What is a Campaign Feasibility Study?

There are many myths and misunderstandings surrounding the purpose of campaign feasibility studies. Non-profit board and staff members might ask something like: “Why do we need to pay for a study when we know we’re going to launch a campaign anyway?” Or the more suspicious: “Yes, I know what a study is—it’s a process where we pay a consulting company a great deal of money to recommend that we hire them to run a campaign.” Both of these responses highlight a lack of understanding about the true nature, purpose, and process of a campaign feasibility and planning study.

Experienced professionals and volunteers know feasibility studies are an essential starting point for any major capital campaign. A study clarifies public perceptions, refines organizational objectives, and begins the critical task of building a network of potential donors, leaders and volunteers. It also helps you build a solid tactical plan to ensure you are successful.

Public Perceptions

Assumptions can be dangerous. There is a great need to hear the unbiased perception of others as it relates to your organization, mission, and campaign goal. However, you cannot expect or try to see everyone who might support your project. Instead, you should prioritize the people who will be most influential and financially capable to your project’s success. Through interviews with board members, volunteers, and business and community leaders, your organization should be able to obtain general:

• Perceptions of the organization and the quality of service provided
• Responses to the vision and major objectives of the organization
• Inclination to financially support the organization’s objectives
• Willingness to participate in the campaign as a leader or volunteer
• Identification of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to the campaign’s success

Refining Organizational Objectives

Another critical component of the study is the feedback the organization receives on its vision and plans. Insights and suggestions from the community’s top leaders will let the organization’s board know:

• Are their plans too ambitious or too modest?
• What parts of the plan are the most compelling?
• What are people likely to support, and who are those people?

A well-developed plan requires feedback, both from the community who will be served and from those who will be asked to provide funding. By incorporating feedback into your planning, you will be able to refine and articulate a vision for your organization that will be publicly recognized as compelling, urgent, and clearly conceived.

Building a Network of Potential Donors and Volunteers

Once the climate for a capital campaign is assessed and feedback has been incorporated into a refined plan, one major task remains for the study director: identifying a probable network of potential donors and volunteers. Specifically, the study should identify:

• Potential campaign leaders and volunteers
• Potential and major donor leadership
• The most appropriate financial goal
• The best time to begin your campaign
• Competing campaigns (ongoing or in the planning stages) or developments
• Opportunities to build collaborative relationships with other organizations
• A network of volunteers

Everything in a capital campaign happens quickly. However, it’s important to stay motivated and to remember why your organization is conducting a study in the first place.

Opportunities and Benefits of a Campaign Feasibility Study

• Improving your odds of meeting with reluctant or hard-to-meet prospects by declaring your intention to gain their insights and suggestions only, rather than an official “ask.” Not only does this help in your planning, it also will help pave the way for any solicitation visit that might follow. This is another step in educating them and building ownership.
• Presenting, but not selling, the organization’s successes, vision, and objectives to the potential prospect in a neutral setting.
• Educating a potential donor and laying the foundation for a significant gift request and possibly a leadership role.
• Gauging the prospect’s level of interest in supporting the project financially and determining to what capacity they may be able to help the effort as a volunteer. Someone may be very wealthy and a community activist—but what are they likely to do for your organization?
• Inviting feedback and suggestions from the prospect. This will help to refine your case and objectives while allowing the prospect to take an active part in the planning of the project and campaign.

All of these activities will help you cultivate the prospect’s interest and potential support while assessing their potential role in the campaign.

Summary

Remember that “capital campaign” is a simple label applied to a complex volunteer structure designed to undertake a highly ambitious organizational challenge.

Capital campaigns are fragile and depend on the participation, good will, and profound generosity of their constituent leaders. They are not an undertaking to be considered lightly; there are no shortcuts to raising the money you need. To ensure your organization has the most successful campaign possible, do your homework with a full campaign feasibility and planning study. Learn more about how to prepare for such a study, or contact Custom Development Solutions for more fundraising help.