2. Seven Basic Steps for a Highly
Successful Campaign
Build your Board
Conduct a Feasibility Study
Finalize the Campaign Plan
Draft your Case Statement
Secure your Leadership Gifts
Go Broad and Challenge the Community
Stewardship
4. Reasons to Launch a Campaign
Obvious Not-so-obvious
Organization has needs
larger than regular
fundraising goals
Grow endowment; launch
new program; construct or
expand a building
Permanently grow your
overall donor base
Increase your population
of major donors
Permanently move all of
your fundraising goals up a
level
Campaigns should be a
“stair stepper” to growth
Increase the visibility of your
organization in community
Prove your worth. Pure
philanthropy has a
remarkably high ROI. Your
CEO, CFO and Board will
take notice
6. Build your Board
Influence AND affluence
Minimum of 12 members
Think about 16-20 members
Need to achieve a critical mass
These are the door openers
Identify the askers
Be calculating when it comes to composition:
gender, ages and occupations
An impressive roster lends instant credibility and
can be spotlighted immediately in case
statement
Secure those gifts first and build momentum fast
7. Role of the Board
in a campaign
#1 Rule: Make your own personal gift
100% Board participation is key
“If your own board isn’t giving, why
should I?”
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8. Role of the Board
in a campaign
Write
thank you
notes or
personal
invitations
Identify
prospects
Open
doors:
Intro email
or phone
call
Participate
in
meetings
Host
Gatherings
Solicit
Gifts
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10. Why Conduct a Feasibility Study?
Determine if your donors and the community support
the cause.
Learn what resonates with them
Discover their concerns
Test your case statement: Which elements work?
Validate campaign goal. Or not!
Deliver results to CEO/Board/senior team
Objective recommendation of goal
Interviewees will be honored
May even disclose giving plans
11. Key Steps to a Successful Study
Who to use?
Choose a firm that best represents you and is a
comfortable fit with your culture and donors
Fits within your budget
Provides you with the key services you need
Interview 4-5 potential partners
Develop draft case statement and send in advance
Conduct 40-60 interviews (depending on campaign
goals)
Include as many top donors and prospects as
possible
Ask for specific (but anonymous) feedback
13. Finalize the Campaign Plan
Modify early draft to incorporate:
Feasibility study results
Donor/prospect feedback from feasibility study
Finalized fundraising priorities, financial goals, and
timeline
Bring back in the major shareholders
CEO/CFO, senior leadership team, key board members
Should have consensus
14. Contents of the Campaign Plan
Your challenge
Results of the feasibility study
Populations of potential donors
Financial goals
Tactics to achieve your goals
Timeline
Budget
Campaign gift chart/donor pyramid
16. Finalizing your Case Statement
You have more building blocks than you realize
Early business plan for feasibility study
Draft used during interviews
Feasibility study report
Various internal documents from day to day business
Package the information for the public
Who should do this?
Feasibility study partner
Marketing and communications
Completely new partner
At some point…YOU
17. Finalizing your Case Statement
Why you should consider having two versions
High-end for leadership donors (die-cut cover with a built-in
pouch for business cards and naming opportunities)
Lower cost second print for smaller asks (eliminate the bells
and whistles)
Landing on a tone
Write conversationally. Be succinct.
Be urgent and compelling
Directly answer the question: “Why should I care?”
Focus on community impact and not JUST your organization
In retrospect, we would cut our first statement by 20-30%
However, don’t be too brief…the weight gets noticed. It has
gravity.
18. Finalizing your Case Statement
Additional factors to consider
Offer detailed plans, timelines and the overall cost
Can you include early renderings?
Do you have floor plans?
Highlight the campaign dollar goal
Deciding on cost per unit and how nice the piece should
be
You know your organization’s culture
Is a $15 case statement paired with a $75 meal worth
a $10,000 commitment? Of course. Can the $15
case statement help get you that conversation? Only
your team will know
20. Campaign Rules of Thumb
Three key statistics to act as your guide
The 80/20 Rule…or is it 90/10??
80% of your revenue will come from 20% of your donors
Think about how this should affect your time management!
