Capital and Endowment Campaigns

The capital and/or endowment campaign is the largest and most often the important fundraising undertaking for any organization, large or small. Whether you are purchasing land or building new or renovated facilities, launching a campaign to fund your capital project requires careful planning, sound strategy and accurate timing to insure success. Likewise, determining when to launch an endowment campaign requires in-depth knowledge of your organization’s donor and prospect base, and involves extensive planning and strategy to provide legacy funding for the future.

M. Gale & Associates has decades of experience and a successful track record with capital campaigns.  Starting with the feasibility study which includes an internal readiness audit,
M. Gale & Associates assesses your project and goals and evaluates how effective your organization will be in launching a campaign to provide the necessary funding.  From analysis of project scope, goals, donor base and potential support to campaign leadership, staff and organizational readiness, the feasibility study will serve as the road map for the campaign plan.

A campaign strategy, timeline and plan are absolutely essential to your campaign’s success.
M. Gale & Associates develops detailed plans with realistic timelines that work with the strategy for your project.  Once the plan is complete, M. Gale & Associates will assist with the recruitment of passionate and effective campaign leadership, help determine the prospect base and develop specific and detailed cultivation and solicitation plans for every major gift prospect.

Leadership training for volunteers and staff assists your organization with managing the campaign and offers all involved clear guidelines and expectations for successful outcomes.

A fundraising campaign will affect every other development function in your organization and will impact almost all operational and marketing functions.   Organizations will have success in all areas - development, operations and marketing - during a campaign when they follow a comprehensive campaign strategy and plan.

M. Gale & Associates has the expertise to provide complete campaign management services as well as tailor services to meet your organization’s budget and needs.  If you are considering a campaign, call us today for early guidance.

Coaching Services

M. Gale & Associates provides coaching and consultation services to non-profit organizations to assist staff and leadership in accomplishing specific development and organizational goals.   Examples include:

  •  Development operations, department structure and skills assessment
  •  Staff development and training
  •  Board and leadership assessment and training
  •  Development plan assessment and implementation planning
  •  Fundraising strategy
  •  Relationship management strategy 
  •  Planned giving strategy and marketing
  •  Research and grant writing
  •  Communications and public relation plans

Coaching services are individually tailored and designed to jump-start an initiative, motivate staff and leadership to accomplish a specific goal.  Engagement length is determined through an initial project assessment and generally is scheduled for two to six months to best meet client needs.  

Corporate and Foundation Program Assessment & Strategy

M. Gale & Associates assists corporations and institutions to determine how best to fulfill corporate social responsibility when providing volunteer and charitable support to non-profit organizations.  Whether an organization desires to support a number of charities in the communities where it operates or work collectively to solve a human or environmental issue, corporations, like non-profits, require a road map and plan to fulfill their charitable and social responsibility.   

M. Gale & Associates meets with corporate leadership and assesses shareholder, employee and stakeholder groups to determine interests and how they align with the corporate mission and vision.  Recommendations and a comprehensive corporate social responsibility plan are provided.  Tools for evaluating and assessing plan effectiveness are also provided.   A public relations plan to communicate the corporation’s participation in community relations projects is also provided to insure that all stakeholders are aware of the company’s community initiatives.  

Development Audits & Planning

How effective is your organization’s fundraising program?  Are you maximizing resources and getting the biggest bang for your development effort?  Many development officers and volunteer leaders express fatigue over exhausting fundraising efforts that don’t always measure up to expectations.  A Development Audit allows organizations to step back and assess fundraising program effectiveness.  Focused on tying fundraising efforts directly to raising the funds needed to support the organization’s priorities, M. Gale & Associates, through careful analysis and input, provides feedback on how the donor and prospect base is responding to your fundraising plan.  We make recommendations that help you plan for success.

Adding strategy and focus to a fundraising effort allows the development professional to plan for the necessary tools, staff and leadership required to implement a successful plan.

If it's time you took a closer look at your fundraising plan, give us a call. We’re ready to help.

Development Office Assessment & Planning

Critical to the success of sound fundraising strategy and planning is a development office staff that is equipped with the right skill sets and tools to insure successful implementation.  M. Gale & Associates offers Development Office Assessment & Planning.  From basic research and data collection tools, to skill set assessment and training requirements, M. Gale & Associates will help you manage board and leadership expectations by providing an office plan that matches the requirements of your fundraising plan. M. Gale & Associates provides development office organizational structure and job assessment. We also assist with leadership and staff recruitment.

Feasibility Studies

The feasibility or planning study is the first and most important step your organization will take in planning a successful capital or endowment campaign.  Through the feasibility study, which includes an internal readiness audit, M. Gale & Associates assesses your project and goals and evaluates how effective your organization will be in launching a campaign to provide the necessary funding.  From analysis of scope, goal, donor base and potential support to campaign leadership, staff and organizational readiness, the feasibility study will serve as the road map for the campaign plan.

