Author: Cheryl Gurr
Ronald McDonald House Charities Kentuckiana
The team at Ronald McDonald House Charities Kentuckiana (RMHCK) understands families in crisis who deal with serious illness. In fact, children whose families stay at RMHCK tend to be the sickest. They also travel the furthest and experience the longest hospital stays. With just 36 guest rooms, too often the House is full and families have to be turned away (over 550 times in 2016 & 2017) .
CEO Hal Hedley explains, “We knew we needed to expand our capacity. We acquired the building next door and planned to renovate it and connect it to our main facility. Doing this would allow us to increase the number of guest rooms to 56. We also planned to renovate our existing facility”. Although the original campaign target was $15 million, it was raised to $21 million due to increased construction and operational costs.
The nonprofit selected The Covenant Group to conduct a feasibility study and then help launch the super-sized campaign. Hedley credits the study with helping identify both current donors that would support the projects as well as new, prospective donors “not already on their radar”. He also noted that talking to stakeholders allowed them to uncover what questions and concerns potential donors had about the projects. “Knowing these issues upfront helped us provide clear answers that were conveyed in our campaign materials. We had the answers prepared even before the questions were asked”.
The team at RMHCK was not new to capital campaigns. In fact, The Covenant Group had helped the organization previously conduct a $3 million campaign that allowed them to renovate 7,000 sq. ft. of space. Hedley pointed out that the scope and size of this campaign were much greater with a goal of $21 million and the plan to renovate 60,000 sq. ft. that spans two buildings.
Hedley called The Covenant Group the campaign architect. “They helped put together timelines and developed a structure that made it possible for us to achieve our goals. They also helped us open doors with new donors some of which resulted in major gifts. In addition, they trained our Board to give them confidence in conducting personal solicitations”. “Thorough, responsive, strong planners, and good trainers” are some of the terms he used to describe The Covenant Group.
Today, funds raised in the campaign effort total $19.5 million, just shy of the $21 million goal. Hedley forecasts that both the fundraising and the construction will be complete next year. He added, “The campaign has helped us broaden our base of support. This will not only help us achieve the campaign goal but ensure we have the funds needed to cover ongoing operations as well.”
Hedley states that he would recommend The Covenant Group to others seeking campaign counsel. He explains, “We appreciate The Covenant Group putting together a plan that has helped us be successful in raising the funds needed to complete this transformational project”. At the end of the day it will help RMHCK Keep more families close and that is the most important result.
Building a Contagious Culture
Recent research places U.S. unemployment at 3.7% (tradingeconomics.com). With joblessness hovering at record lows, and minimum wage on the rise, it’s difficult for employers to recruit and retain top talent. Yet, there are companies with a kind of “secret sauce” that seems to keep staff engaged and content even in this “job-seeker market”.
Last week, the Louisville’s Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) hosted a meeting entitled, “Building a Contagious Culture”. Scott Colosi, retired President of Texas Roadhouse (TRH), spoke about what sets this high energy, steakhouse chain apart from others. He also related how the (TRH) “secret sauce” applies to nonprofit organizations. This blog recaps 5 of his key points.
1. Know your mission. It’s important that everyone understand the organization’s mission. At TRH the mission is simple. Legendary food… Legendary service. This common mission unites people across the brand (from dishwashers to the CEO) under a common purpose. For nonprofits, mission is key in building a strong case for support. People in all roles should be able to clearly and passionately articulate the mission. This helps them share stories of success and it provides reasons why the organization is worthy of support.
2. Find Balance. Often organizations struggle to find an appropriate balance between discipline and fun. Scott mentioned this as a real strength in the TRH culture. To illustrate he shared a few stories.
For example, to keep things lively, one Wednesday someone walked a baby camel through the offices, mimicking the popular Geico commercial for “Hump Day”. Also, he shared that TRH provides opportunities for employees to volunteer (even during work hours).
But Scott was also quick to add that while fun is important, it is equally essential to maximize productivity through discipline. For many nonprofits, simply keeping up with the daily tasks (client needs, operations, fundraising, capital campaigns) leaves little time left for fun. Yet, it is vital, even in the midst of demanding schedules, for nonprofit employees to find time to laugh, bond and enjoy their work.
3. Empower Employees. Freedom to make both decisions and mistakes allows employees to contribute and be creative. Scott noted that TRH encourages staff to try new things and challenge the status quo. Sometimes this moves the organization in an even better direction. Listening goes hand-in-hand with empowerment. Effective leaders seek and hear feedback and consider new ideas from employees at all levels. Often at TRH the best ideas come from workers in their stores. Similarly, nonprofits can learn a lot simply by seeking input and listening to stakeholders. Allowing staff and donors to contribute ideas, feelings and advice builds buy-in and often improves results.
4. Think Long-Term. Focusing on long-term rather than immediate results may seem counter-productive. It means doing right things immediately, even though they may be costly. Though you may lose short-term money, such decisions can produce hefty long-term results. For example, during a slow period TRH resisted cutting staff and benefits for short-term gain. The results were long-term profitability through employee retention, perceived organizational integrity and sales growth. While many nonprofits face similar budgetary concerns, it’s important not to lose a long-term view in decision-making.
