Pre-Feasibility & Feasibility Study

In most cases, a capital campaign’s success is determined long before the first solicitation.  A campaign is won or lost in the early pre-feasibility/pre-campaign planning stages, and during the feasibility study.  It is during this period that you clearly define and capitalize on needs and strengths ¾ and position your organization for success.  It is also during this period that you begin to build support and a sense of ownership within the organization and among volunteers, donors and prospects.  For these reasons, we place special emphasis on this all-important stage.

Activities during this period include:

·   Analyzing the organization’s or institution’s readiness for the feasibility study and campaign.

·   Organizing a feasibility study task force.

·   Identifying, rating and ranking prospects.

·   Setting up the prospect tracking system.

·   Determining the best prospects to participate in focus groups and interview during the feasibility study.   

·   Drafting the campaign prospectus or case statement.

·   Conducting the feasibility study.

·   Writing the feasibility study Report and Recommendations document.

Study Philosophy & Approach

Optional Pre-Feasibility Assistance

Typically, in preparation for a feasibility study, an organization or institution will draft a case statement and develop a preliminary interviewee list.  Please note, however, that we recommend forming a feasibility study Task Force to assist in developing the interviewee list.  The Task Force also helps develop the Case Statement and plan and conduct pre-study awareness-building meetings for interviewees and donor prospects.  Both the Task Force and awareness-building meetings can significantly enhance the validity and results of the study.

Feasibility Study Assistance

The study rests critically upon the process of confidential in-depth interviews ¾ approximately one hour in length ¾ with up to 75 "key" prospects.  By "key," we mean persons of affluence and influence whose involvement (or lack of it) can measurably affect the outcome of a campaign. 

The ultimate number of interviews will depend upon the number of prospects identified, available and scheduled during the interview period.  Interviews will focus on capturing reactions to your organization or institution and the needs outlined in the preliminary case statement, and assess the interviewee's potential commitment to the campaign.  With the tool of respondent anonymity, we can explore the honest perceptions prospects hold about your organization or institution, and thus provide objective observations.  A feasibility study takes at least one month to complete.

Evolving from the answers to study questions is a Report and Recommendations document.  This summarizes the nature of our findings, interprets the information in the context of your fund-raising objectives, and recommends the most appropriate approaches to the planned capital campaign.  For each question asked of the interviewees, we highlight responses and, when appropriate, analyze their significance.  Sample quotes are used but, of course, not attributed.

This report should contain sufficient information to help you and your Board of Directors make an informed decision as to what the goal should be, when to kick off the campaign, the best leadership, etc.

Specifically, the Report and Recommendations will address:

• Attitudes among prospects and donors about your organization or institution in general, the proposed campaign, and the effect of these attitudes on decisions to support the campaign.

• The effectiveness of current communications and public relations activities that influence attitudes about supporting your organization or institution.

• The feasibility of achieving the campaign goal, the extent to which major gift support is available, and the specific interests of major gift prospects.

• The extent to which leadership is currently and potentially available for the campaign.

• Other positive and negative factors that may have a bearing on the outcome of the campaign.

The final Report and Recommendations is typically prepared in three sections:

Evaluation ¾ Evaluation of the data developed during the study in terms of four critical factors essential for success:

1. Case for support.

2. Availability of leadership.

3. Availability of major gift support.

4. Timing of the campaign.

Conclusions ¾ This section will present our conclusions concerning the fund-raising goal, availability of effective leadership, timing and other factors.

Recommendations ¾ The recommendations section will highlight the general nature of the proposed campaign, including:

1. Recommended goal.

2. Proposed volunteer organization.

3. Case and component requirements.

4. Operating timetable.

5. Public relations and public information.

6. Support and staffing requirements.

The study process is also designed to involve your most important prospects and inform them about the needs of your organization or institution.  In this respect, a well-conducted study is an important cultivation tool that sets the stage for the campaign.