How to Enhance Your Feasibility Study
Feasibility studies are critical components of fundraising success and are often the first step in a successful campaign. A feasibility study should offer smart, insightful, and comprehensive advice to the organization. Read on to learn how best to enhance your feasibility study.
Through this article, we hope to impart some of the lessons learned and exemplified through the feasibility studies CDS conducts. To learn more about feasibility studies, check out our other great article, Upgrading Your Campaign Feasibility Study.
The More Meetings, The Better
Perhaps the most common question asked in regards to feasibility studies is, “How many interviews should be conducted?” The short answer to this question is, “As many as possible!” A non-profit organization with a limited budget, however, must reach a decision based on the value of one approach versus another. There may be a “tipping point” at which the cost of a larger study outweighs the benefit of additional interviews. Try to push that fulcrum out as far as possible. More is better, after all, and sound conclusions rely in part on the quantity of data.
Most consultants who conduct feasibility studies do their work on a “fee for time” basis. This means the organization pays for a certain number of weeks or days during which the consultant hopes to complete X number of interviews. The organization can most easily increase the value of the consulting services they retain by filling that time with the maximum number of meetings. This is a shared responsibility of the consultant and the organization. The study director wants to base their conclusions on the largest sample possible, while the organization wants a lot of “bang for their buck.”
As an example, one of our recent feasibility studies included 100 interviews. They were conducted across eight weeks, or 40 business days. That equates to 2.5 interviews each and every day. Of course, scheduling never works out that smoothly and there were days that contained seven interviews. One hundred interviews yield a lot of information! The capital campaign to follow is going to succeed based on the results of perhaps 25 leadership-level gifts secured from perhaps 50 prospects.
Ask Personalized Questions
Beyond the issue of the volume of interviews, there is the notion of the amount of information gleaned from each meeting. The key to this is a well-constructed questionnaire. An effective director will build outward from the printed questions, though, and engage the interviewee in a personalized conversation. This free-form conversation can often lead to unexpected nuggets of gold.
The point is: do not be afraid to depart from the questionnaire down conversational side paths, so long as the prescribed questions get asked at some point. Find out where they went to school; ask about their kids; their hobbies; the different places they have lived, etc. I call this the “vacuum cleaner” approach to gathering information. Pull in as much data as you can, regardless of how trivial it seems. Then, look at the entire body of information from all the interviews and start connecting dots.
This has the added benefit of building a rapport between the study director and the interviewee (who is also a potential supporter). Assuming the study results are positive and the study director continues on as the campaign director (two very desirable results), the director will have built a connection with the individual that can pay dividends down the road. Personal connections always help to improve any situation, and the same is true to enhance your feasibility study.
Conclusion
All of the above-mentioned points help both the study director and the organization. The study director has a much fuller experience and is able to stand firmly on their conclusions. They can also compose a comprehensive report that will serve the organization well. The organization gets a tremendous value for the cost of the study. They learn reams of information they may have never known and they, too, feel more confident in the study’s conclusions. This takes a lot of the guesswork out of the daunting notion of starting a multi-million dollar campaign, and it allows the organization to begin with the end in mind. Nonprofit organizations should settle for nothing less than a feasibility study that sets them up for success in their fundraising endeavors. With the proper preparation, your feasibility study can succeed. For more help on how to enhance your feasibility study, contact CDS.