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Hiring a fundraising consultant best practices

Growing your donor database with innovative technology

By Steier Wire

How does an abbey and prep school in Southern California have donors in more than 41 states and 11 countries? The case for support from Catholics and others living in Southern California is obvious — the Norbertine Fathers of St. Michael’s provide numerous services to the local community on a daily basis. But there are undoubtedly great nonprofits and religious organizations having an impact in each of those states and countries. So how did St. Michael’s grow this support from outside its obvious target area? In part through developing its advancement office’s skills in an emerging piece of the fundraising…

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How to start a capital campaign

By Steier Tips

For most nonprofits, a capital campaign is the result of many months, if not years, of strategic planning and preparation. Typically, an organization has established some long-term goals and projects that are too large to be funded through normal operating revenue. Now, what are the next steps? How do I start a capital campaign? Here are the five key steps in transitioning from strategic planning to conducting a campaign: Identify your organization’s needs: Before moving forward with a capital campaign, you should be able to answer “yes” to this question: Is the need – as defined by leadership – real?…

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Eight capital campaign strategies that work

By Steier Tips

Every capital campaign is different. The organization’s mission and vision, the campaign goals, the donor base, the availability of willing volunteers – all of these factors contribute to making each project unique. However, there are techniques that apply to almost all organizations. Here are eight capital campaign strategies that work: Campaign planning studies: Even before a decision is made about whether to conduct a campaign, a thorough campaign planning study will set you on the path for future success. A study will test support for the proposed projects, help you establish realistic goals and identify potential donors and volunteers. Beyond…

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How can a capital campaign consultant help guide you through this fundraising process? Think of the three A’s of consulting - assess, advise and act.

What do capital campaign consultants do?

By Steier Tips

As a nonprofit leader, you know the extraordinary effort you and your staff put forth to fulfill your mission. It takes passion and determination to serve your community. You must also cultivate, solicit and thank donors to meet your organization’s current needs while always keeping an eye to the future. Add in strategic planning, hiring and budgeting and it can be an overwhelming task! Now consider launching a full-scale capital campaign and the phrase “there are not enough hours in the day” comes to mind. You will need help to do the job right, and that’s exactly what a capital…

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Research demonstrates the value of personal visits to fundraising

By Steier Wire

For 20 years, the Steier Group has relied on data analytics to manage our successful campaigns. Our statistics show what we know from experience: People give more to religious and community organizations when they are asked in person for support. The Steier Group recently embarked on a major, two-year research project to quantify exactly how much more effective personal visits are than other solicitation methods. We tracked 51 campaigns and 22,757 donor decisions, analyzing the size of gifts relative to how prospective donors were asked for support. We found that donors, when asked in person, give 54 percent of their…

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What is capital campaign management?

By Steier Tips

“There just isn’t enough time in a day.” How many times have you found yourself speaking or thinking this statement? How many times have you heard that from your organization’s employees or volunteers? Within your organization, chances are good your devoted employees log more than 40 hours each week so that your organization can continue to serve your community. Now imagine adding an additional full-time job – requiring another 40 hours per week – to your employees’ or volunteers’ plate. That’s what capital campaign management is: a full-time job. Managing a capital campaign includes a variety of jobs that exceed…

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After 20 years, the Steier Group formula for capital campaign success remains the same

By Steier Tips

In 1997, I was 31 years old, Mary and I had recently welcomed our second son without knowing that three more would soon follow. I was discerning a career change from the family-run fundraising consulting firm where I was employed. After my best friend passed away, leaving behind his wife and young daughter, the pull became that much stronger. It was then I decided that life was too short not to take the proverbial leap of faith and I decided to start the Steier Group. From day one, we focused on providing our clients with the best service possible. We…

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Why run a capital campaign?

By Steier Tips, Uncategorized

Your board members are in agreement: It’s time for a capital campaign. For many nonprofit CEOs, the thought of launching a capital campaign is a daunting one. You know there will be months of hard work ahead. There are volunteers to recruit, donors to evaluate, a communications plan to implement and special events to host. The list goes on and on. With so many moving parts in a campaign, it can be easy to lose sight of the benefits to your organization. It begs the question, why run a capital campaign?  A recent study conducted by the Nonprofit Research Collaborative…

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Why do capital campaigns fail?

By Steier Tips

Everyone likes to be part of a winning team. Be it sports or politics, we all want to support a winner. That attitude is alive in the fundraising world, too, as people like to know their investment is paying dividends. The payoff is delivered by seeing their nonprofit of choice continuing its mission. But, just as our favorite sports team doesn’t always win the big game, sometimes capital campaigns fail. It’s an unpleasant reality that CEOs, board members and donors occasionally must face. It can be avoided with proper planning. Why does an organization sometimes fall short of its campaign…

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New Year’s resolutions that could hinder your nonprofit’s fundraising

By Steier Tips

In the last twenty years, I have seen many New Year’s resolutions drafted by nonprofit leaders — some were achieved and others were forgotten. As you plan for the future, here are a few resolutions to avoid, as they could do serious harm to your organization’s mission: This year, we’ll rely on our staff. Managing volunteers is just too messy. At first, it may seem wise to leave the fulfillment of your mission to trained professionals. It is a challenge to manage and retain good volunteers. However, volunteers serve a critical role in your organization. They are ambassadors of goodwill…

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