 |
No More Homeless Pets Forum
September 29, 2003 A New Shelter |
We need a new shelter. Where do we start? Robin Starr of the Richmond SPCA and Timy Sullivan of Humane Ohio will answer all your questions about launching and completing a capital campaign to build a new animal shelter.
Introduction from Timy Sullivan:
If the term "fundraising" strikes fear in your heart, I'm guessing the term "capital campaign" is grounds for a full-fledged panic attack.Relax, mounting a successful capital campaign is a lot easier than it may seem.
The hard part is managing your organization well and providing relevant services that merit the support of funders, large and small. Assuming you're already doing that, a successful campaign is simply a matter of getting to the right people with a compelling message about the good work you're doing and your need for their support.
I look forward to answering your questions about everything from clarifying your institutional vision and developing a case for support (the most important part) to putting together a capital campaign committee, identifying prospects (individual, foundation, and corporate), figuring out the best way to reach them, and giving appropriate recognition to the donors who are sure to respond. I'll also tell you how you can have a whole lot of fun along the way.
You really can have that much-needed new facility. Let's talk!
Questions
Getting the board of directors committed to raise funds
Developing from foster homes to a shelter with paid staff
Determining what is realistic to raise and what to include in your new shelter
Turning around negative press to build support
Should you raise a certain percent of money before beginning a campaign?
Should you hire a professional fundraiser?
Developing a capital campaign committee
What works and what doesn't
Identifying prospects (both foundations and individuals)
Avoiding hitting a wall with fundraising
Finding foundations willing to fund a capital campaign
Can you do a capital campaign if you are in a rural area?
Finding a balance of board members who can raise funds and understand your philosophy
Showing donors results
Getting the board of directors committed to raise funds
Question from a member:
What is the key to getting a board of directors who care about the mission and are committed and willing to raise funds? What is the Board's role in doing a capital campaign?Response from Robin:
I think there are actually several things that are essential to getting a Board that is deeply committed to the mission and to raising the necessary money. First, you must assemble a group of people who sincerely care about the work of the organization and understand what will be expected of them. There is no question that Board members are more actively supportive of a project that they had a role in initiating. So, finding ways that your Board members will see themselves as having ownership of the project for which they are raising money is very helpful.Before they even join the Board, it must be made clear that fundraising will be a crucial part of the job and that, if they accept the job, they will be agreeing to be an active participant. Then, they need a committed and hard working leader. If you can get at least one, but preferably more than one, Board leader who will set a standard for hard work and commitment and who will push the others, it will make a huge difference. This person needs to be well respected and needs to not be afraid to be a taskmaster at times and to vocally reward the board members' successes (our chairman gives a bottle of wine or champagne (that he pays for) to every Board member who brings in a major gift).
During a capital campaign, the Board is the group that must take your message to the community. That means that they explain the project and why it is important to their friends and business associates. We held weekly luncheons to which they would bring people they knew that they thought would be supportive. At those luncheons, we discussed our plans and why this project was important to the community. Many Board members are not comfortable making the actual request for the funds and that is usually OK. If they can simply get the people in to see you or arrange for you to go talk to them at their home (and accompany you also) then it can be left to the Executive Director or to the campaign chairman to make the actual request.
Response from Timy:
Putting together and maintaining a strong board of trustees is one of the most challenging tasks facing any non-profit organization. As in most things, the trick is to give it a very high priority and put the best people you can find in charge of the effort. Here are some recommendations based on what we did at Geauga Humane Society to strengthen our board and prepare it to govern a much larger, staff managed organization.Transform the Nominating committee into a Committee on Trustees with broad responsibility for recruiting, training, and monitoring the performance of board members. Put your best people on this committee.
Write a detailed job description for board members, including expectations in the areas of committee work, personal financial commitment, fund raising - rules about representing the organization in a positive way - and a clear explanation of the line between board governance and management! You may want to require a minimum donation (our is $1000) and a minimum fund-raising commitment (our is now $1,000 there too) to underscore the financial responsibility of board members.
Develop a grid listing areas of needed board expertise across the top and existing board members down the side... have the Committee on Trustees rank each existing board member in each of the area of expertise needed... see where the holes are... and see what kind of training you might want to do to improve the performance of your existing board members...
Send the Committee on Trustees out to recruit new people to fill the holes... think big.... look into the community to see who the leaders are who are getting things done and try to bring them to your table... also be sure to look close to home... know your volunteers well... make sure you aren't overlooking someone doing something minor at this time who could be moved into a leadership role.
Make sure every potential board member has been given the job description and a strong talk by the recruiter so there is no misunderstanding about what is expected before the person joins the board.
Put together a board orientation that matches what you'd do for a major donor. You really want your board members to be sold on what you do! Provide continuing board training through workshops. BoardSource provides excellent materials and workshops.
Give your board members meaningful work to do. Do not allow them to get involved in the day-to-day operation of the organization.
Praise good board work publicly and often!!!!!
Be sure to have a mechanism for removing board members who don't measure up - and don't be afraid to use it.
