Campaigns & Solicitations

I hope that you enjoyed this week’s posts, Key Components and Campaign Strategy. Other topics that are coming this week are including an online strategy, and third party help. I want this week’s posts to be used and available to as many people in the nonprofit world as possible. Please send this link to a friend, stumble this post, or simply take a minute to leave some feedback. Today I am asking about current trends and determining the amount for a capital ask.

What are some new and developing campaign trends?

The Collins Group:

• More organizations are creating comprehensive campaigns that bring together annual, capital, and endowment fundraising goals for a specific period of time
• We are seeing an increase in planning for endowment campaigns, particularly in sectors such as arts and culture that have capitalized over the past decade
• The community college sector is expanding its fundraising power with more and more colleges moving into their first-ever privately funded building and/or endowment campaign
• More donors are giving “tester” gifts early in a campaign and following up with additional gifts as a campaign progresses. This makes donor stewardship during a campaign more important than ever

- Dana Van Nest, Marketing Director and Kate Roosevelt, CFRE, Vice President, www.collinsgroup.com

Lipman Hearne:
As the economic disparities in our society have increased, the old 80/20 rule has become 90/10 or higher. And, campaigns continue to get bigger and the “breathing space” between them is typically reduced. It’s not unusual for us to talk about how to wrap up a current, successful campaign and how to launch the next one - all during the course of a single meeting.
- Robert Moore, Managing Partner, www.lipmanhearne.com

How do you determine the ask amount for a capital ask?

The Collins Group:
As a starting place, your organization should research the prospect’s giving history to your organization and to others, assess their level of commitment to your mission, and identify their giving capacity (e.g. professional history, assets, family history). It is most effective to have peers of the prospect involved in both establishing a respectful ask amount and soliciting the gift. Asking for a multi-year pledge can also help a donor see a way to “stretch” their giving.
- Dana Van Nest, Marketing Director and Kate Roosevelt, CFRE, Vice President, www.collinsgroup.com

Lipman Hearne:
Through the feasibility study process, ongoing conversations, prospect rating systems, and an examination of public data regarding the prospect’s financial status. One of the old truisms of fundraising is that “nobody is offended by being asked for too much” - the assumption being that the prospect says to himself or herself, “they must think I’m doing really well.” Overshooting the mark by a ridiculous amount, though, would cause a prospect to think that you haven’t really done your homework or preparation very well.
- Robert Moore, Managing Partner, www.lipmanhearne.com

Please leave any comments or advice of your own below. If you would like to see past and upcoming online interviews you can visit the Interviews page. Thanks for reading!

I hope that you enjoyed yesterday’s post, Key Components. Other topics that are coming this week are current trends, determining the amount for a capital ask, including an online strategy, and third party help. I want this week’s posts to be used and available to as many people in the nonprofit world as possible. Please send this link to a friend, stumble this post, or simply take a minute to leave some feedback.

Does campaign strategy change in each third sector industry (arts, social services, education, etc.)?

The Collins Group:
Campaigns across the third sector are a mix of art and science. While best practices are uniform, specific strategies should be tailored depending on the type, size, and stage of organization. For example, the campaign strategy for an organization with 10,000 members will look very different than that for an organization that has relied on foundation and corporate support.
- Dana Van Nest, Marketing Director and Kate Roosevelt, CFRE, Vice President, www.collinsgroup.com

Lipman Hearne:
To some extent, yes, though the real “outrider” is in social services. To a certain extent, campaigns in education, the arts, and health can all frame themselves at least in part through recognizing some core “self-interest” among people who have had direct contact with their services: alumni/ae, patrons, or grateful patients. Each of these institutions, while having to identify and appeal to a distinct segment of stakeholders, can base a good deal of its argument on an “earned” awareness of the quality of its programs by people who have participated in or benefited from them. Social service agencies, though, don’t often find people whom they served (the homeless, for example) becoming major donors or prospects, so their case has to be constructed in a broader context of “public good.” Social service agencies are also typically supported in large part by governmental contracts (for housing, foster care, aid to dependent children, etc.), so the case has to be made in such a way as it shows the marked improvements that such marginal philanthropic funding can generate.
- Robert Moore, Managing Partner, www.lipmanhearne.com

