Capital Campaign Planning and Counsel

The Smith Beers Yunker counseling team works collaboratively with the organization's staff and volunteer leaders throughout all phases of the campaign. A capital campaign is the organization's campaign and generally donors don't know counsel is coaching staff and volunteers. We encourage you to ask those we have served about their experiences in this area.

Yes. As a member firm of both the Giving Institute: Leading Consultants to Non-Profits and the Better Business Bureau (BBB) we adhere to a strict practice of ethical conduct outlined in the Giving Institute’s and BBB’s codes of ethics and conduct. Additionally, we endorse and follow the ethical standards created and enforced by the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP).

Smith Beers Yunker & Company assists staff and leaders in the most important phase of the campaign: planning. Our pre-campaign counseling includes helping the organization identify prospective leaders, both donors and workers; prepare and test market the most compelling case for support; develop a comprehensive campaign calendar of activities and benchmarks with a realistic operating budget; prepare asking and giving policies and procedures; guide in the development of ethical background research on the prospective major donors; and help the organization position the capital campaign so it will complement rather than compete with an annual fund for operating needs.

Certainly, donors understand that computers rather than human beings generate the personalized letters they receive. However, they respond more often and more generously when letters contain address blocks and personalized salutations.

As a member firm of the Giving Institute: Leading Consultants to Non-Profits, Smith Beers Yunker & Company accepts no commissions and bases professional fees on time and service only. Fees are invoiced monthly and due, in advance, on the first day of each month. An engagement may be canceled with 30-days advance notice; in such an unlikely event, fees paid in advance for time not expended would be returned.

Use of more than one signature makes your fundraising letter look like a business letter, not personal correspondence. It's not always possible to avoid the two-signature trap, but do it if you can.

Nonprofit organizations often fret over who should sign fundraising letters, but donors care only about the credibility of the signer. The board chair and executive director have that credibility, certainly, but so do others. Clients of social service agencies can offer powerful testimonials. So can long-term subscribers to a symphony orchestra or students on scholarship at a university.

An organization served by Smith Beers Yunker & Company may only require one or two of the following services, but can take comfort knowing that a fullrange of counseling services are available including:

• Annual Giving and Direct Mail Counsel
• Capital Campaign Planning and Counsel
• CoffeeCounselsm
• Direct Mail
• Donor Research
• FriendRaisersm
• Grantmanship Training
• Leadership Development
• Management Reviews
• Merger, Collaborative Counsel
• Planned Giving Counsel
• Staff Recruitment and Training
• Volunteer Coaching
• Writing and Graphic Design

Responsibility and accountability for successful fundraising efforts rests with the Board of Directors. Accordingly, the Board will be invited, encouraged and expected to participate in the development of the comprehensive campaign plan and approve it before proceeding.

While one counselor will serve as the primary consultant, Smith Beers Yunker & Company routinely assigns a team to each project. The team is selected based on needs of the organization, expertise required, interest of staff members in the organization and its mission, and staff availability.

Because chemistry is extremely important, the selection -- and acceptance -- of the counseling team and campaign director is a mutual process.

Prior to formal engagement, staff and volunteer leaders will be encouraged to meet members of the proposed Smith Beers Yunker team and the campaign director. Frankly, we have never encountered an occasion when there was a need to make a change in personnel, but believe it could be done quickly if such an unlikely situation arose. We encourage organizations to speak with staff and volunteers who have worked with individual members of Smith Beers Yunker to learn more about the personal style of each individual.

As a general rule, two-page letters do better than one-page letters. While busy people aren't likely to read every word of a two-page letter, they usually respond better, and response is what matters. Remember, this is only a general rule.

It's PR's job to bolster an organization's image. The goal of fundraising is to get people to write checks. Therefore, the question of continuing need is paramount. Stay focused on the work your organization still needs to do.