As for the board's role in a capital campaign, it is pivotal. First of all, before anyone else is approached, every board member should make a gift - as substantial as possible. They can't very well ask others to invest in something if they aren't willing to invest in it themselves. It is then up to the Board members to identify, rate, and reach out to prospects. If there is a development professional on board, he/she will handle the mechanics, but it is the board members who should know whom to approach and how... The executive director's role is to run a great organization and then go with board members to meet prospects and tell them about the wonderful and important work being done.
Developing from foster homes to a shelter with paid staff
Question from a member:
I am the director of a rescue group that has existed since its beginning using foster homes and no paid staff. We are taking a serious look at opening a small shelter, which will necessitate hiring some staff. I would welcome any advice that you might have on developing a business plan and establishing realistic milestones for this project.Response from Robin:
I would first caution that starting a shelter and hiring staff is a very challenging and stressful thing to do - that does not mean that you should not do so; just that you should think it through very carefully. Once you have hired people, you will feel a great deal of responsibility for their dependence on you for a job and for benefits and their families as well. Also, it sets you on a permanent path of annual fundraising and needing to make sure that the organization has continuity beyond a single person or group.As you consider this step, I would try to involve a CPA with experience with non-profit financial management in the work. If you can find one to do it pro bono, that is great but I would do it even if it means paying him or her. That guidance about all the things you will need to do and what it all will cost is invaluable. There are new costs you will face, like insurance, etc. Once you have assessed all the costs you will face, then you need to set up a plan for how you will pay for it, how much money you will need to raise and how you will sustain it for the future, again with the help of a CPA and a business consultant too if you can find one.
Response from Timy:
The first thing you have to ask yourself is whether opening a shelter is the best use of any resources you may be able to raise. To do that, you really need to conduct some sort of needs assessment that will let you know the approximate number of animals that are being turned away or euthanized because of insufficient space in existing facilities. At the same time, you should really look at programs in the area designed to keep animals in homes (behavior hot lines and training programs, landlord initiatives, low-cost spay-neuter programs etc.) to make sure that all efforts are being made to eliminate the flow of homeless animals into local facilities (if not, you may want to direct your energies there instead)... . and I would recommend examining the possibility of partnering with an organization that already has a shelter but may no have some of the programs you have (an extensive foster network?) to see if you could work together.If, after all is said and done, you really feel that a shelter is essential, then you have to determine what kind/size facility you want to build and where you want to build it, get solid cost estimates on building and operating costs, and evaluate the available sources of funding - not just for building but for operations down the line. How many animal welfare organizations in your area are asking for support? Can you make a case for your organization? (What you don't want to do is dilute the animal welfare support across so many organizations that no-one can do an effective job)... What is the economic climate? What is your donor base? Do you have some strong board leaders who can make sizeable donations themselves and then reach out to others? You should plan that 80 percent of your money will come from 20 percent of your donors - or said another way, most of the money will come from major gifts. In fact, in my experience, most organizations don't even send out a public appeal until about 80 percent of the funding is in place.
All of this boils down to a feasibility study. There are firms that specialize in this, but they are pricey - and you can get a pretty good idea yourself if you are willing to take the time to ask the hard questions. As far as timetables and milestones go, I recommend putting considerable time into establishing the need and developing your case for support before you begin asking for funds. It's very important to be able to show donors a well-conceived plan. Good luck!
Determining what is realistic to raise and what to include in your new shelter
Question from a member:
Could you share a bit about how you determined what size shelter to build, how you decided what to include (such as dog training area, auditorium, spay/neuter clinic) and how you estimated the cost? How do you know in your community what size shelter the community can support long term and how much is realistic to raise?Response from Robin:
Well, our situation was somewhat unique. We determined the part of our city that we thought was the best for our new center to be located in based on where the spay/neuter clinic and other services were most needed. For us, that was in the center city toward the east side of town. Then we began looking for available properties and found an old building for sale that had been owned by a hospital. It was 64,000 square feet, which was much larger than we had thought we would be getting.However, we got a wonderful price on it because the hospital had already moved and was very anxious to get rid of it. We paid only $1.2 million for 64,000 square feet, which were in pretty good shape. We decided that, since the building already had hospital quality HVAC, an operating room generator and other systems that are much better quality than what are in most commercial buildings and had the perfect location, so we accepted more square footage than we had wanted. We had planned to simply close off a fourth of the building and not use it at all and only minimally heat and air-condition it.
We determined what facilities we wanted to include in meetings of the building committee that was set up by our Board - it included both Board and staff members. We set out the services that we felt we needed to provide to the community in order for the community to stop using killing to control pet population numbers within a few years. Those were great adoption facilities, areas for the treatment and isolation of the sick and injured animals, good humane education facilities and clearly a spay/ neuter clinic that could do several thousand surgeries a year by having two tables and vets going at a time. We had no plans to include the training and exercise area. It was not until later that we got a grant from a foundation specifically for the exercise and training area that we decided to use the area that we had been leaving shut off for that.
Once you decide on what facilities you want to have, your architect does a preliminary design and gives you an idea of the price to build it. Then, you have to decide to go forward or to cut some things out. We did some cutting but not a lot.
