Managing Major Fundraising Campaigns
Once a school has determined it is well positioned to embark on a major fundraising campaign (either from a positive feasibility study or from previous fundraising experience), the way forward requires a strict and disciplined approach.
Campaigns that have failed in the past, will generally have taken a less than disciplined approach with high expectations placed on ‘the loyalty of the school community’ rather than a systematic and sequential approach. Having been called in to help a failing campaign in recent times, the easy (or naïve) option taken of appealing to the entire school community at the outset, was turned around (fortunately not too late), to bring in transformational gifts that secured the leadership phase funding. The new facility was opened a few weeks ago.
From the top (Governors and Head) down, a major campaign must take the highest priority if the school wishes to convince its constituency of the importance of supporting with stretched gifts!
A feasibility study is often the first step in nurturing a relationship with a potential key donor. I do emphasize that the school must provide immediate feedback to those who participate in the study and if the study has had positive recommendations, having some momentum to keep these individuals motivated and involved can be vital to securing their future support.
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