Following approval of the case, which the Smith Beers Yunker team prepares with direct involvement of staff and volunteers, we offer graphic design services if an organization does not have a relationship or ready access to a designer. For those wishing to use Smith Beers Yunker's graphic designer, a separate proposal is prepared and, if accepted, fees are handled separately. The same arrangement applies to printers, i.e., an organization may choose to work with its own printer, perhaps on a pro bono basis. Often, Smith Beers Yunker & Company, on behalf of the organization, will seek competitive bids from several printers with whom we have worked and can vouch for their quality and workmanship. The final selection, however, is the responsibility of the organization which will contract directly with the printer.

People support what they help to create, which is why we encourage groups to really involve friends of the organization in the pre-campaign planning phase. These friends are the people whose leadership in both time and dollars will mean the difference between success and failure and are typically individuals of "influence, affluence and leadership." When folks like these help develop the case for support, identify prospective leaders and donors, and shape the overall campaign strategy, they take on an ownership and pride in the project. This process typically involves a series of personal and confidential conversations and small group discussions. We'll be happy to describe our process in detail when we meet with leaders of your organization.

Our experience has confirmed that when staff and volunteer leaders are charged up and truly excited about the project and possess a deep sense of ownership in the organization's campaign, success is sure to follow. Consequently, our first and foremost expectation of volunteer and staff leaders is that they share their enthusiasm for and pride in the organization with others.

Additionally, we treat each organization and its staff, volunteers, members, and friends with respect and expect the same. Just as we are expected to deliver on what we agree to do, we expect staff and volunteers to reciprocate and lead by example. The capital campaign is the organization's project and responsibility, not ours; the reason we are involved is because the organization seeks our expertise and guidance. While we do not expect an organization to accept every recommendation or suggestion we offer, we expect them to listen to the reasons and rationale for making such recommendations.

Lastly, we expect volunteers and staff leaders to have fun. People who enjoy their work are fun to be around and their attitude and enthusiasm is contagious.

Decisions about charitable gifts are made in the heart, not the head. While the intellect must come into agreement with the heart before the pen hits the checkbook, the initial decision is emotional and, often, spiritual as well.

Usually an on-site office is not necessary, especially when Smith Beers Yunker is serving organizations in the Chicago or Cincinnati metropolitan areas.

It is helpful, however, to have a designated campaign work station or area which volunteers, staff and counselors can call "home," maintain files, etc.

Likewise, it is advisable that campaign records and correspondence be handled by a designated staff member or volunteer with access to a computer and/or word-processor. While not always possible, given other demands of the organization, it is best for campaign continuity and accuracy that a clerical/secretarial person (staff or volunteer) be assigned to the campaign or hired for the duration of the project. Smith Beers Yunker does not provide secretarial assistance, but will identify tasks and responsibilities of a campaign support person.

Organizations which employ a fundraising professional, i.e., a director of development, should expect that individual to devote at least 75% of his/her time to the campaign. Organizations without a full-time development professional should realistically expect the executive director to devote 40% to 60% of his/her time to the campaign.

In addition to the minimal out-of-pocket expenses cited above, many organizations will incur costs related to photography, graphic design and printing of campaign materials, unless they are successful in having those services provided by generous friends. Some organizations find it cost-effective to hire temporary staff to help with secretarial, clerical and record keeping tasks. Most organizations include in the campaign expenses a proportionate share of the CEO/Executive Director's salary and benefits and sometimes other staff as well. The campaign budget is developed in the planning phase and submitted for approval to the Board of Directors as part of the overall campaign plan.

"People give to people, not to institutions." When people give to your organization, they're supporting what it does for people. They're not giving to the institutional structure. Therefore, it's best to stay focused on how you will use the donor's gift to make life better for others.

As your letters initiate the philanthropic transaction, it's important to stay on track. The objective is to "close the transaction." In short, don't forget to ask the donor for money.

Testing by nonprofit organizations of all types shows that mention of the donor's gift history works, whether it's a reference to the most recent gift or to total cumulative giving.

Wide use of gift clubs demonstrates their power in upgrading donors to higher levels of giving. They offer charities the ability to successively raise the bar, continually challenging donors to stretch just a little more in their support.

Habitat for Humanity has the unique ability to equate a gift of a specific size with anything from a box of nails to a completely constructed home. Few organizations enjoy Habitat's ability to graphically quantify the impact of specific gift amounts. But hey, if you got it, flaunt it!