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Hiring a fundraising consultant best practices

May 14 2021

Capital campaign fundraising costs explained

By Steier Tips

Warning! This Steier Tips article is laced with clichés and overused statements – but they all are purposely included to make the point that partnering with a professional stewardship, fundraising and development firm to run your capital campaign is a wise investment. Don’t go it alone (cliché No. 1) Launching a capital campaign is important, serious business. Some nonprofits are equipped to run their own – if they have a team of professionals on staff who have the experience and time to manage it. Keep in mind, running a campaign is a full-time job – which is why we assign…

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Sep 30 2020

Roadmap to recovery

By Steier Wire

To say that the events of 2020 flipped fundraising (and the world as a whole) on its head would be an understatement: millions sick, hundreds of thousands dead, cities and states locked down, churches and schools closed, economic struggles, millions more out of work. Some Catholic communities are suffering too. Mass attendance is down as parishes grapple with local restrictions and safety concerns. Offertory income is declining. In some extreme cases, operational shortfalls are causing Catholic schools to shut their doors permanently. All the while, pastors wonder if parishioners will ultimately return in the same numbers they did before the…

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Jun 02 2020

Now’s the time to consider a capital campaign

By Steier Tips

The idea of running a planning (feasibility) study or fundraising campaign while society adjusts to life with COVID-19 may seem a bit crazy. But is it? Over the past several months, the Steier Group has seen a significant evolution in thinking about fundraising during this crisis. In March and April of 2020, nonprofits were rightfully hesitant and unsure about how to proceed. Many determined it was best to weather the storm, hoping that as the situation improved, things would return to normal. We all now recognize “normal” has taken on a whole new meaning and, if we don’t adapt, it…

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Apr 15 2020

Can you fundraise during the COVID-19 crisis?

By Steier Tips

“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself” President Franklin Roosevelt’s 1933 inaugural address Nearly 90 years later, these words should again serve to comfort and inspire Americans. Just as the Great Depression caused distress for our nation, so too has the deadly COVID-19 virus. The economic effects of the pandemic have some nonprofits questioning their fundraising efforts, including capital campaigns. How should we proceed? Is this the right time to ask for support? Should we wait for a return to normalcy? As nonprofit leaders wrestle with those questions, they may draw inspiration from a pair of Steier Group…

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Mar 12 2020

Four traits of a successful feasibility study

By Steier Tips

What if you could predict the success of your capital campaign in just a few short weeks? Good news – you can. A well-managed, successful feasibility study can help you test interest in your proposed plans, identify volunteers, hear from your key donors, and, most importantly, forecast the funds you’ll raise in your capital campaign. However, not all planning studies are created equal. Here are a few key characteristics of a fruitful study: A strong response rate: A well-managed planning study gathers a wide response across all groups of constituents. A good mantra to follow is: if you are going to…

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Oct 09 2019

Building faith through stewardship

By Steier Wire

Every day, 100 workers descend on the campus of St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church for construction of a larger, permanent church and a new school gym for the growing parish in Wichita, Kansas. The Rev. Dan Spexarth, pastor, said parishioners drive through the parking lot at “1 mile per hour” just so they can get a closer look at the projects taking shape. “It’s very exciting,’’ Spexarth said. The parish’s Out of Love for God campaign is funding the projects. The dynamic parish in northwest Wichita partnered with the Steier Group on that successful effort in 2018, raising more…

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Oct 08 2019

Inspiring capital campaign success in new communities

By Steier Wire

For the firm’s first 17 years, the Steier Group thrived while conducting campaign planning studies and capital campaigns for faith-based organizations. Over the last five years, our firm has built on that success by expanding our services to include executive counsel, development audits, planned giving counsel and parish audits. But the most exciting change is finding new partners in new places. Working in new locations or with a new type of organization provides the Steier Group a chance to grow as a firm. Currently, the Steier Group is working with its first international client – the Diocese of Hamilton in…

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Oct 08 2019

For the Diocese of Wichita, stewardship is a way of life

By Steier Wire

For the Diocese of Wichita, stewardship is not a goal; it’s a way of life. This diocese strives to be a community that gives generously, sacrificially and proportionally while sharing responsibility for the mission of the Church. There’s a reason they are known nationally for dedication to stewardship. When the diocese hired the Steier Group, deepening the practice of stewardship was as high a priority as raising funds to renovate the cathedral, invest in seminarian education and grow Catholic education endowments. The successful campaign raised $26 million on an $11 million goal. Most important to Mike Wescott, Wichita’s Director of…

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Apr 03 2019

Five capital campaign mistakes and how to avoid them

By Steier Tips

If you’re like many of the nonprofits with which we partner at the Steier Group, it’s been several years – or possibly even several decades – since your last capital campaign. You may be wondering how to start a campaign in the first place. And certainly, you’re hoping to avoid any capital campaign mistakes that could derail your effort. Even the most well-meaning nonprofit CEOs and development directors can make mistakes when it comes to capital campaigns. Many of these leaders conduct only a few campaigns over the course of their careers. Here are five of the most common capital campaign…

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Jan 08 2019

Timing is key during transition from a planning study into a capital campaign

By Steier Tips

Great news! Your organization’s recently-completed planning study found strong support for a capital campaign. Your donors are fired up and ready to support such a transformational fundraising effort. You have interested volunteers and leaders excited to step up. What’s your next step? At the Steier Group, we advise our clients to start the capital campaign immediately – preferably in less than two weeks. We have found that delaying the start of a capital campaign after a successful planning study can hinder the success of the effort. In 194 church capital campaigns over the last 10 years, we found that clients…

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