So, you think you are ready for a Capital Campaign?

1. So, you think you are ready for a Capital Campaign? Michael Cummins & Mark Nelson, Presenters Florida United Methodist Children’s Home - Enterprise

2. What is a Capital Campaign? • Intensive fund raising effort • Specified sum of money • Defined period of time

3. Best Known Capital Campaign • Specific goal related to building construction, renovation, or expansion. (“bricks and mortar” fund raising) • Sometime called the “once in a lifetime” campaign

4. Campaign Characteristics • Two main characteristics set the Capital Campaign apart from other fund raising activities: • Larger gift solicitation, and • Pledges are emphasized as commitments payable over a number of years convenient to the donor

5. Campaign Characteristics • Another characteristic is the involvement of strategically important volunteers. • In addition, they require unremitting attention to details, from responsible preplanning analysis through goal setting and leadership enlistment to program execution and celebration.

6. Pre-campaign planning • Determine organization’s growth needs. • Determine real campaign costs. • Determine financial needs required to reach campaign goal.

7. Pre-campaign planning • Tough questions… • Which needs should be included? • Are they all valid? • Are they all urgent? • Are they all of equally high priority? • Key involvement early --- Remember: involvement leads to investment!

8. Pre-projected costs/goals • Identify costs • construction, including architecture, engineering, land acquisition, site preparation, furnishings, equipment, start-up, and endowment • Other hidden costs that should be included: • Fund raising costs. • Attrition costs. • Inflation and cost overruns.

9. The Campaign for Madison Youth Ranch • Two years ago, we felt God’s call to serve more children, in more places, in more ways. • Now, God is opening the door in Madison, Florida

10. The Campaign for Madison Youth Ranch • In late 2010, a group from First United Methodist Madison gathered at the home of Billy and Dianne Sullivan to discuss to possibility of expanding Florida United Methodist Children’s Home services to North Florida.

11. The Campaign for Madison Youth Ranch • Initially discussed expanding foster services • Called back to Madison for further discussion of expanding a second campus

12. The Campaign for Madison Youth Ranch • Donation of Land • Started with 120 acres, now donation over 300 • Cornerstone gift

13. The Campaign for Madison Youth Ranch • It didn’t take long to realize that we needed a feasibility study

14. Campaign Feasibility Study • What happens before capital fund raising starts is the most important part of the work. • Questioning, measuring, qualifying, verifying, listening to hard answers to hard questions, and weighing judgments expressed by potential key volunteer leaders and potential key contributors.

15. Staff versus Contractual Services • Can the organization conduct its own feasibility study? • Should the fund raising staff undertake the task of interviewing key constituents? • Is it necessary to retain professional counsel to conduct a study?

16. Staff versus Contractual Services • It is quite difficult for an inexperienced fund raising staff member or the executive staff member without experience in fund raising to undertake this sensitive assignment. • A staff person often does not know what questions to ask, how to evaluate the answers, or how to judge the campaign’s feasibility. • Objectivity is important to the process, and the staff and prospect may both find it difficult to be objective.

17. Feasibility Study Interviews • To gain the insights required to determine the campaign’s feasibility, a list of key interview candidates is drawn up. This list can range from as few as thirty names to as many as one hundred or more. • Interviewees may include governing board members, current major gift donors, potential big gift donors, and campaign leadership candidates. • It certainly should include the prospective donors who can give or influence the top ten to twenty gifts needed. • Most interviews are in-depth, lasting about an hour.

18. Feasibility Study Questions • Questions should be related to the overall Case of Supported required to reach goal • Some examples include: • In your opinion, what are the strengths and challenges of Florida United Methodist Children’s Home in regard to a campaign and the future of the Children’s Home? • Please see the handout provided

19. Planning/Preparation • Validating the needs that justify the capital fund raising and placing them in a priority order is a logical first step. • Testing the validity of the needs and the reality of a goal is a reasonable second step. • Building the plan around leadership enlistment, identification of top-level gift prospects, the development of timelines and designs for essential activities, and the solicitation strategies that will flow from all of this must follow.

