What we do
Campaign Planning
Our campaign planning generally leverages four key activities:
- Assess overall readiness through interviews with stakeholders on fundraising history, resources, and roles needed.
- Research prospects and volunteer leadership to identify candidate networks, interviewees, and campaign committee members.
- Develop and refine the preliminary case for support to compellingly convey the vision, plans, and impact while answering key questions on who, what, why, how, and when.
- Conduct feasibility interviews to gather input on campaign priorities, feedback on goals and messaging, assess potential leadership, and accelerate cultivation.
We will then prepare a formal report with findings and recommendations on:
- Refined campaign messaging
- Proposed structure and phasing
- Likely gift sources and ranges
- Leadership pipeline
- Initial budget
The result is a strategic roadmap for campaign success based on stakeholder perspectives and tailored to your organization's unique needs and culture.
How the engagement runs
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Test the goal
Before anyone announces a number, we test it. We study your donor base, interview your likely leadership donors, and weigh the moment. If the goal is too high, we say so. A campaign that stalls publicly costs more than the honest conversation would have.
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Build the plan
We build the gift chart, the case for support, the timeline, and the leadership structure. Every element is sized to your organization, not lifted from a template. The plan names who asks whom, for what, and when.
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Counsel the quiet phase
The campaign is won or lost in the leadership gifts. We prepare every major solicitation with your team, brief the askers, and debrief afterward. We are beside you for the conversations that decide the outcome.
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Stay through the close
We remain present through the public phase and the close, adjusting the plan as conditions change. Campaigns rarely unfold as drawn. The value of counsel is in the adjustments.
What you receive
- Feasibility findings, including an honest read on the goal
- A working gift chart built from your actual donor base
- A case for support your askers can use in the room
- A campaign plan and calendar with named roles
- Solicitation strategies for every lead gift
- Briefing materials for board and volunteer askers
Who does the work
The same senior partners stay with you from feasibility through the close. We do not hand the campaign to a different team after the plan is approved, because the plan is not the product. The campaign is. Expect a standing rhythm of working sessions, plus counsel on call when a gift conversation moves.
How fees work
Phased to match the work. Planning and feasibility are a fixed fee. Counsel through execution is a monthly retainer sized to the campaign's pace. We never take a percentage of funds raised. Your donors' gifts belong to your mission.
Senior consultants stay in the room from kickoff through implementation.
How we work
Let's talk
Ready to have a conversation?
We would be glad to learn about your organization. Please reach out any time. We answer our own phone.
Start a conversation- Phone
- +1 647-905-5878
- Offices
- Toronto | Chicago