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July 09, 2008

In the Home Stretch: A Fund Raiser's Capital-Campaign Challenge

Mark J. Drozdowski is in the home stretch of overseeing a capital campaign at Fitchburg State College that has raised all the big gifts it needs from wealthy donors.

But therein lies the rub, writes Mr. Drozdowski in The Fund Raiser, his regular column for the Chronicle of Higher Education. Now ready to open the campaign to donors capable of making relatively modest gifts, Mr. Drozdowski wants to figure out the best way to approach them.

“An audience of 50 lead donors just isn’t the same as the alumni population writ large,” not to mention the local corporations and foundations that will be asked to give, he writes. “That’s my dilemma now.”

Some experts might recommend using different solicitation messages for different types of potential donors, but Mr. Drozdowski sees problems with that approach, the first of which is cost.

Second, communications about the campaign’s final phase on the college’s Web site must appeal to “visitors of all stripes,” as Mr. Drozdowski calls them.

And third, he suspects donors giving modest amounts pay little attention to brochures and other campaign materials, no matter how carefully they are written.

“It remains a puzzling question,” Mr. Drozdowski writes. “How do we speak to the wide range of alumni and friends representing the complete spectrum of wealth and philanthropic intent?”

What approaches have you found to work well with donors in the last stages of a capital campaign? Click on the comment link below to share your ideas.

— Holly Hall

Wednesday July 9, 2008 | Permalink

Comments

1. We should all try to remember: “that that works with the best of us; works with the rest of us”. People of modest means also appreciate the relationship building tactics the campaign used with its “major” donors. Do they not deserve to feel special in their gift giving to their alma mater. Use small groups for face to face communication about the campaign; this might help with cost concerns.

   Martina E. Chavis
   Senior Development Officer
   North Carolina A&T State University

   — Martina E. Chavis    Jul 10, 03:11 PM    #

2. I agree with Martina re: $500 from one alumni may be the same, capacity wise, as $5M from someone else. Small gifts do add up. I’m wondering if you might get a prior donor to do a challenge grant? Do you have class campaign capacity to do some more personalized, albeit somewhat wholesale solicitations, like you probably do with the annual fund? Think about how much $ the “end” gifts might add up to and consider a fun naming opportunity “from the clases of 19XX to 200X”?

   Good luck – tell us how it turns out!

   — Nancy C    Jul 11, 10:25 AM    #

3. Thanks, Holly, for commenting on my latest Chronicle column. I want to be clear, though, that our campaign is not finishing, but simply nearing the end of the private phase. Also, I wouldn’t admit to being “genuinely confused” about how to communicate with various audiences. I’m simply posing questions for discussion and hoping to hear from colleagues in similar situations. Cheers….

   — Mark    Jul 11, 04:24 PM    #

4. Mark, thanks for noting the inaccuracies. We have amended the item.

   — Stacy Palmer    Jul 11, 05:39 PM    #

5. While it’s good to learn of strategies others used successfully, my advice is to base your campaign communications plan (yes, you need one!) on what will work for your alumni. ASK and thou shallt learn: survey your alumni to see which of your campaign themes will be recevied most favorably and how your various constituencies would like to be communicated with. Only then make your decisions. Investing in good research can save you money and headaches in the long run. Cheers and good luck! Ivana

   — Ivana P-Z    Jul 12, 02:34 PM    #

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