At least one lead gift of 10-25% of overall goal
Much needed revenue AND a figurehead to rally around
The next 50-60% of revenue from leadership and best of
the major donors
Importance of stratifying your donors
Campaign pyramid
21. Prioritizing your Universe of Donors
Board, Senior
Leadership, Staff,
Faculty
Current Major Donors
& Alumni
Community
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22. Getting Started: Qualification
Identify Prospects
Existing major donors
Alumni and others who have made smaller gifts regularly
over a period of years
People close to your organization: current and former
board members, volunteers, faculty and staff
Enlist board members to help identify prospects
Focus on securing lead gifts first; then smaller gifts
Divide donor base into A, B and C tiers
Tier A: Leadership prospects
Tier B: Major gift prospects
Tier C: Community phase/direct mail
23. Getting Started: Qualification
Send case statement package and cover letter
Introduces the case for support
Call in two weeks to set up appointment
Include naming opportunities list
Demonstrates community support
Shows that they would be in “good company”
25. Go Broad and Challenge the Community
Launch when half-way to goal
Celebratory campaign launch event
Smaller individual asks to Tier C donors
Direct mail campaign
Depending on your timeline, could be multiple asks over a
year or just one ask
Can you tie into your phone program?
Do you have ancillary material
Regular newsletters
Magazines
Website with online giving
26. Go Broad and Challenge the Community
Power of a matching gift challenge
Put your arms around all of your donors
Part of the final sweep
“Turn your $25 gift into $50 instantly”
Opportunity to go BACK to a major donor
Our $25,000 challenge raised additional $57,000
Secure the gift up front!
Be tactical
We leaned heavily on major donors and our community
donors/grateful patients
We chose to insulate 3,200 employees in order to protect
the annual fund. It worked
28. Stewardship: the key to the next gift
People want to give THROUGH you, not TO you
Communicate the IMPACT of their gift
Pictures or stories of people who have been helped
Invites to ribbon cutting ceremonies or other events
Student profile and thank you note from scholarship
recipient
Regular donor contact
Donor events
Periodic letters/updates
Holiday cards
29. How to say thank you
Letter from leadership
Periodic impact letters or reports
Event invitations
Segment of phonathon
Post cards on unusual holidays
Past donors are your most likely future donors
Differences between annual fund and major gifts
Annual fund donations are generally undesignated and are used to fund operations. Major gifts are designated by the donor. They are often made to areas where the donor’s passion aligns with the needs of the organization. For example, funding cancer research, developing programs for underserved children, increasing literacy or promoting STEM education.
Most organizations conduct their annual fund solicitations through a direct mail campaign with no personal interaction. Some organizations take this a step further by utilizing a team of volunteers who write personal notes, make phone calls, and perhaps visit with a few prospects.
If your organization meets personally with annual fund prospects, there is often an ask during the first call. With a major gift solicitation, there are multiple visits and the ask may not occur for months or even a couple of years.
With an annual fund solicitation, the prospect is often unfamiliar with philanthropy and may be unaccustomed to one-on-one visits. They are used to glancing at the direct mail materials (average time allotted to reading the materials is 3 seconds!) and writing a check. With a major gift solicitation, the prospect is usually already quite involved with your institution and you are deepening an existing discussion.
With an annual fund solicitation, you can often represent the institution very well with a direct mailer and just a little bit of pre-visit prospect research (maybe ten or fifteen minutes). With a major gift solicitation, you are asking someone for a significant amount of money for what could and should be a transformational project. You need to do your prep work. This takes time.
Starting from a strong base: everything you need to get started
Clear, succinct strategic plan that outlines your organization’s mission, vision, and goals. Need to be able to communicate what you want to accomplish/where you want to be in 3-5 years
Executive leadership in place – people give to people. Need to have confidence in the leadership team
Strong, influential board. Need people with BOTH influence and affluence. Critical mass is 12-18 people. Don’t be shy about involving them in the fundraising process. (sample board agreement attached)
Up-to-date database such as Raiser’s Edge where you have been tracking donors’ gifts, event participation, memberships (if applicable), board or volunteer involvement, any specific interests, etc.
