Frequently Asked Questions
Questions about Ivy Partners? See the list of frequently asked questions below. If you can’t find the answer to your question, feel free to contact us and we would be more than happy to help.
Using a Consultant
Undertaking a capital campaign without a consultant is risky business. You have much to lose including your organization’s hard-earned credibility with your membership or in the community you serve if you fail to achieve success. Once you’re knee deep in asking for funds, you don’t have the luxury to redirect or rethink your fundraising strategy without serious consequences. Although campaigning is never easy, a consultant has been down the road before and is aware of the twists, turns and bumps that can be avoided or minimized as they surface.
A consultant
- Offers skills, expertise, and objectivity that you don’t have in-house.
- Provides ready experience to attack projects and issues more efficiently, and most likely, more quickly.
- Enables staff to remain mission-focused and not distracted by added responsibilities.
The idea of spending money on an outside consultant to raise money is a hard concept to grasp. If you work with a consultant that can move your project forward on a timely basis, the associated cost will provide a significant return on your investment and avoid burning out volunteers and staff. IvyPartners bills on a monthly basis plus expenses. If you are interested in learning more about our fee structure, please call us at 585-747-7512.
Selecting the most appropriate consultant to realize your project vision is not an easy task. Take your time, and choose wisely. Trial-and-error should not be your de facto recruitment strategy. Consider your would-be partnership like a marriage. Your consultant of choice should be:
- Dedicated to your success alone.
- A team player with staff and volunteers.
- Disciplined and transparent in communicating responsibilities and deadlines.
- Exhibiting a work ethic you’re comfortable with.
IvyPartners contracts for each “phase” of the campaign process including Precampaign, Leadership Gift Phase, and General Campaign. Our client relationships typically range from 1 to 3 years.
Unfortunately we do not have a crystal ball to predict your fortune. We can, however, evaluate your likelihood for success based on a precampaign feasibility study. Based on these findings and with all eyes completely wide open, IvyPartners can help you achieve success.
Our contracts are structured so that our clients can withdraw at any time after the first three months of service. To date, none have exercised this “escape” clause.
Capital Campaigns
First, you are not alone. Many of the organizations we work with have faced this issue. By involving outside counsel to help facilitate and supervise progress, your project can move forward. By helping you “inspect what you expect,” IvyPartners can not only help prepare your project’s roadmap, but we can make sure you stay on track throughout the planning and implementation phases.
We suggest arranging a free phone consultation with IvyPartners and your leadership. By doing so, we can help you identify potential obstacles/opportunities and suggest ways to begin moving your project beyond the idea stage.
Keep in mind the reason for implementing a capital campaign is to fund some “vehicle” that will allow your organization to more effectively deliver its mission. With that in mind, you will need to carefully evaluate your needs remembering that donors will want value for their investment. The next step is to involve professionals who can provide you with realistic cost estimates for goods and services associated with your vision.
There are normally several phases of a campaign and the overall timeline varies depending on the project. In general, the Precampaign Phase will take 6-12 months and the actual campaign 12-24 months.
- “Bricks and Mortar”
- Endowment
- Combined (“Brick and Mortar” plus Endowment)
- Comprehensive (annual development program plus capital campaign)
- Special projects
- Multi-year pledges – Campaigns typically provide opportunities for donors to make one-time gifts and pledges over a pre-determined period of time. Pledging encourages donors to consider a larger gift than may ordinarily be possible in a single year. Most campaigns define a pledge period of three to five years.
- Extensive volunteer involvement – “People give to people who represent great causes.” Volunteers are unpaid, unconditional supporters of an organization. Their actions speak volumes to their peers, family and business associates. Volunteers are also typically the largest financial supporters of an organization’s development efforts. Staff driven campaigns are seldom successful.
- Reliance on large gifts – Most campaigns, no matter what their size, raise approximately half of their financial goal from less 50 donors. Without these leadership level gifts, often given in the early stages of fundraising, campaign efforts are seldom successful. Gifts given at the highest levels communicate a deep commitment to the organization, that the project need resonates within the community, and establishes a benchmark to inspire others.
