Our Services

Capital Campaign

Definition

An organized, intensive effort to maximize the school’s major gift fundraising potential within a finite time period to fund specific institutional priorities.

Our Process

Custom designed specifically for private secondary education, our process has four components:

1: Feasibility Study

Duration: 3 Months

Prior to undertaking a capital campaign, the leadership must understand all of the important issues, have a good sense of the most likely outcome of a major capital funding initiative and know what will be expected of them. The feasibility study is that all-important consultation, discerning answers to key questions such as:

Can we take this on at this time?
Does it make sense to do a campaign now?
Will our key investors support a capital campaign?
How much can we raise?

The feasibility study addresses each of these items and articulates specific recommendations regarding the next steps toward successfully executing a capital campaign. It is the first step toward a successful funding initiative.

During this phase, Advancement Partners will:

Talk to your donors, stakeholders and prospects to determine their willingness to support a campaign
Test the preliminary case for support
Determine the philanthropic potential
Identify institutional challenges that must be resolved before launching a capital campaign
Develop a campaign strategy and implementation plan
Establish a project budget and timeline

2: Campaign Preparation

Duration: 5 Months

The all-important process of transferring ownership of your plan to those who will be asked to fund it. During this phase, we will:

Create the top prospect list.
Engage the top prospects in the planning process.
Resolve all outstanding issues and answer all outstanding questions regarding the project.
Finalize the components of your case for support.
Complete all prospect research.
Prepare marketing materials (video, case statement, etc.) to support solicitation activities.
Secure the campaign leadership team.
Put management processes in place before solicitation starts.
Provide solicitation training.

3: Major Gift Solicitation

Duration: 8 to 10 Months

This is when the top giving prospects will be asked, in person, for their financial support.

Organize and execute campaign cultivation events.
Create customized solicitation strategies for the top giving prospects.
Manage, coordinate, actively participate in and direct the entire major gift process.
Make solicitation calls with you.
Complete detailed call reports so there is a documented history of the major gift process.
Establish monthly benchmarks to measure progress.

4: General Solicitation

This is the phase during which we solicit the balance of the constituency. Traditionally, we recommend that this phase be coordinated with the school’s annual fund.

Starting a Capital Campaign

If you are interested in discussing the possibility of a capital campaign at your school, please get in touch with Terry Fairholm at terry@advancementpartners.com or 888-717-9980.