A feasibility study should be conducted when the campaign project scope is defined and can be done in concert with project planning.  Over a three month period, M. Gale & Associates provides a preliminary Case for Support to be tested with your donor constituency, provides face to face interviews with primary stakeholders as well as provides telephone, mail or web-based survey capabilities for large base testing.  M. Gale & Associates provides the interview tools and experienced fundraising professionals to conduct interviews.

Clients are provided detailed summaries of interviews in aggregate to insure confidentiality and integrity of survey participants, a complete compilation of study notes and professional observations.

M. Gale & Associates provides a validation and recommendation for the project goal, timeline and a comprehensive campaign strategy and plan.  All recommendations are presented in writing and in person to the organization and its leadership.   If you are considering a feasibility study in preparation for a campaign to fund a major project or program at your organization, call us today for early guidance.

Fundraising Strategy

Fundraising strategy is tailored to meet an organization’s mission, vision, purpose and priorities.  Understanding all of the factors impacting an organization’s ability to meet its fundraising objectives is essential to an effective strategy.   A strategy that a large organization with a loyal donor constituency may have to endow operations is very different than the strategy a young organization may have to meet its yearly operations goals.  The fundraising strategy is different than the fundraising plan.  The strategy is the bringing together of organizational mission, donor interest, leadership passion and staff’s ability to determine the course and fundraising direction.  Once a sound strategy is developed, the fundraising plan follows.

M. Gale & Associates is prepared to lead your organization through a fundraising strategic plan.  The fundraising strategic plan ideally occurs concurrently with the organizational strategic plan or can occur immediately following.  All non-profit organizational strategic plans call for fundraising but many lack sound fundraising strategy.   Learn how to best synchronize fundraising strategy into your plan by calling M. Gale & Associates.

Relationship Management Strategy

Managing relationships with your organization’s supporters is both an art and a science.  Connecting with donors through leadership, volunteer involvement, personal contact and sharing of ideas and information will help donors feel like insiders. It also keeps your organization relevant to them.

Developing strategies to systematically keep in close communication with supporters and training leadership and staff to “stay in touch” are the two key components to an effective Relationship Management Strategy.

M. Gale & Associates provides comprehensive relationship management strategies tailored to fit the individualized personality of your organization and its constituencies.  Relationship management is an essential component to long term and lasting fundraising success and the key to successful major gift fundraising.

Develop your organization’s relationship management strategy today.

Stewardship & Donor Recognition

Thanking and recognizing givers to your organization inspires them to keep on giving.  A thoughtful donor recognition plan utilizes the organization’s mission and case for support to provide gift-giving opportunities that will fulfill your organization’s needs and provide for lasting and meaningful recognition.  M. Gale & Associates is experienced in developing ongoing stewardship and donor recognition plans that will keep you in close communication with your donors, especially when you are NOT asking for a gift.

We often start this discussion by posing a few questions that donors may present to an organization:
  “What could you use my $10 million for today?”
  “How would it help you if you I gave you $1 this year and every year?”
  “I’ve got a few extra hours to offer, could you use my gift of time this week?”

While these questions may be categorized as request or donor giving questions, a strong stewardship and donor recognition program will provide effortless responses with gift giving options that will provide your donors with satisfaction and appropriate recognition for their support.

M. Gale & Associates also works with clients by creating specially designed donor recognitions systems for campaigns and open recognition and will assist with the implementation of securing donor recognition signage, art pieces, and tailored recognition gift and communication pieces.

Strategic Planning & Board Training

In any organization, strong board and committee leadership is essential to identify organizational goals, priorities and the resources necessary to complete them in a timely manner. M. Gale & Associates, LLC will conduct a Strategic Planning Meeting and Board Training in order to help organizations reach these goals.
 
The Strategic Planning meeting of Board of Directors, staff and committees furthers the cohesiveness of those individuals dedicated to your organization, while identifying areas of interest and expertise.
 
The Strategic Planning Meeting will also:
 
  •  Solidify your vision and mission
  •  Formulate organizational goals
  •  Discuss priorities
  •  Identify obstacles to success
  •  Craft objectives
  •  Develop realistic timelines
  •  Create projects and duties with accountability
  •  Review the need for and implementation of resources
  •  Document findings and action items
 
M. Gale & Associates, LLC will assist in the development of an agenda, facilitate the meeting itself and provide a report of meeting outcomes with a written summary of the retreat for the group’s use and to help finalize future goals.  A customized template that includes easy-to-use interfaces with the capability to edit and update action items and their status is provided.