Are Campaign Consultants Really Worth the Price You Pay?

November 3, 2016

Avoiding the Pitfalls

Do you want success in your church capital campaign? It’s a key question that virtually every pastor wants to answer affirmatively. Yet pastors often relate horror stories about not achieving their goals. In many cases the failed campaign was poorly conceived and that created divisions in the church that were difficult to overcome. So how can a pastor avoid this?

First, it’s important for pastors to realize that they may need help. It never ceases to amaze me how some churches are willing to spend sizeable sums on architectural fees. Yet, they don’t think they need assistance in fundraising. Consider that if your campaign fails to achieve its goal the construction costs and architectural fees don’t change.

We had a church come to us for help, but at the last minute the deacons thought they could save money by implementing the campaign themselves. The project goal was $12 million, but they raised less than $2 million. Architectural fees alone on this project were over $1,000,000. Yet, they were reluctant to pay our fee, which was $70,000 total for the planning (feasibility) study and campaign counsel.

Increase the Likelihood of Success

Of course, using counsel doesn’t guarantee success. However, if you follow the plan and the advice the consultant gives you, the likelihood of success is much higher. It stands to reason that if the person helping you organize and implement your church financial stewardship campaign does this every day, you’ll avoid some common mistakes and increase the likelihood of success.

Even the most competent church member, will not have the time to organize and implement the campaign the way they should. When our church was getting ready to launch a capital campaign, our pastor recruited me to chair the $26 million effort. That made sense, since at the time I was the chief development officer at a well-known university. Also, we had also just completed a successful capital campaign ourselves.

I agreed, but I also realized that ours was a mega-church. I simply lacked the time to set up the systems and do all of the campaign organization and training necessary for success. Besides, the model for a church campaign is entirely different than that of a university campaign. Accordingly, I recommended that we hire a consulting firm to partner with us. We did, and it resulted in raising over $30 million.

Follow Wise Counsel

An equally important principle to consider is that if you hire a campaign consultant, you need to follow his or her advice. In our 20-year history of doing church campaigns, we’ve only had one church fail to achieve its goal. I believe they failed because there were four major strategies we recommended, but the pastor and leadership team decided not to implement them.

Simply stated, if you pay someone who is experienced, it’s important to follow his or her recommendations. It is in the consultant’s best interest to help you achieve success, and he or she will no doubt bring you best practices. You need to trust them. If you do that, you will also realize that the advice you received was well worth the price!

“I really support The Covenant Group’s strategic planning process because their approach encourages staff-based support with board buy-in, and I felt that was important given what we were trying to achieve. The outcome is an effective plan that builds consensus and provides a clear sense of direction.”
- Jennifer Scott, Director of Development - The Cabbage Patch Settlement House

“The Covenant Group is highly competent, very experienced and knowledgeable. They provided a broad perspective by equipping us with useful data…and best practices in the field. All in all, they are excellent.”
- Dan Jones, CEO - 21st Century Parks

“The campaign has truly been a miracle. People were committed from the beginning, but…even raising $650,000 seemed like a stretch. To nearly double that amount is incredible! When the plan they developed allows you to hit a goal like that, it builds such a sense of community. The momentum built by the campaign is spilling outside the walls of our church and benefiting others in the process.”
-Father John Hollowell - Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Catholic Church

“For those of us who don’t do this everyday, The Covenant Group instilled confidence in us. They helped us get through the fear and apprehension by providing us with a process, training and motivation. They taught us and helped us plan in a way that was for the better. We have built lasting relationships with donors and we will continue to steward these relationships long into the future.”
- Sue Finke, Director of Institutional Advancement - Covington Catholic High School

“No one anticipated we could raise this amount. Even the Archdiocese is surprised. The funds raised represent about 15 times our annual giving. But it’s not just the financial results. People stand around talking more than they did before the campaign. There is also a renewed and energized spirit among the parishioners. It’s the most exciting thing to happen in our parish in the last 100 years.”
- Gary Libs, Campaign Co-Chair - St. Mary of the Knobs Catholic Church

“The Covenant Group’s process involved a lot of people in our congregation doing small tasks … that built ownership. They took our vision and put it into a concrete plan. They helped us understand the importance of making our vision clear and laid out the steps to make the vision a reality. Their process built consensus and showed people how they could help. Their methods are based on a solid theological foundation that includes key documents, prayer support, and requisite training … all of which were invaluable.”
- Daniel Montgomery, Pastor - Sojourn Community Church

“Everything The Covenant Group did to help us…in the initial stages was helpful…the development of the case statement; our materials; the training of our Board members; strategies; all these steps laid the foundation for eventual success. They brought such a high level of professionalism, a wealth of experience and a strong track record of integrity and success… just being associated with The Covenant Group helped us.”
- Nancy Doctor, Development Director - Wellspring

“The structure The Covenant Group provided was excellent. It allowed our members to use their God-given talents to benefit the church community They helped us develop a plan and identify key leadership candidates to chair the effort, as well as engaging between 80 to 100 people to carry out the work of the campaign. It was truly a whole congregation effort and The Covenant Group helped facilitate that. They helped us reach our full potential as a congregation.”
- Ron Poisel, Pastor - Christ Lutheran Church

Are Campaign Consultants Really Worth the Price You Pay?

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