It is very important to determine what is realistic for you to raise. To do that you need to have a fundraising consultant who is experienced in capital campaigns do a feasibility study for you. That consultant will do his own assessment of your prospects for raising money based on the perceived need for the facility, your history of fundraising, your reputation and profile in the community and interviews with people who would be expected to be donors. Then he will give you a recommendation of a goal for your campaign. We ended up raising much more than the goal our consultant recommended. Nonetheless, this work is essential, not only for your own use but also because foundations you apply to will ask if you have had this feasibility study done - they do not want to give to a campaign that may not succeed.
Response from Timy:
If you can afford to hire a firm to do a feasibility study, that's a great way to go. See my answer to the previous question). We didn't do that because we were under a serious time constraint. We pretty much decided to build what we felt we could afford - and even that was a bit of guesswork. We studied our donor base (we had 25 years of fund-raising experience to go by), considered the foundation community (a new source for us), and decided that we could build something for about $1.2 million, plus the cost of the land and furnishings... . We did not want to have any debt, so we rejected anything that put us over that amount.In essence, we doubled our capacity and we are still turning animals away (we are limited admission)... but, our reasoning was that no shelter would be big enough to handle all the animals in need, so we should concentrate our efforts - not on the biggest facility, but on the best facility - one designed to get at the root causes of pet overpopulation. We visited and stole ideas from shelters all across the country.
We knew we wanted to alter all our own animals before adoption and treat all our own animals on-site, so the clinic was a major focus. In fact, that was the first gift we sought and received. (Because of our location, we rejected the idea of a spay/neuter clinic to serve the general public. Instead, we have a voucher program). In our old facility, we had struggled with disease because we had no quarantine spaces, so they became a high priority. Of course, bright, spacious, well-ventilated animal housing was a must.
We knew we wanted to expand our education programs in a major way, so a classroom became a necessity. We knew we wanted to let people know, right up front, that this was a happy place, so we insisted on an indoor-outdoor cat community room next to the entrance and a living room for the Dog of the Day off the Lobby. We also included landscaping in the cost so the facility would be attractive and inviting as soon as it opened. We wanted people to feel comfortable talking with staff (so we could counsel owners turning in animals as well as adopters in a positive environment), so comfortable/semi-private seating areas in the lobby were important. We wanted people to spend plenty of time getting to know our animals, so we included get-acquainted rooms.
We wanted our dogs to have lots of one-on-one time with volunteers and trainers, so we included two major exercise areas (one with agility equipment) and extensive walking trails. We knew we wanted to provide emergency shelter for horses and farm animals on site, so we included a barn (Phase II, but included in our original funding proposals). In other words, we let program dictate design and we fought like tigers to keep those elements we felt were essential to accomplishing our mission. When we had to cut, we found ways to keep quality and eliminate fluff.
We ended up right where we needed to be - and our only real regret is that we didn't create more quarantine space for dogs. All in all, this process, though rather informal, worked for us...
Turning around negative press to build support
Questions from Karen:
Our shelter would like to start a fundraising campaign in order to add on a spay/neuter clinic and an additional adoption wing. But we have had some bad press lately in the media on us not doing enough (we don't take strays, when we are full we turn people away, we don't have a public spay/neuter program, etc). So how can we start a fundraising campaign when the public and media may not be supportive right now? How do we turn that around?Response from Timy:
I love this question. We were in the same boat when we started - lots of negative stuff out there. What we did was put out so much good energy that there was simply no room for the bad energy. It worked. Our first step was to make sure we were offering well-run programs that were relevant and newsworthy. For example, we turned our rather weak and ordinary dog walking program into the TLC Club, increased our requirements for participation, provided opportunities for dog walkers to get together both socially and for training - and then promoted it widely.In the process, we dramatically improved our animal care while increasing the number of people with good first-hand knowledge of our work and creating some good buzz in the community. Similarly, we expanded and beefed up our therapy dog program (named it the GHS Ambassadors). With the help of a wonderful Therapy Dogs International trainer, we tightened our standards and began offering regular therapy dog training classes. Once again, we did extensive promotion. The people who took the classes really did become our ambassadors, not only in the schools, hospitals, and nursing homes where they performed service, but in their own social circles.
We accepted every speaking engagement - for 4 people or 400. We added some new classes through our local community education programs and promoted them widely too. We made sure all of our fund raising events were creative and newsworthy - and directed to the audiences we needed to attract.
But here's the best thing we did. We decided to keep a wonderful hard luck dog who had taken months to recover from some serious injuries and make him our spokesdog. Hugh became the face of our work. We took him everywhere and promoted him like a rock star. Once we launched the campaign to build our new facility (named Rescue Village), we held an election for the village mayor - Hugh was challenged by Marino, a cat that had been returned to us so many times, he had become a permanent resident. We set up ballot boxes at events all over town and encouraged everyone to vote. People (and the press) loved it. Hugh won - and, our grand opening celebration was actually an inaugural ball, with all the trimmings. Hugh has now been adopted by our new executive director and is in happy retirement under her desk. Marino was named chief constable and reigns supreme over the Cat Community Room.
