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Capital Campaigns: Everything You Need to Know

by Linda Lysakowski, ACFRE

The Planning Study: Internal Assessment
Part Six

The planning study is an important step in the campaign process. Almost every organization needs to consider a study before launching their campaign. The study provides the organization with the means to assess both their internal readiness to do a campaign and the community’s willingness to support the campaign.

In earlier issues of this series we’ve talked about all the essential ingredients the organization needs to consider in its internal readiness. This issue will explain how that internal readiness is assessed during a study. In the next issue we will discuss how the external readiness for a campaign is assessed.

There are several areas an internal assessment should address—organizational structure, software, staffing, board issues, policies and procedures. Sometimes this internal assessment involves a full-blown development audit, other times it is done as the first step in the planning study. Sometimes, development staff is reluctant to suggest an audit for fear they will not “pass.” Engaging a consultant to do an audit of the development office should not be looked at as a “witch hunt;” the consultant is not there to find a reason to get rid of staff, but is there to do an honest assessment and make recommendations that will make the organization stronger and prepare it for the campaign. A development audit is not something the organization can do on its own. For the same reason the organization does not attempt to do its financial audit on its own, the development audit needs an expert outsider to study the development program and prepare an objective report. There are, however, some guidelines that the organization can use to do a preliminary evaluation of its program. (A development evaluation form is available on this author’s website at www.cvfundraising.com.)

Often the consultant will start with a questionnaire to be completed by staff and board members and a review of the entire development program. This is usually followed with interviews with development staff, CEO, board members and sometimes other staff and volunteers. Areas usually addressed in the audit or internal assessment include:

• Development communications—newsletters, solicitation letters, website, etc.
• Research methods and results
• Basic information on the organization’s structure (is it a 501(c)(3), is it registered with proper state and local authorities, etc.)
• The role of the board—board organizational charts, position descriptions, committee descriptions, etc.
• Staffing in the development office and assignment of duties
• The role of the development office in the overall organizational chart
• Results of various fundraising programs, such as special events, direct mail, telephone programs, face to face solicitation
• The success of the planned giving program, if relevant
• The success of past capital campaigns, if relevant
• Software system, information recording and reporting
• Stewardship acknowledgment and recognition of gifts
• The strength of the organization's financial position
• Public awareness of the organization
• The role of the CEO in fundraising

Some of the key areas that the consultant will be analyzing in regard to the organizations readiness to launch a campaign are:

• Does the staff have time to manage a campaign or are they involved in other tasks, development or non-development related? Warning signs such as an organization’s staff spending all its time on special events, or development staff that spend part of their time on development and part on other areas of the organization, are of concern when preparing for a campaign.
• The importance given to the development function within the organization. A development officer that does not report to the CEO, or an organization that does not spend money on providing the development office with the necessary tools to perform its job, or is reluctant to budget for continuing education for development staff, is another sign of trouble.
• The size and structure of the board are important keys to success. A small or ineffectual board may be a sign that the community will be reluctant to support a campaign or that the board will not have the necessary contacts to get interviews with key community leaders.
• It is essential to have good systems in place. The campaign may be the first time an organization will record multi-year pledges and a system that allows for proper pledge recording and coding will be needed. If the organization does not have a good software system in place, one should be purchased prior to launching the campaign.

The internal assessment will take anywhere from several weeks to several months depending on the complexity of the organization and the depth to which the consultant assesses each aspect of the development program. For an organization that has never done a campaign before, a complete development audit may be in order. If the organization feels they have a fairly strong development program, or when there is not sufficient time to engage in a full-blown audit, an abbreviated version may be done during the study process, and a full development audit may take place after the study is completed.

Whichever method is used to complete this task, it is essential that some type of internal assessment of the organization’s ability to run a campaign be completed before moving on to the external assessment.

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