20. Planning/Preparation • People give because they believe in the organization. They can identify with its mission and goals. They know the people who are part of the organization, and they hold the same values. • The case must be stronger, more compelling, more exciting, and more inviting to persuade prospects to give at the level required by capital fund raising.

21. Planning/Preparation • One of the oldest maxims of fund raising is that “people don’t give to causes; they give to people with causes.” • Articulate your case statement.

22. Madison Youth Ranch Case Statement • The Campaign for Madison Youth Ranch is a three-year, $10 million campaign of the Florida United Methodist Children's Home to build a second residential campus for hurting children. It will be located in Madison County Florida, just 45 miles west from the intersection of Interstate 4 and Interstate 75. This campus will provide a safe, loving place to call home for at least 100 children who are victims of sexual or physical abuse, abandonment, neglect, family conflict or breakdown. The ranch will be a place where these children are given an opportunity to heal, a chance to regain their childhood, and a place where new modes of therapy like Equine-Assisted Psychotherapy are combined with the time-tested wisdom of Scripture to help children develop the values and skills they need to succeed in life. In addition to the full spectrum of residential care, this new campus will also offer community services like foster care training and placement, adoption, volunteer opportunities and daily child care.

23. Identify your range of capital campaign gifts • Capital campaigns seek to secure 90 percent or more of the required funds from 10 percent or fewer of the contributions that are received.

24. Identify your range of capital campaign gifts • Create a major gift opportunity chart • Include a chart for your named gift opportunities • Several rules should guide the formulation of a gift chart • Above all, the lead gift should constitute 10 percent or more of the goal, • About 40 to 60 percent of the goal should come from the ten to fifteen largest gifts. • About 33 to 50 percent should come from the next 100 to 150 gifts. • About 10 to 20 percent of the goal should come from all other gifts.

25. Major Gift Opportunity Chart

26. Major Gift Opportunity Chart

27. Phases of your capital campaign • Planning Phase • Quiet Phase • Public Phase • Celebration

28. Volunteer Involvement • The planning phase is the time to begin to involve volunteers—key campaign members and others whose capacity to give or get top-level gifts or pledges is great. • Key campaign members work closely with campaign staff.

29. Identify your capital campaign leadership • Organization Board of Trustees • Campaign Chairs • Honorary Committee • Working Committee • Internal Leadership

30. Honorary Committee • Well known, influential leaders

31. Working Committee • The campaign’s ground crew

32. Internal Leadership & Staff • Board of Trustees • Executive Leadership • Development Staff

33. Capital Campaign Collateral • Print • Website • Social Media • Video

34. Capital Campaign Awareness • Sharing the good news • Public Events • Church Presentations • Press Releases announcing major activity

35. Gathering Your Prospects • During the pre-planning, feasibility study, collect names of potential prospects. • Run queries on current donors. • Identify potential corporate and foundation donors. • Keep good records.

36. Important Factors to Remember • Make a strong case, with advance organizational planning • Involve your board of trustees • Inform your current donors • Ensure strong CEO participation

37. Important Factors to Remember • Adequate budget in hand or within reach • Qualified staff with the requisite campaign experience • Recognition of the importance of soliciting in sequence, from the top down • Prospect research to identify and evaluate the potential sources of support • It always helps to have someone of influence with you when making a major gift ask

38. Important Factors to Remember • A procedure for testing the campaign - feasibility study involving volunteers and staff • Include volunteers to work with staff to organize committees • Adherence to a schedule with deadlines for action and accountability • Publicity and printed materials • Hold events to announce the campaign, report progress, publicize significant gifts, and recognize donors and volunteers • Continue to have contagious enthusiasm

39. Any Questions? For further information, or follow-up question, please contact Michael Cummins, at 386.668.5088 or by email at michael.cummins@fumch.org.