On another level though, I think the best thing we did was stop being defensive about what we weren't doing. Instead of letting people make us feel guilty about the animals we couldn't save, we were completely honest about why we couldn't save them and what it would take to enable us to save more. When we made mistakes, we admitted it and moved on. We refused to talk about anything that had happened in the past. All of our concentration was on the future... and we stopped whining. We did the very best work we could and we shouted it to the rooftops. Pretty soon, anyone with anything negative to say was simply drowned out by the growing legion of supporters.
Response from Robin:
We had very similar problems. I am going to assume that you are a private organization that does not have a legal obligation to accept strays. The first task is to help your community understand that you are deeply committed to not killing healthy animals and that requires that you not accept strays and not take animals when you are full.We undertook a campaign that was called "Creating a Community of Compassion" and worked to make the community understand that it requires an effort of the entire community to stop the killing of healthy animals - it cannot happen through the efforts of a single organization. What that means is that they must help you by keeping animals until you have space for them, working to place animals that need new homes on their own and helping to get all pets spayed and neutered. I would try to get some time with a sympathetic member of the media to explain this to them in depth. Then ask for their help in explaining it to the community.
Expecting you to take animals when you are full is just like expecting a shelter for abused women to take in another woman in need when it had no space for her. It is just not reasonable to expect. I would work to get this understood in your community a little better before you start the campaign but do not expect that these complaints will ever go away entirely. We still get them now.
Should you raise a certain percent of money before beginning a campaign?
Question from Steve:
I have heard that before you start a capital campaign you should raise a certain % of the money privately and that you should have a balanced budget for 3 years. Are these true? Would you ever advise going ahead with a campaign if you hadn't done these things?Response from Timy:
I definitely agree that you should raise about 75 - 80 percent of your money before going to the public. Getting those major gifts, however, is part of the capital campaign - a very crucial part. We were very public about the fact that we were conducting a campaign, but all of our approaches were individual and private in that first phase. We didn't go to the public with a general mailing until we had the building paid for through major gifts from foundations and individuals. (Gifts ranged from $5,000 - $300,000.) We asked the public for the final $300,000 to provide furnishings and equipment. That way, they knew the campaign was successful and the building would be constructed. We were able to raise the final portion of the funding through smaller gifts - most ranging from $1 to $1,000.As for the balanced budget part, yes, I agree that it's important to be able to demonstrate that you are managing your organization well and living within your means. There could be exceptions, but this is a good general rule.
Response from Robin:
There is a generally accepted rule of thumb that you should have raised about 1/3 to 1/2 of a capital campaign privately before you make a public announcement of the campaign. This does not mean that the campaign has not started, just that it has not been announced to the public, before this critical amount has been raised. The reason for doing it this way is that people and foundations who do not have a close relationship with you generally will not give to a campaign unless they feel fairly confident that it will succeed - they do not want to give their money to an endeavor that may not actually accomplish its goals. When we say "raised", that includes amounts pledged. It does not all need to be actually in the bank. You can certainly announce before you have this much raised but it serves as a good discipline. If you cannot raise this much of your campaign goal from the people who are close to your organization, then your chances of succeeding with others are not very good.I would be less comfortable about starting a capital campaign without three years of a balanced budget - assuming that, by this, you mean completing each of the last three fiscal years in the black (with revenues equaling or exceeding expenses). If you cannot operate in the black consistently, then it will be very difficult to raise the money for a campaign because, again, people feel concern about giving money to an organization that may not survive to accomplish their goals. It is important to realize that sophisticated philanthropists give large sums of money to accomplish certain goals for their community that they see as important - it is about the goals not certain organizations or people - so they must feel that the organization stands a high chance of making good on its promises. They do not feel this about an organization that cannot balance its budget.
Should you hire a professional fundraiser?
Question from a member:
Do you recommend hiring a professional fundraiser? If so, how do you determine salary or do you pay a percentage of the funds raised?Response from Timy:
The Association of Fundraising Professionals (www.afpnet.org) Code of Ethics prohibits members from accepting compensation based on a percentage of the funds raised - so that pretty well rules out that approach.I've had experience with fund raising consultants (very expensive - but very helpful in a capital campaign), but no personal experience with other kinds of professional fundraisers.
The model I'm familiar with and recommend is hiring a salaried development director (part or full time), someone with experience in fund-raising both for annual and capital projects - events, written appeals, personal approaches, grant writing, planned giving etc. You really have to have that kind of knowledge and experience somewhere in your organization if you are to be successful in a capital campaign... and I think it works best if that person is a part of your organization - a member of your management team.
In our case, we couldn't afford an executive director and a development director, and our highest priority was building a new facility - so the Board hired an executive director with a strong development background. I've often said that I was really a development director posing as an executive director. We were able to do that because our shelter manager, humane officer, and business manager had been running their operations without an executive director for years, so we just asked them to continue on. They reported to me and I had enough administrative experience to oversee things, but I rarely had to get involved in day-to-day operations.