- Face-to-face solicitation – Major gifts are often “negotiated” face-to-face between friends, colleagues and associates, rather than received as a result of a letter-writing effort. “People give to people who represent great causes.”
Sequential solicitation– In capital campaigns, larger gifts are solicited first to:
- Build success rapidly
- Inspire others to give at a larger level
- Maximize volunteer effort
IvyPartners considers six benchmarks in evaluating the likelihood for campaign success. These benchmarks include:
- Positive Public Connection
- Internal Readiness
- Project Relevancy & Urgency
- Engagement of Constituency
- Giving Potential
- Campaign Timing
As a standard method of practice, we recommend that our clients implement a feasibility study within the community they serve to ascertain strengths and weaknesses according to these benchmarks. Otherwise the organization will be blinded to goal challenges, people problems, gift problems, public relations nightmares, errors and mistakes, project problems, and organizational issues that have the potential to critically impact a capital campaign effort.
As one of our clients so eloquently stated: “You don’t know what you don’t know” when conducting a major fundraising effort. A capital campaign effort is a major investment of time and money usually conducted at a critical moment of history within the organization. Unless an organization has resources and time to spare, a feasibility study – no matter how small – is a best management practice.
- Put into operation an effective record keeping system that is managed by specific, trained staff.
- Ensure solid fiscal management of the organization.
- Be able to communicate to volunteers and potential donors a clear project definition including a description of need and cost parameters of the shared vision.
- Establish leadership consensus that the capital campaign project must move forward.
- Identify key leadership volunteers.
- Build solid rapport with key constituencies and/or internal supporters.
“Causes do not raise money. People do.” Successful campaigns require key volunteer leadership that are willing and able to either “give of their own time, talent and/or treasure” or “secure or get it” from someone else to achieve fundraising goals. Although staff is critical, especially a strong executive director, staff-driven campaigns are seldom successful. IvyPartners recommends recruiting volunteers for large and small tasks. Job descriptions, training and timetables are critical for volunteers to be successful in fulfilling defined responsibilities. In addition to a major source of energy, experience and inspiration to others, volunteers are also typically the largest campaign contributors
Conducting a precampaign feasibility study will in part outline your potential success by identifying strengths and weaknesses within the organization and outside in the community that will impact a major fundraising effort. A study will also determine the relevancy and urgency of the project need, whether key volunteer leadership is ready to support project goals, and if the organization’s closest friends will financially support the campaign at the largest levels necessary to be successful.
Charitable organizations have two paths they may choose from. They can run both annual giving and capital campaigns simultaneously, or choose to incorporate their annual needs into their capital campaign effort. As for what approach is best for your organization, circumstances and experience will dictate an appropriate strategy. Of particular importance is that your closest donors will know that annual operating needs will not disappear during a major fundraising effort for a special project, program, or endowment. Therefore quality and consistent donor communication is critical in whichever course you choose to pursue.
To be successful in fundraising efforts, you must have the ability to attract individuals with the capacity to make substantial commitments of time, leadership and financial contributions. It’s only natural that the individuals “closest” to the organization – volunteers and major donors – be looked upon first to be such contributors. If these individuals do not feel emotionally invested in the organization and/or project, “strangers” to the organization will not make up the difference.
“Friend-raising often precedes fundraising.” Choose your “friends” wisely by determining their potential capacity and interest in your charitable cause. Engage these individuals in organization events and activities to build their interest and potential commitment. It is easier to build upon an existing relationship than to secure new volunteers and/or donors for serious fundraising efforts.
IvyPartners typically recommends that our clients do not go public with their capital campaign plans until 60 to 65% of the campaign goal has been achieved. We are a firm believer in sequential solicitation where larger gifts are secured first. Managing the flow of information – good and bad – is a key strategy in successful capital campaigning.