5. Care About People. In the final analysis Scott was talking about building a contagious culture by respecting and caring for people, demonstrating to stakeholders that, “We care”. At TRH stakeholders include employees, guests, investors and vendors. At nonprofits, it’s staff, donors, volunteers and the extended community. Decisions are based not only on what’s profitable but also on what best cares for others. Loyalty to stakeholders breeds loyalty. Certainly this requires time, but personal touches tell people they’re valued, and when people feel valued results become contagious.
A Salute to the Heroes
Last week, our firm’s President, Len Moisan, had the pleasure of traveling to Lynchburg, Virginia to celebrate his father-in-law’s 100th birthday. While making it to this milestone is quite an achievement in itself, George Rogers is not your typical centenarian.
An American Hero
Mr. Rogers is a great American patriot, a decorated war hero and a survivor of the Bataan Death March. The March came after the attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941. The Japanese landed the next day near Luzon in the Philippines. In January the allied troops retreated to Manila and then to Bataan under heavy fire. On April 9, 1942, after fierce fighting, General Edward King finally surrendered.
Bataan Death March
The surviving forces, numbering about 76,000 Americans and Filipinos, were forced to march over 100 kilometers in what became known as the Bataan Death March. The trip lasted several days in scorching heat, with no planned food or water stops. Since the troops had been on limited rations, they were already weak and tired. Men carried sick friends but as they fell, they’d be shot, stabbed by bayonets or run over by tanks. By the end of the march, 10,000 men had died. Immediately, survivors were loaded into steel boxcars and shipped to Camp O’Donnell with temperatures inside reaching 120 degrees.
George and the other prisoners were eventually shipped to Japan and forced into hard labor in a steel mill. During 3 1/2 years in prison camp, George was on a starvation diet that left his 6’3″ frame weighing only 85 pounds. In addition to the hard work, he endured beatings, humiliation, Malaria, Dry Beriberi, dysentery, burying 1,600 Americans and much more at the hands of his captors.
Never Losing Hope
Despite these circumstances; he wasn’t defeated and he never lost hope. That’s what true leaders do. George survived in captivity, because of two things. First, he had faith and believed in God. Second, those beliefs helped George create a vision, which transcended his present circumstances and encouraged him to plan for the future. Thinking about Mr. Roger’s selfless service to our country and the sacrifices he and his fellow soldiers made got me thinking about other heroes who’s efforts often go unnoticed.
Heroes in our Schools
This June, my daughter will graduate high school. As I think about her journey through her educational experience, I am reminded of the many teachers, staff, and administrators who helped guide her to this point. I think about teachers, like Mrs. Higdon, who helped develop in Erica a love for math. She encouraged her to challenge herself by taking hard classes and taught her to not fear difficult content. Then, there was Dr. Bentley, her AP Physics teacher. When I questioned her readiness to take such a difficult class, he voiced his confidence in her ability to handle the subject matter. He helped Erica uncover an untapped gift in science that is driving her to study medicine as she moves into her college coursework.
There were other heroes along the way. Teachers who came in early or stayed late to help students so they could better understand difficult content, make up tests, or just provide a listening ear. There was Mr. Ross, her middle school principal who made every child in the school feel welcome. He made it a point to personally greet the students and he seemed to keep an extra eye out for those who didn’t fit in quite as easily. He found ways to make everyone feel included.
Heroes in our Community
In addition to educational heroes, I think about others in our community who give generously and unselfishly to promote the common good. I think of non-profit leaders who feed the hungry, house the homeless, provide a safe place for the abused, or a home away from home for parents of seriously ill children. I think of those who build parks, provide educational scholarships and help the developmentally disabled live lives of independence and there are so many others.
To the heroes who go to war or serve selflessly in the military, to the teachers who encourage students to dream, achieve and reach for their goals, to those who offer help to the hurting or invest in ways that make our community strong…I salute your leadership. Please know that your efforts have not gone unnoticed or unappreciated. Keep doing what you do to serve, inspire and lead. We are all better off because of these heroes.
Getting to Know Your Next Gen Donors
Last week I attended an Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) monthly meeting. The topic was Getting to Know Your Next Gen Donors. The content included giving trends highlighted in a recent report “The Next Generation of American Giving”. It also included a 6-person panel discussion with 2 representatives from each of the following generations: Generation X (born 1965 – 1980), Millennials or Generation Y (born 1981 – 1995) and Generation Z (born 1996 and after).
The purpose of the session was to determine if the study findings were consistent with the actual giving behaviors of each of the respective generations. The study itself revealed some interesting results. For example, fewer Americans are giving. Even though total dollars donated continues to increase, the population of givers is declining. Research comparing 2013 to 2018 giving figures showed a marked decline in donors to charities. This is true for all generations, with the exception of Baby Boomers. Giving by Boomers represents 41% of all money donated last year and 75% of Boomers self-report giving.
The session focused on some key take-aways that fundraising professionals should consider when deciding how to approach the up and coming givers.