My focus was definitely on raising money for the building, building the board, and getting the organization in shape to continue to raise operating funds and endowment dollars well into the future. As soon as Rescue Village was up and had been running well for a year, and our fund-raising strategies were well developed, I stepped down so that someone with a stronger administrative background could take over. This is certainly not the norm, but it worked well for us.
Response from Robin:
I recommend hiring a fundraising consultant to do a feasibility study for you and to help you do a campaign plan and set up your campaign leadership and committees at the beginning. Beyond that, I think you need to run the campaign yourself with a clerical support person to manage the data base, record gifts and pledge cards, prepare and send reminder statements and thank you notes and take care of the details for the various luncheons and events for the campaign.There are fundraising consultants who will manage the entire campaign for you for a percentage of the funds raised and others who will work on an hourly basis but I believe that it is important for the primary management person of the organization and the chair of the campaign to get to know the donors directly.
These donors hopefully will stay with you as annual donors. For that to happen, you need to know then directly. I also think that no one on the outside can explain as clearly to the community why it should support your campaign as you can. The challenge with this, if you are the Executive Director or CEO, is that it will become for full time job for a couple of years. I had to remove myself entirely from the day-to-day management of our organization. If you do not do that, things will come up every day to keep you from getting the campaign done.
Developing a capital campaign committee
Question from Jean:
In the opening remarks it mentioned developing a capital campaign committee. How do you go about setting this up and deciding who should be on it and what the committee does? And who oversees the committee?Response from Timy:
A capital campaign committee is important for several reasons. The committee's job is to plan campaign strategy and spearhead its implementation.Generally a board member with good connections in the community and a willingness to reach out to them is appointed chair. Other board members with fund raising skills should be on the committee too. You can have people outside the board as well. I recommend appointing an honorary chair who is well known and respected in the community - someone whose very name will bring people to your cause. That person may or may not be a board member but should definitely be someone who has invested significantly in your organization. (Needless to say, all committee members should be willing and able to make fairly significant personal gifts so they can say to others "I believe in this and have made a commitment - now I'm asking you to join me").
People on the committee have to be passionate about the need for the campaign - and they must be willing to work. Their main job is to identify and rank prospects - literally sit around a table with a list of names (your donor list and their own contacts) and determine how much they think each prospect can give. Based on their analysis, you and they put together a pyramid indicating how many gifts you expect to get at each level to make your goal, i.e., 1- $500,000 gift, 2 - $250,000 gifts, 5 - $50,000 gifts, 30 - $5,000 gifts, 100 - $1,000 gifts, 200 - gifts of under $1000. Of course, confidentiality is essential in these conversations. It also helps to be realistic!!!!! The committee then assigns a member or members to approach each major donor prospect for the specific gift. Usually, the Executive Director goes along on those calls to make sure the story is being told well and accurately. Each approach could require several visits over several months.
The committee must get together often to share feedback from their prospects and recommend changes in campaign strategy as gifts come in (or don't). They may even recommend changes in the building plans based on what they are hearing. In short, they are your link to the funding community!
Response from Robin:
The Capital Campaign Committee is the group of people who are primarily responsible for doing the heavy lifting work of the campaign. They should meet every month or so of the campaign and plan who should be asked, who will do the asking and how the community's support should be cultivated. You should first secure a Chair for the campaign - this person then is the Chair of the Capital Campaign Committee. He or she should work with the CEO of the organization to decide on the composition of the committee. You want to have people who know lots of other people in town and who are well liked and respected. They must all be prepared to make a significant gift to the campaign themselves and do it at the very beginning of the campaign. They cannot ask others for money if they have not already given themselves.Many people in the fundraising world say that the chair of the campaign and the members of the committee must each make a "sacrificial gift" - that is, a gift that for their means is a major statement of their deep belief in the importance of the project. The committee should have some of the organization's Board members on it but should have other people from the committee also.
Usually, the committee is then segmented into sub-committees for major gifts, special gifts and the community campaign. The cutoffs for these levels vary but for us major gifts were those in excess of $25,000, special gift were those from $5000 to $24,999 and the community campaign was for gifts under $5,000.
What works and what doesn't
Question from Sharon:
I'm interested in learning more about what worked and what didn't. Can you share some of the things that worked in raising funds and some of the things that did not that you would not do again? We're very nervous about beginning because we don't want to put out there that we have set a goal and then fall short. We don't have a good base of donors but don't have what I would consider high donors that could fund an entire room or wing so we could use some tips.Response from Timy:
See my answer to question 4. Creating that positive energy in the community is very, very important. Here are some other things that worked well...We created many naming opportunities. We actually took the cost of the building and divided it up so that, if we got every space named, we'd have enough money. The Clinic was $150,000. The Cat Community Room and Dog's Den were each $50,000. The Get Acquainted rooms were $15,000 each. Large Dog Kennels were $10,000. The Exercise areas were $5,000 each. A Cat Condo was $500, and so on. Then, in the public phase of the campaign, people could name specimen trees for $500, garden wall stones for $300, and pavers for $100. We sold everything - and we worked hard to make the recognition meaningful and very public.