Several years of successful annual fund campaign drives (people know your organization, your goals and your needs, and are used to supporting you)
Identifying major gift prospects
Dollar threshold – consider $50 and up; play with the number until you have a manageable list (dependent up on the organization. For a smaller non-profit, it may be $25. For a college or hospital, it may be $500 or even $1,000))
Consistency – consider donors who have made a gift every year for the past five years (again, play with the number). The amount of the gift is less important than consistency. Pay attention to the little old lady who has given you $25 each year for the last 20 years!
People currently engaged in the organization – board members, volunteers, members, class/event participants, beneficiaries of your services (e.g. grateful patients, former scholarship recipients, etc .
Lapsed donors – who has an unusually large total giving history? Don’t miss them just because they haven’t given recently!
Former board members or organizational members, volunteers, and retirees – who used to be engaged but may have fallen away?
Ask your board members, volunteers and consistent donors for referrals. Consider creating a “green sheet” to be used at retreats and meetings.
Wealth Screening – consider investing in a wealth screening service to help you identify top prospects
Identifying major gift prospects
Dollar threshold – consider $50 and up; play with the number until you have a manageable list (dependent up on the organization. For a smaller non-profit, it may be $25. For a college or hospital, it may be $500 or even $1,000))
Consistency – consider donors who have made a gift every year for the past five years (again, play with the number). The amount of the gift is less important than consistency. Pay attention to the little old lady who has given you $25 each year for the last 20 years!
People currently engaged in the organization – board members, volunteers, members, class/event participants, beneficiaries of your services (e.g. grateful patients, former scholarship recipients, etc .
Lapsed donors – who has an unusually large total giving history? Don’t miss them just because they haven’t given recently!
Former board members or organizational members, volunteers, and retirees – who used to be engaged but may have fallen away?
Ask your board members, volunteers and consistent donors for referrals. Consider creating a “green sheet” to be used at retreats and meetings.
Wealth Screening – consider investing in a wealth screening service to help you identify top prospects
Securing the visit
Always send a lead letter or lead email. Cold calls are deadly. Be clear that you will NOT immediately ask for a gift in this first visit. Samples of both a lead letter and a lead email are attached.
Always provide your contact information so that the person can respond if they wish. At the same time, be clear about when you will follow up. If you have time, consider being explicit about what email address or phone number you intend to use. This demonstrates both determination and the fact that this is not a mass message.
Schedule your follow-up on your calendar like you would an appointment.
Have a template of both your email and phone follow-up at the ready. You will quickly have them memorized but it is always useful to have them handy for days when you are feeling tired.
It is a good idea to have your phone follow-up script printed and on your desk for if you choose to leave a voice mail. Leave your name and phone number at the beginning and end. Be brief (20-30 seconds) and upbeat.
Resending emails works extremely well. The second email, which is simply a “forward” from your first, should just be two sentences – the recipient can and will simply read the first email if they are really interested so don’t waste time by repeating the same information.
Your first visit
Goal is to get to know them and to discover their passions. Ask lots of open-ended questions and LISTEN!!
Are you from the Quad Cities originally?
How did you first become involved with our organization?
I understand you are a volunteer. What led you to do this? What is your favorite part of volunteering?
I understand you are a member. What led you to purchase a family membership?
You have been such a faithful donor to our children’s programs. Do you have a passion for kids?
Keep detailed notes of everything you learn in your database. Details such as the age of their children, their marital status, or whether or not they are supporting elderly parents can have a large impact on their capacity.
Be sure to engage them in your organization through events, volunteering, and subsequent personal visits
Make them feel appreciated and help them to feel good about their gift.
Invite them to the opening of new facilities, arrange dinners for them with scholarship recipients, invite them to attend programs or exhibits they have funded.
Past donors are your best pool for future gifts.
If you steward them well, their gift may only be the first in a long partnership.
This could be an entire presentation (and really should be), it is so crucially important
If there is time, we should have a lightning round in which people raise their hands and very briefly share a stewardship example that they really love
Past donors are your best pool for future gifts. If you steward them well, their gift may only be the first in a long partnership.
