Feasibility and Planning Studies
Feasibility Studies or what are now being called Planning Studies are a great way for your organization to garner the “pulse” of your constituency. Experience has shown that a proven maxim of every capital campaign is that 80% or more of the gifts will come from about 20% of the contributors. Therefore, the primary purpose of a Planning Study to make contact with those individuals, carefully seeking their input and attempting to secure an initial indication of what they would be willing to contribute over a three to five-year period if a capital campaign were conducted.
Through a competent, objective study, an organization can learn what it needs to know before embarking upon a capital campaign and whether all the critical ingredients for success are in place.
- Essential ingredients for a successful capital campaign are:
- An urgent, compelling case for support
- A clear explanation of the organization’s needs
- Sufficient donor and volunteer prospects currently supporting the organization
- Leadership that is effective and inspirational
- Resources and a development system to carry out the campaign, such as fundraisers, database, staff, financial, etc.
- A strategy for implementation
The purposes of a Planning Study include:
- Securing opinions, recommendations, and input from individuals closest to the institution or organization
- Testing the feasibility of the proposed project and the Case for Support.
- Attempting to discover new contributors
- For some clients, attempting to uncover the leadership of the community in which the organization or institution is located
- Discovering volunteer workers and leaders for the proposed campaign
- Determining if any discrediting issues exist in the institution’s history that would affect the outcome of a major capital campaign
- Finding new friends for the institution or organization
- Discovering, in a preliminary way, the potential length and breadth of a capital campaign
- Finding out how well the institution or organization has communicated with its constituency
- Securing data for special situations or major decisions that an institution or organization is considering making
Planning Study Success Criteria:
The success of the Planning Study will depend upon the strength of the institution or organization’s position in the marketplace and the quality of work in preparation for the planning study interviews. It is vitally important for GivingPoint to be in front of the people the organization or institution feels have the greatest influence and commitment to be a part of the proposed capital campaign. Issues and organizational objectives tested in the Planning Study will most likely stem from the organization’s strategic plan.
Potential Outcomes of the Campaign Feasibility Study:
- An indication of your constituency’s level of confidence in your organization’s leadership and plans for the future.
- Does the constituency understand the direction of your organization and is there sufficient buy-in for the Case for Support?
- Will the appropriate members of your constituency step forward to endorse campaign plans, make major gifts and essentially lead the campaign?
- Are there sufficient numbers of donor prospects at respective gift levels?
- Does your current fundraising operation have the capacity, i.e. talent, tools, and budget to conduct a successful campaign?
- What are the external factors that may affect the timing or success of your campaign?
Study Components:
The Planning Study will consist of the following key components:
- Either writing or review and editing of existing case statement for support
- Personal interview selection (30-50 persons is best)
- Lead letter to each individual chosen for interview (Case for Support enclosure)
- Scheduling and conducting of personal interviews
- Selecting and mailing to additional persons to be surveyed by mail
- Feasibility data report presented to members of the board
