YOUR CRITERIA FOR SUCCESS
The Six Things You MUST Have in Place
to Succeed In a Major Gifts Campaign

Whether you are planning to launch a capital campaign or another major gifts effort, there are certain essential conditions that you and your organization must meet for you to be successful. At Jeffrey Byrne & Associates, Inc., we call these your Criteria for Success. In the last issue of “News You Can Use,” we introduced the first criterion. In future issues, we plan to highlight more about how you can use these six simple rules to measure your readiness to launch a major giving campaign. For a complete list of the six Criteria for Success, visit our website at : www.jeffreybyrneandassociates.com.

Criterion Number 6-
Proper Timing

The timing for a capital or endowment campaign must be taken into account. The campaign must be the center of attention for the organization, its constituents, the board members, staff and prospective donors. There should be no other efforts competing with the capital campaign as they may diminish both the effort and the financial resources.

One of the most frequently asked questions of board and staff leaders considering a campaign is “Is this the right time for us to do this?” If the need is present and you have done the proper planning and feel you do (or can) meet the other Criteria for Success, generally the answer is: “There’s no time like the present.”

In recent weeks, media have been reporting an upturn in the economy. American optimism has grown with the capture of Saddam Hussein. Historical data indicates that charitable giving increases as we approach each four-year presidential election cycle.

The truth is, even without these turns of events, campaigns have been succeeding. And, yes, this is just as true over the past 24 months as it was prior to 9-11. This summer, Giving USA reported that despite lower corporate profits and a lagging market, charitable giving was up in 2002 over 2001. And while corporate giving was up a whopping 11% -- in part due to payoffs of pledges for 9-11 recovery efforts – individuals still make up about 87% of total charitable giving in the United States, which last year was reported at more than $240 billion.

Closer to home, we are finding that the economy has had some impact on those prospective donors who, during the go-go ‘90’s, relied on current disposable income and stock options to fund their charitable giving. Those with traditional wealth and those who are giving from their savings and investments and are making decisions based on need, the project and the organization’s mission are still giving – and giving generously.

It is up to you to unlock that charitable giving potential for your project through prospect research, proper cultivation and developing the right strategy for the solicitation.

No Other Efforts
Certainly, we ask about competing efforts in the community when we interview constituency and community leaders in a feasibility study. This leads to a discussion of how those campaigns are proceeding – who is succeeding and who is not, and why.

When we talk about competing efforts in the context of the Criteria for Success, we acknowledge that in a few circumstances other community campaigns may take away from the attention, time and resources of prospective donors and volunteers. More important, however, is that no other competing internal efforts draw away from the campaign for those who are close to the organization, as volunteers, donors and staff. An organization undergoing a major shift in operations should probably consider timing for a campaign. So should the group that has just dismantled a major program that was a favorite of long-time donors. A new CEO may join an organization and plan for a campaign, but might need time to build credibility and community confidence before launching one.

To succeed, your campaign must be the center of your organization’s attention and focus. Your volunteer leaders must understand it, the need for it and commit to its importance. Your CEO and chief development officer must make campaign planning and activities a top priority among their other management duties. With the assistance of counsel, you must be able to “move” the process forward to maintain momentum.

Campaigns that fail to make the effort the priority within their organization lose momentum and risk failure. When volunteers, donors and staff are involved, excited and informed, exciting things happen for your campaign and your organization.

Entering a campaign is an extremely important decision. It likely only happens within your organization once every five to 10 years… or more. When you are considering a campaign, ask how you and your volunteers will commit to the project and the campaign process to help ensure success!

For more information on how your organization can assess its readiness for a capital or endowment campaign, call Jeffrey Byrne & Associates, Inc., at 1-800-222-9233 or visit our website at www.jeffreybyrneandassociates.com