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© Corporate DevelopMint • June Bradham • june@corporatedevelopmint.com • 843.853.9999

Are You Ready?

Public Awareness

MintMetrics© Analysis showed that the strongest statistical predictor of fundraising success was gifts by board

members.

And, the strongest statistical predictors of board involvement in fundraising were (1) the strength of an

organization’s reputation and (2) the stature of board members in the community.

Further, the strongest predictors of board member stature were (1) CEO visibility in the community and (2) the

frequency of CEO talks about mission & vision with employees/community leaders/community groups.

Conclusion: public awareness – including community reputation and CEO visibility and clarity about

mission/vision – is a strong driver of fundraising success.

Case for Support

Readiness questions:

Do you have a vision for taking your work to the next level that’s likely to thrill donors?

Do you have a budget for each component project?

Do those budgets clearly show the proportion of philanthropy that’s needed for each project, versus other

sources like fees or debt financing?

If you’ve already drafted a Case:

Does it truly convey both the magic of your vision and the integrity and necessity of each project?

Does it tell a story so compelling that can become the “elevator pitch” for every campaign leader?

Does testing – not guesswork – indicate that it will inspire enthusiasm and commitment from donors?

Back to MintMetrics©:

Remember, the most important predictor of fundraising success was gifts by board members.

One of the factors that predicted board involvement in fundraising was the stature of board members in the

community.

And one of the factors that predicted board member stature was the alignment between fundraising priorities

and the organization’s strategic priorities.

Why should that alignment have a major impact on attracting high-stature people to the board? Perhaps because

it’s actually a measure of how simply, vividly, and coherently the organization is telling its story. Make sure,

therefore, that your Case brings to life a truly compelling and coherent story.

Donors

The MintMetrics© analysis didn’t just look at factors that organizations can control, like CEO visibility.

It also looked at factors that they can’t control, like community wealth.

It found one key number that predicts roughly half the variance in fundraising success among the dozens of

organizations sampled.

That number is the population times the per capita income, which the study calls the “Wealth Measure Factor.”

Your community’s Wealth Measure Factor predicts literally half of your fundraising success.

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© Corporate DevelopMint • June Bradham • june@corporatedevelopmint.com • 843.853.9999

Story/example: You can still do magnificent fundraising in low-wealth, low-population counties – but the

Wealth Measure Factor is critical to consider in setting your monetary goal.

Campaign Leaders

Readiness questions for staff:

Is your CEO fully committed to the campaign and its component projects?

Does s/he realize the campaign is top priority, not just something s/he can get to whenever s/he can?

Have you budgeted for campaign operations?

Do fundraising staff have the skills to supervise and coach high-status volunteers?

Can staff sequence and leverage gifts?

Can staff manage complex activities using a large and talented off-site team?

Readiness questions for volunteers:

Do your campaign committee and your whole governing board strongly support the campaign and its

component projects?

Can you count on these volunteers to donate, personally, 20% of your campaign goal?

Can they connect you with five likely prospects for every gift on your campaign pyramid?

Beyond giving and networking, does each volunteer understand exactly what tasks you expect h/h to

accomplish?

If you can’t answer “YES” to every question, consider “strength training” as needed:

Board/Campaign Committee: recruiting and orienting new members; training, evaluating, and frequently

checking in with existing members; and improvements in board structure and meeting structure.

Staff: training and/or mentorships to encourage ownership, structure, discipline, clear expectations,

momentum, and high morale.

Team Building: activities to enhance board/committee/staff relationships.

Story/Example: Here’s what can happen when campaign leadership isn’t up to speed…….

Campaign Plan

In a capital campaign, there’s no room for error. Before you launch, you must know you can succeed.

Corporate DevelopMint offers two levels of planning (and other consultants provide similar services):

o A simple Campaign Study involves working with the client to develop the Case; discussing it with 25-

30 top donor prospects; then providing a revised case, an analysis of the organization’s external

image and internal structure; and a campaign plan including strategy, timeline, monetary goal, and

suggested leadership.

o A Community-Driven Campaign Study goes through the same steps, but it also pulls together a

taskforce of top donors to assist throughout the planning process. This more in-depth engagement

creates lasting relationships between the organization and people who can strengthen its board and

prospect list for the long haul.

Story/example: The client that refused to plan……..

Wrap Up

What will you do differently? Hopefully, you’ll approach a capital campaign without a feeling of intimidation. With

the right preparation, many nonprofit organizations can succeed – bringing immense benefits to the people and

causes that most need additional support from an energized donor community.