Please leave any comments or advice of your own below. If you would like to see past and upcoming online interviews you can visit the Interviews page. Thanks for reading

I am excited to bring to you my second online interview. I am interviewing a couple of skilled consultants on the topic of Capital Campaigns. Over the course of this week we will talk about campaign strategy, current trends, determining the amount for a capital ask, including an online strategy, and third party help. I would like to extend a special thanks to our interviewees The Collins Group, Lipman Hearne and Convio (When we discuss online strategy). It should be mentioned that each of these consulting groups is very different. In reference to a capital campaign The Collins Group would be your campaign counsel and manage your feasibility study. Lipman Hearne would be great to work with regarding key messaging and building your case and Convio focuses on online fundraising

What are the key components of a successful capital campaign?

The Collins Group:
There are six components that determine the success of a capital campaign. They are:

1. Strong board, staff, and volunteer leadership
2. Clear project definition and a compelling case for support
3. Ready and willing leadership donors (a dozen gifts often make up more than 50 percent of the campaign goal)
4. Solid reputation and visible organization
5. Adequate fundraising staffing, systems, and infrastructure
6. Timing (e.g. economic concerns and competing projects)

- Dana Van Nest, Marketing Director and Kate Roosevelt, CFRE, Vice President, www.collinsgroup.com

Lipman Hearne:
Through the feasibility study process, ongoing conversations, prospect rating systems, and an examination of public data regarding the prospect’s financial status. One of the old truisms of fundraising is that “nobody is offended by being asked for too much” - the assumption being that the prospect says to himself or herself, “they must think I’m doing really well.” Overshooting the mark by a ridiculous amount, though, would cause a prospect to think that you haven’t really done your homework or preparation very well.
- Robert Moore, Managing Partner, www.lipmanhearne.com

Please leave any comments or advice of your own below. If you would like to see past and upcoming online interviews you can visit the Interviews page. Thanks for reading!

I am hosting the Carnival of Nonprofit Consultants and I thought this would be a great opportunity to get a bit of input on what makes a great capital campaign. I heard back from a couple people on this topic and have included their submissions below. But I’d love to hear more so I will keep the offer open. If anyone posts on the topic of capital campaigns and wants me to link to their post in the future send me an email and I with highlight it here.

Joanne Fritz talks about what a capital campaign is at About.com. Visit the article about capital campaigns to find some really useful information.

Definition: A capital campaign is a time-limited effort by a nonprofit organization to raise significant dollars for a specific project.

Sandy Rees has some great insights on how to run a successful capital campaign. She talks about the need to start preparing your donors years in advance, and to have the right people on board. Check out her post on her blog, Get Fully Funded.

At its heart, a capital campaign relies on the same things as other fundraising efforts: a compelling case, relationships with donors, and the right person asking for the right amount at the right time.

Robert Guinto from Nonprofit Capital Management sent me a few pointers about how important messaging is to a capital campaign. Check out his blog.

The branding and marketing of the message is critical to capital campaigns. There is a need to have the capital plan designed in a manner that strategically seeks funding from foundations, businesses and individuals… Another element of a campaign is that it does not just state and end on a short time period. It is important to note that your organization needs to be in front of an individual several times before there may be a positive outcome.

I thought I would highlight some examples of capital campaigns online for you to check out.

• The Elevation Church kicked off their capital campaign, Dominate, giving away $40,000 to their congregation in increments of $5 and $10. Congregation members had so spend the money on other people. An interesting way to share the vision of their campaign but resulted in huge success.
• The University of Rio is trying a video approach to bringing university alumni.
• Do you have any links or stories to successful capital campaigns?

In a few weeks make sure to check back to read my interview with a few capital campaign leaders. I have asked The Collins Group, Convio, Lipman Hearne, and Tavro Lund and they will be sharing their expertise.