Before we began, we took a long hard look at our public image - everything from programs to publications - and we decided what we wanted that to be. We were fortunate to have the help of a wonderful graphic designer, a book illustrator, and an AP photographer who made everything we did look uniform, positive, professional and just plain terrific.
We knew there were many donors (individual and foundation) who would not support "an animal shelter" but would support programs and facilities that made for a safer society or improved the lives of children or the aged. With these potential donors, we concentrated on the link between animal cruelty and human violence, our pets for the elderly and therapy dog programs, programs to teach empathy to children etc. Indeed, in our work and the information we got out there, we focused not just on the animals, but on the people whose lives they enrich. The word relevant was a constant part of our vocabulary. That dramatically broadened our audience.
We never missed an opportunity to get the word out - even if we thought the event or contact would be a waste of time. You just never know!
We thanked everyone for every gift, no matter how small. One of our largest gifts came from a woman of great means who had stopped supporting the organization because she hadn't gotten a thank you note for an earlier modest gift. (The policy had been only to send thank you notes for major gifts to save money on postage.) When we started getting some visibility, she sent another modest gift - sort of a trial balloon I guess. She got a routine thank you note and walked in a few months later with a gift of $300,000. Again, you just never know.
I can honestly say we didn't do anything we regretted. We just put one foot in front of the other and it all seemed to work.
Response from Robin:
Things that we found worked:Finding one or a couple of wealthy people to make "leadership gifts" to the campaign early on - this is a huge help because it suggests to other wealthy people in the community that this is a good cause.
Spend some time trying to find the people with wealth and a history of philanthropy in your community who appear to really care about animals and visit them at their home or their office to tell them about your plans and seek their support. It may be daunting to ask these people for money but you need to do it because it may surprise you who will really help you a lot. See if one or more of them might be willing to entertain friends of theirs in their home to get the campaign off on the right foot.
Having luncheons every week to which your Board and staff and other friends invite donor prospects - this gives you the time and venue to explain in some detail what you are doing and why. You might be able to find, as we did, a donor who believes in the campaign to underwrite the cost of the luncheons.
Preparing good and convincing written materials to leave with prospective donors.
More than anything else - just keep going and do not get discouraged. Do not allow anything or anyone to stop you from getting up the next morning and continuing on with your efforts.
Things that did not work:
Spending a lot of money making a video for the campaign - I wish we had never wasted the money or the time because it gets out of date so quickly.
Holding huge parties with more people than you can effectively talk to.
Trying to pressure people who just are not interested.
Identifying prospects (both foundations and individuals)
Question from Kelly:
If we don't have the money to hire anyone to do a feasibility study, how do we begin identifying prospects and resources for our campaign? (Both foundations and individuals) Are these supposed to be people we already have a relationship with or is there some level of cold calling involved? And how do we make sure that no other non-profit is doing a capital campaign at the same time? In our community, our art museum is very popular and I wouldn't want to go up against that.Response from Timy:
You'll probably always be going up against someone. It's a fact of life. You should be aware of other campaigns, but you may not be able to avoid them. Remember, you're going to have to go up against other organizations for operating dollars every single day of the year, so you really have to be able to hold your own... Another reason to keep the word relevance at the front of your vocabulary... Make sure what you are doing is relevant in your community and that the community knows it. That's really the secret to maintaining your support in a competitive environment.As for identifying prospects, see my answer to question 8. It really is a matter of getting a good committee together and encouraging them to identify and rank prospects. For major donors, there should be some connection - but it may just be that a member of your committee plays golf with or shops in their store. It's up to the committee members to bring their prospects to the cause.
Foundations are a different matter. Fortunately for all of us, there is the Foundation Library - You can subscribe on line, but that's expensive. What we did was buy the Foundation Library book for Ohio and read through every single page looking at board lists (anyone we knew?), and what they have funded in the past. Very few foundations actually list animal welfare, but many list children, the aged, combating violence etc. Although we asked them all for funds to build Rescue Village, we tailored our approach to the funding history of each foundation. For example, if a foundation was interested in programs that combat violence, we focused on the link between animal cruelty and human violence... if they were interested in programs for the aged, we concentrated on our therapy dog and pets for the elderly programs. We sent out many proposals that got no response, but we also brought some foundations to the cause that had never been interested in animal welfare before because they didn't realize the impact we have on people!
HSUS publishes annually a great list of the national foundations that do focus on animal welfare. We chose, however, to focus locally because we wanted to build personal relationships for the future.
Response from Robin:
Well, I will begin by saying that I really think that having a feasibility study done is important. You will be asked by donors if you had one done and, so, I would urge you to try to find a donor who will underwrite that cost for you. But, moving on to your questions, you should identify your prospects by asking every Board member and every committee member and every staff member to write down a list of the people that they know in the community who they think care about animal welfare or for any reason might consider making a gift to the campaign.Also, ask them to write down what they think the person would be capable of giving - note that I did not say ask them to predict the actual gift, just give an idea of what the individual's means to give would be if they were motivated to give. I do not believe that cold calls are successful. After you prepare the list of whom you want to ask, you need to check with everyone who is close to you in any way and see if any of them knows the target person and could contact them and ask for a time to visit. As far as other campaigns, I would just call the other organizations in your city that you think might be considering a campaign and ask them. It is best for everyone if you do not do campaigns at the same time.
