Over the years there has been a lot of debate around whether a feasibility study is needed prior to launching a campaign. There are fundraising consultants who advise their clients against conducting a study – because of the cost, the time involved and the fact that regardless of what the study finds they need to do the project anyway.
While this is all true, we find the process of conducting a feasibility study to be a very useful tool in preparing an organization for a successful campaign and for building fundraising capacity post-campaign. There are lots of ways to conduct a study, including ways that can take less time and be more cost-effective. But how a study is conducted is not as important as why.
A feasibility study allows your organization the opportunity to meet with your best donors and stakeholders prior to launching a significant fundraising campaign, to discuss your organization’s plans for the future, get their feedback and start building buy-in. If your donors aren’t engaged early in your vision, fundraising will be a challenge and you aren’t building the type of donor relationships that will lead to sustainability in your fundraising for the long-term.
Many study interviewees are honored to be selected for study interviews — and they should be. By asking them for their reactions and feedback to your proposed campaign, you are showcasing how much you value them as leaders and their relationship to your organization.
Who is Interviewed
Interviewees can include present and past board members, major donors, key volunteers, key prospective donors and community leaders. In a feasibility study, the number of individuals to be interviewed depends on the size and scope of the organization, its constituency and the proposed campaign.
What Questions are Asked
Interview questions are designed to assess how your organization stands relative to the critical criteria needed for a successful campaign:
- a strong positive reputation in the community
- a compelling case statement
- sufficient sources of financial support
- strong, capable and enthusiastic governance and staff
- influential campaign leadership and volunteers
- a sense of urgency and priority.
The basic question of whether or not the community would support the proposed campaign should be answered through the study. The feasibility study not only addresses questions about the public awareness and support for your organization but also helps determine a reasonable, attainable goal for the campaign and a realistic time frame.
When Advancement Advisors concludes a feasibility study, we want our study participants to:
- Know more about your organization than they did before
- Have heightened interest in your work
- Indicate where your organization fits on their list of preferred charities
- Offer clues as to what it would take to engage them more actively in your mission
- Offer constructive advice about the case for the campaign and how it can be improved
- Be interested in becoming more involved and possibly serving as a campaign volunteer
- Offer the names of other donors who might be interested in supporting the campaign
- Be willing to learn more about the campaign in the months ahead
- Offer to host a cultivation event to introduce your organization to their circle of friends
- Anticipate making a generous gift to your organization’s campaign.
Study Results
Conducting a feasibility study for any significant campaign – capital, endowment or comprehensive – offers rewards beyond simply assessing readiness. By providing the opportunity to seek the advice of philanthropic leaders in the community, a well-conducted interview can be an extremely powerful engagement, enrichment and stewardship tool. By incorporating their feedback into campaign efforts, they feel trusted, engaged and valued. The feasibility study can be used to spark interest with donors and potential campaign volunteers, an important first step in the cultivation of campaign gifts and the recruitment of campaign leadership.
Knowing more about your key stakeholders and their perceptions of your organization and your campaign and encouraging their early investment and engagement is extremely valuable – both for your campaign and for your organization’s longer-term success. It is a strategy we recommend to launch your campaign with a strong start.