Feasibility Studies
A capital campaign feasibility study tells you, before you launch, whether your goal is within reach and whether your donors, leaders and staff are ready. Foster Avenue runs the study itself. The same team then builds your case for support from what your donors told us.
What a study tells you
Whether you can reach the goal
Your likely leadership donors tell you what they might give, and whether the total supports your goal.
Which priorities move donors
Donors react most strongly to the priorities. If one does not land, the study shows you before you ask anyone for a gift.
Who will lead
You learn which donors and volunteers are ready to give early and help ask others.
Whether you are ready inside
The study looks at your board, your leaders and your advancement staff, and names what to fix before launch.
When to launch
You get a launch plan based on what donors told you.
A good study ends with a plan
A study rarely ends in a simple yes or no. More often it shows what has to happen first: which lead gifts to secure, how long the quiet phase should run, which priority to open with, or what goal the evidence supports. We would rather you find a surprise in the study than in the ask.
How our study works
We write the preliminary case
A short version of your case, often about 15 slides or a short letter. It states your campaign rationale and priorities so donors have something real to react to.
We talk with the people who will decide the campaign
We share the preliminary case with a small group of lead prospects, board members and others whose views count, and we hold confidential conversations to hear what they really think.
We report what we heard and what to do next
A recommended goal and the plan to reach it, such as an investment model, the financial case for the goal and a phased roadmap to launch.
You only interview your leaders once
When one firm runs the study and another writes the case, your president and your top donors often sit for two rounds of interviews. With Foster Avenue, the people who ask the study questions also write the case. What donors say in the study goes straight into the case for support.
Questions we hear
What is a capital campaign feasibility study?
A study that tests a planned campaign with the people most likely to fund it, before the institution commits to a public goal. It looks at the goal, the priorities, the likely leadership donors and the institution’s readiness.
Do we need a feasibility study?
Most institutions planning a large campaign run one. It is the cheapest time to learn that a goal is too high or a priority will not raise money.
What if the study says we are not ready?
Then you have learned it at the right time. Most studies end with a plan: lead gifts to secure, a longer quiet phase, a different first priority, or a goal the evidence supports.
What is a preliminary case for support?
A short version of your case, written for the study. It gives donors something concrete to react to, so their answers are about your real plan. It is a test, and it will change.
Who should run our feasibility study?
Someone your donors will speak with openly, who will tell you what they heard even when it is hard. Ask any firm you consider who will do the interviews, and whether that person will still be on your campaign after the study.
Let’s Talk About Your Campaign
One team for campaign counsel and campaign communications, from the first planning question through the public launch.