Avoiding hitting a wall with fundraising
Question from a member:
We are raising funds for a new shelter and are about $250,000 short. We feel we have tapped out our board and staff connections and our donors and are at a loss of what else to do. Did you hit a wall at some point in your fundraising where it seemed like you could not get over it? What did you do and if you didn't hit a wall, how do you think you avoided it and kept momentum going?Response from Robin:
I think that every campaign goes through periods when it seems that it has dried up and you can go no further. You just have to keep up the intensity and push on. There are always more sources and things you have not yet thought of. It just requires that you become more resourceful and think outside the box. We too went through a couple of periods where no large gift had come in for a while and we had more to raise and it felt like we were not going to get there. One thought is to see if you can find a donor who is willing to announce that it is crucial that you raise the last $250,000 and that if others will make an additional gift then he or she will match it until you get the amount more you need.Response from Timy:
You didn't say what proportion of your campaign that $250,000 represents, so it's a little difficult to respond. If it's more than 75 - 80 percent, you may be in trouble. The rule of thumb is that you don't even go to the general public, including your lower level donors, until you have raised 75 - 80 percent of your money. At that point, you can usually count on a strong public campaign to get you over the top. If you've already exhausted that resource, you might consider a major event ... we did a huge golf outing and auction that brought in $115,000... and you might want to re-examine your foundation contacts to see if you've missed anyone. Have you sold naming rights to parts of the building? Have you considered every possible audience that will benefit from the work you'll be able to do from this new center? Take a hard look. You may have missed a segment of your community.Finding foundations willing to fund a capital campaign
Question from Jean:
Could you tell us a little bit about how you were able to find foundations that were willing to help with your capital campaign?Response from Robin:
We hired a fundraising researcher to research for us the foundations in the United States who have a stated interest in or a history of giving to humane causes. That is not very difficult to do and would take a good researcher a few hours of research time. They can also provide you with the requirements of each of the foundations for the making of grant applications. In our community, there is also a community foundation that administers many family and personal charitable foundations and I met with the administrator of the community foundation to find out which of them would consider proposals for a humane cause.Response from Timy:
We used the Foundation Library - you can subscribe on line, but we couldn't afford that so I just bought the Foundation Library Directory for Ohio. We studied every page, looking for foundations that had funded programs like ours and/or foundation board members who had some connection - even a very distant one to someone in our organization. We saw very quickly that there were few local foundations that funded animal welfare - but there were many that funded programs to combat violence in society as well as programs in the areas of education, domestic violence, and the aging. To get their interest, we expanded our case for support to include an emphasis on the link between animal cruelty and human violence, the work of our humane officer, our education programs, our program to provide safe haven for animals of women fleeing domestic abuse, pets for the elderly, pet therapy etc.If we had someone in our ranks with a connection to a foundation board member, we had our person make a call and try to set up a meeting. In other cases, we just sent proposals and hoped for the best. We got a lot of rejection, but we also got enough good grants to get the job done.
Can you do a capital campaign if you are in a rural area?
Question from a member:
We desperately need to upgrade our shelter but we are in a very rural, poor area. Even trying to get media about our efforts is difficult because we get our TV news from a bigger city farther away and only have one local paper and radio station. We don't have corporations or large potential donors to approach, although we do have a very dedicated core group of small donors to our shelter. Do you think it is possible to do a capital campaign in a rural area?Response from Robin:
Yes, I certainly do but I think you may have to be more imaginative and resourceful. I would think about these possibilities:Is there a philanthropist who has given to any other causes in your area - do not just look at people who have a history of giving to your organization. There may be someone who has financial resources and cares about the quality of life in your community and could be convinced that improving the well being of the animals is important to that quality of life. Our two largest donors to our campaign had never given to animal welfare before but had had a history of considerable philanthropy to the community.
If there is no one like that in your immediate community, I would see if there is someone elsewhere in the state who cares deeply about animal welfare and might consider supporting your needs.
Philanthropists who are committed to a certain issue will often give to see things improved in other communities than their immediate location.
If you are located in the coverage area of the TV stations in the bigger city, go to meet with their news director and see if he or she will give you some coverage. It is a very heart rending topic and they might take it on.
Be sure to spend some time researching what foundations across the country give to animal welfare causes. You may be able to get some support from a national foundation.
Response from Timy:
The rural area is probably not the issue... the absence of large donors probably is. We are in a rural area. We counted on two local weeklies to get our messages to the public, and we had no corporate support. We got a little TV coverage from Cleveland, our nearest city, but not much. Our board members were generally unable to make significant gifts and they really didn't have any good major donor prospects. We did have in our community, however, a number of good foundations and a population of people who, if convinced that the need was real, could make major gifts. Our job was to get these foundation and individuals interested in us - usually for the first time. That took a lot of work, but it was possible.In your case, I strongly recommend a feasibility study. You have to know what the need is in the community, what it would take to meet the need... and what financial resources exist in the community.
