

A great deal has been written by fund-raising consultants (including us) on the subject of building your case for support. Much less has been said about how to go about defining your campaign objectives.

Through the case, of course, you market your organization and your campaign to prospective donors. But before you can send a message, you must determine its content. What specific capital, endowment, or current programs will be funded? Who, exactly, should make those decisions, and how?

Based on our conversations with CEO’s and development officers, it can’t be denied that the content of the campaign is influenced, and sometimes shaped, by the leadership’s basic motives for pursuing a campaign in the first place.

In some cases, unfortunately, these motives reflect the organization’s internal problems or the “pet projects” of its leaders. Such motives may have little to do with the needs and desires of so-called “external” audiences i.e., those the organization is in business to serve. Neither a silver-tongued case for support nor an aggressive “selling” job should be expected to compensate for that weakness.

What we’re saying is this: A major capital campaign, from its very conception, needs to be “about” something important — a worthwhile project in the eyes of donors and volunteers. This project may or may not coincide with the agenda of your CEO or development office.

From the viewpoint of your constituents, a campaign is not about:

• Improving your organization’s financial situation.
• “Saving” your organization and/or its core programs from imminent collapse.
• Maintaining your organization’s visibility and its contacts with donors.

From the viewpoint of your organization, these may all be worthwhile goals, and even necessary to survival—but they offer no benefits to your constituents.

A capital campaign is not a self-serving exercise staged by the organization in order to get what it wants from the community. A campaign is, in fact, a collaborative project undertaken by the organization and the community together —on behalf of all those the organization serves.

Your objectives, then, ought to be more than a “wish list” of unrelated projects that your organization has been unable to fund in any other way. Your campaign objectives should respond to needs that are felt by your constituents, and perceived by them as urgent.

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The development function should be linked directly to the “visioning” and/or strategic planning process.

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Among those who stand to benefit, there should be a substantial number whose needs would not otherwise be met. Ideally, the campaign should build the capacity of the organization on a permanent basis — by adding new services, improving existing services, or extending services to new constituencies.

Although it seems to be the exception, rather than the rule, the best way to develop a focus for your capital campaign is to link the development function directly to the organization’s “visioning” and/or strategic planning process.

That may be easier said than done, of course, since it elevates the status of the “fund-raising” function from sales to development, in the sense that the term is intended to convey. And that’s what your capital campaign should really be about!

  On SecondThought
David S. Goettler
Chief Executive Officer, Goettler Associates, Inc.

Is Your Campaign Undercapitalized?

To take advantage of all the possibilities presented by an intensive capital campaign, the development office must have sufficient human and financial resources to do the job. The presence of counsel cannot compensate for a lack of full-time staff.

A major capital campaign is often a good time to invest in a larger development staff and budget since such an investment is likely to “produce dividends” more quickly than usual. Undercapitalization of the development effort, on the other hand, may prevent the organization from realizing all of the longer-term benefits that a capital campaign can bring.

That’s why, in preparing for a major capital campaign, we often recommend an internal assessment of the organization’s development function (usually in concert with a campaign planning/feasibility study).

A campaign can present an opportunity to address difficult issues that sooner or later must be faced.

During the assessment, we gather information and opinions on the organization and its development function. We focus on the current resources—staff, budget, and volunteers— available to the development office. On this basis, we try to provide forward-looking recommendations on the most effective use of current personnel, as well as any additional staff and office resources that may be required to ensure the success of a major capital campaign.

These recommendations aren’t always easy to implement. The organization, for example, may be asked to consider investing a good deal more in the development function than it has in the past. We’ve found, however, that preparations for a capital campaign especially with counsel on hand—can present the best possible opportunity to address some of the difficult issues that sooner or later must be faced.