A capital campaign is too important to begin with assumptions. Before an organization publicly announces a campaign goal, its board and executive leadership should know whether the goal is achievable, whether the case will inspire significant philanthropic support, whether leadership donors are prepared to participate, and whether the organization has the internal capacity to carry the campaign successfully.
The Huddleston Group conducts independent capital campaign feasibility studies and campaign planning studies that provide nonprofit leaders with the information needed to make those decisions with confidence.
A properly designed feasibility study does more than ask whether people like a proposed project. It evaluates the campaign from the perspective of the donors, community leaders, board members and other stakeholders whose financial support and leadership will ultimately determine its success.
Our studies are designed to answer the questions that matter most before a major campaign begins:
The purpose is not to validate a predetermined decision. The purpose is to provide an objective assessment of what the organization can realistically accomplish and what must occur before moving forward.
One of the most important distinctions in a meaningful feasibility study is the selection of interview participants.
A study should not be judged simply by whether a consultant conducts 20, 30 or 40 interviews. The more important question is whether the study reaches the people whose leadership and financial participation will determine whether the campaign goal is achievable.
A campaign seeking $10 million or $15 million cannot be validated by interviewing only people capable of making relatively modest gifts. Successful campaigns depend upon a relatively small number of leadership and major gifts at the top of the gift table.
For that reason, The Huddleston Group works with each client to identify and secure interviews with its strongest prospective leadership donors, major-gift prospects, board members and community influencers. Access to the right people is more important than simply reaching an arbitrary interview count.
The confidential interview process allows us to explore not only whether participants support the proposed project, but also their perceptions of the organization, their reactions to the campaign priorities, their confidence in leadership, their willingness to become involved, and their potential level of philanthropic participation.
Every study is customized to the organization and proposed campaign, but our assessment generally examines:
Does the proposed project address a compelling need? Do prospective donors understand it? Which elements generate the greatest enthusiasm? What questions or concerns need to be addressed before the campaign begins?
Does the proposed goal correspond with the philanthropic capacity of the donor constituency? Can the organization identify realistic prospects for the leadership gifts required at the top of the gift table?
Who appears capable of making the campaign’s largest gifts? What is their relationship with the organization? Is there evidence of both financial capacity and genuine affinity for the mission and project?
Are respected individuals willing and able to provide campaign leadership, make meaningful gifts themselves, open doors to other prospects and participate in solicitation?
Does the board understand that a major campaign requires more than approving a goal? Are members prepared to give, identify prospects, make introductions, cultivate relationships and participate appropriately in asking for support?
Does the organization have the fundraising staff, prospect information, systems, executive involvement and internal discipline necessary to sustain a major-gift campaign?
Are there organizational, philanthropic, economic or community considerations that should influence the timing, structure or pace of the campaign?
At the conclusion of the study, The Huddleston Group provides the board and executive leadership with clear findings and practical recommendations.
Recommendations may address:
If the evidence supports moving forward, the organization has a data-informed plan for beginning the campaign.
If the evidence indicates that the organization is not yet ready, the study should say so. An independent study has value precisely because its purpose is to provide honest counsel before an organization commits substantial financial resources, volunteer leadership and institutional credibility to a public campaign.
Confidentiality is fundamental to the feasibility-study process.
Prospective donors and community leaders often speak more openly with an experienced independent consultant than they will with a staff member, executive or volunteer with whom they have an ongoing relationship. That independence allows concerns, objections and potential support to surface before they become campaign problems.
Interview comments are analyzed collectively and reported without attributing individual comments unless permission has been specifically provided.
The Huddleston Group is a selective, senior-led nonprofit consulting firm founded in 1988.
Our clients work directly with experienced senior counsel. Ron J. Huddleston, CFRE, FAHP, and Alan G. Sherwood personally participate in client engagements rather than turning the study over to an inexperienced junior consulting team.
The firm’s leadership brings more than four decades of fundraising and nonprofit executive experience involving capital campaigns, feasibility studies, major gifts, planned giving, board development and philanthropic strategy.
A favorable feasibility study does not mean that an organization should immediately make a public campaign announcement.
The next step is generally the quiet phase, when campaign leadership is organized, the Case for Support is finalized, top prospects are cultivated and the largest leadership gifts are solicited.
The Huddleston Group can remain involved as capital campaign counsel following the study or provide an organization with the strategy and structure necessary to proceed using its own staff and volunteers.
If your nonprofit is considering a capital, endowment or major-gift campaign, the best time to test the campaign is before the goal and project are publicly committed.
A confidential conversation can help determine whether a Campaign Planning & Feasibility Study is the appropriate next step.
Call The Huddleston Group at (602) 920-3775 or contact us to discuss your proposed campaign.