Finding a balance of board members who can raise funds and understand your philosophy
Question from a member:
We currently have a working board that is very active in our organization and care deeply about the animal issues. But they are not what I would call a fundraising board or well-connected to potential high donors. In order to do a campaign, do we need to add well-connected fundraisers on our board or can we work with what we have? What if they can raise the money but don't understand animal issues? How do you keep the balance between the two? We would not want people on our Board who can bring in money but who don't understand the philosophies and mission of the organization.Response from Timy:
Yes, you do need board members who can bring in major gifts - and yes, you want board members who understand your organization and the issues. You'll have to work hard to make that happen. The first step is to set up a Committee on Trustees and give them the task of identifying recruiting, training, and monitoring the performance of board members... That committee should be looking all the time for people in the community who have demonstrated wise governance and the ability to give and raise money. Board prospects may or may not have any experience in animal welfare.It's up to your organization, through good work and public relations programs, to get the movers and shakers in your community to understand the importance of your mission. It's up to the Committee to bring individual board prospects closer and closer to the organization - to involve them in programs and social activities and informally educate them about your programs, the history of animal welfare, and such issues as euthanasia. People respond to people, so, if you can bring one or two strong people on board, others are sure to follow... . you can teach a good leader about feral cats but you may not be able to turn a good feral cat person into a large donor.
Response from Robin:
I think, and I believe that most of the writers in the field of non-profit management would agree, that it is very important that an organization be clear about what is and what is not the role of the Board. The Board's primary jobs should be fundraising, overseeing the big picture financial health of the organization, being ambassadors for the organization in the community and planning the long range goals and focus for the organization. They should not be involved in day-to-day management. This means they should not be involved in your hiring, firing, volunteers or personnel policies, hours of operation, protocols for daily operation, or fee setting. It is important that the Board leadership understands this and set the right tone for the others.That said, it becomes clear that you need to have a Board composed of people who can do these jobs. Your nominating committee should plan out what capabilities you need on the Board and then seek new Board members who have those strengths. One of, but not the only, attribute you should seek is connections to people who can give money and influence public opinion. These new Board members of course should be people who sincerely care about the mission of the organization - if they don't, then they never will put the time and support into it that is essential. But they do not need to have a depth of knowledge about how to run a shelter or other specifics of what you do there every day. Those are things that the CEO or other primary management people can educate them about. When we get new Board members, we have them to an orientation that takes several hours during which we give them a more in depth understanding about what we do and why. They do need to understand the mission and philosophy of the organization; however, you cannot expect them to do so until you have sat down with them and explained it in some depth. Showing donors results
Question from a member:
What kind of results do donors want to see when giving to a capital campaign? I know showing measurable results is important and many foundations require a report, but what about individuals? Do you do things like quarterly reports on how much money you've raised or where their money will be used? Is it best to tell them specifics of what their money will be used for or keep it vague in case it changes? Do you just do one final report for them with a thank you note?Response from Timy:
You simply can't do too much to keep major donors involved throughout a campaign... remember, you'll want them to give you operating dollars for years to come - long after the campaign is finished. The more you can give them ownership of the project, the more they'll want to support it in the future.We used our quarterly newsletter and the media to keep all of our constituents and the public well informed about the progress of our campaign and the construction of our facility. Major donors were kept informed through regular phone calls, letters, and site visits - whatever it took to make them feel a part of things.
Our plans were in place before we started our campaign, so we were able to be quite specific about how money would be used.
Response from Robin:
There are several different issues raised here. First, while it is not required, I think it is very valuable to do a newsletter while you are in a campaign that is devoted just to the campaign (in other words, separate from your normal newsletter). It should go to donors and others who have done things to support the campaign and should let them know where you stand on the fundraising effort and how far along you are on the project that you are funding with it. It is also a good vehicle for keeping up enthusiasm about the campaign. There is no rule for how often it should go out but quarterly is reasonable.When you raise any money for any project, you should be very clear with the donors what it is going to be used for and then you must use it only for that purpose. If you are doing a building project, you should have artist's renderings of the building. The renderings do not need to be exactly what is ultimately done, but should be reasonably close to the final result. They should be provided as part of the packet you give when you ask for donations. The final product may differ a bit in appearance or specific layout but should not vary in any material way from what you told them you would build.
If you find that you must make one or more significant changes in the project for a valid reason that comes to light after the money was raised, then you should contact each donor and ask if that change is acceptable to them and, if not, return their money. I know it is tempting to feel that once you have their money in hand it is yours to use as you think is best, and that is true if it is an unrestricted gift. But if it was given for a specific purpose then it must be used for that purpose or permission obtained to use it for something else. This is an important rule to live by or you can lose donors' confidence in you.
You should send a thank you letter immediately after the donation or pledge is made. If it is a significant gift, you should continue to find ways to thank the donor. When the campaign is finished and the project complete, it is best to have an event to celebrate and let the donors see the finished product. That is crucial to having them feel that they want to continue to be involved.