Don’t Underestimate Generation X.
There tend to be misconceptions that Gen X is a small sliver of the population sandwiched between two giant generations (Boomers and Millennials). However, research demonstrates there are 65.6 million people in this group. Of this population about 55% give an average of $921 annually to about 3 charities. Other studies show that amount is much higher. Also, Pew Research suggests that Gen X will exceed Boomers in 2025, making the reign of Gen X as prime donors less than 10 years away. This generation is the ideal target for bequests, planned gifts and workplace giving. Smart fundraisers will begin to plan strategies accordingly now.
Donor Retention is Becoming Increasingly Important.
The same report states that first year donor retention still remains between 25%-30%. Considering the fact that the donor population is shrinking, retention becomes even more paramount. Successful fundraisers must find new ways to keep donors. One strategy discussed suggests focusing on a multi-generational approach. Involving multiple generations of donors within a family as a way of retaining donor and affinity beyond the lifespan of the first donor. Finding ways to listen to and engage family members across multiple generations (parents, heirs) may help improve retention and increase donations. Panelists at the session cited examples that supported this fact. Many mentioned learning philanthropy from their parents or grandparents. An important idea to remember is that “Fundraising is not mining or hunting’ it’s farming.” Sowing seeds across multiple generations through relationship building and cultivation is a strategy that should reap a beneficial harvest over time. Also engaging Millennials and post-Millennials today in volunteer efforts may help them become financial donors in the future.
Create a Transparent Culture
Transparency on how dollars are used remains a key concern for many donors. Successful nonprofits create a transparent culture that communicates the outcomes from the funds raised. Donors want to see this and it greatly assists fundraising effectiveness. For all generations, except Gen Z, donors use a nonprofit’s website as the main source to learn about causes they’re considering. That means your website should make it easy for donors to find answers. They want to know how funds are used and amounts that go for programs vs. overhead. Panelists also cited referrals by friends and family as key sources to learn about causes.
While the next 10 years will see Boomers as the prominent giving sector, multi-generational strategies are vital. With Generation X on the rise it’s important to build relationships with them not just as direct givers, but also as prospects for planned giving. No doubt, investing time and resources to build relationships with Millennials will have long-term benefits.
Kentucky Derby Museum
Benjamin Franklin once said, “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.” The Executive leadership of the Kentucky Derby Museum was taking no chances. They had diligently completed a strategic planning process in 2014. The only problem with the plan was that it had been created with a short-term focus so many of the goals and objectives the plan outlined had already been achieved. Patrick Armstrong, President of the Museum, was just beginning the second year of his tenure. “As we reviewed the plan, we realized that we needed to update it and recreate it with a longer-term perspective. We wanted a plan to guide us for the next 3-5 years.”
After a call for proposals and presentations was completed, The Covenant Group was selected to lead the process. Lauren Baldwin, Office Administrator, recalls “We became aware of The Covenant Group through the referral of a Board member who had worked with the firm on a strategic plan with a different organization.” In addition to a more long-term perspective, other goals for the desired outcomes included ensuring that the Museum’s mission, core values and vision were still relevant and that the process would build stakeholder engagement.
The work to achieve these goals began with an online stakeholder survey. Baldwin partnered with Covenant Group staff in the survey process. “The survey was great. The Covenant Group helped make the survey process really easy.” She added, “It accomplished what we wanted by giving all of our stakeholders (staff, Board, donors, volunteers) a chance to be involved in the process and share their input.” Armstrong mentioned that he was pleasantly surprised with the survey results. “They were overwhelmingly positive. That is a great place to begin this type of process because it helped us build buy-in and gave everyone a chance to share in the formation of our direction.”
With the plan finished, the Museum is well on its way to implementation. Both Baldwin and Armstrong agree that they have put in place a process of checks and balances to ensure that “the plan is not put on a shelf and forgotten about”. Baldwin reports that they have a tracking process that helps keep individuals and teams accountable to the tasks and timelines set forth. They also discuss the plan at weekly and monthly meetings to keep it fresh in everyone’s mind. Some positive outcomes of the process have included building communication across departments, strengthening the staff and bringing people together.
Both Baldwin and Armstrong describe The Covenant Group’s process as efficient and effective. In fact, Baldwin calls the amount of time we saved “invaluable”. She continued, “It was so nice to have an experienced, knowledgeable facilitator leading us and helping keep us on task.” Armstrong adds, “Len very effectively gathered input from our internal resources which helped steer us in the right direction.”
Both agree that they would recommend The Covenant Group to other organizations. “They are friendly, accommodating and responsive. Trying to do this process without help is kind of like being in a boat with no paddles…it is not nearly as productive.”
Using Social Media to Boost Donor Retention
Thanks Steven!
Last week I had the pleasure of attending the Association of Fundraising Professionals monthly meeting of the Louisville Chapter. I was fortunate to hear Steven Shattuck from Bloomerang share his experience with using social media to boost donor retention. As fundraising consultants, many times nonprofits ask us how they can improve donor retention rates. This blog is a brief recap of some of the helpful knowledge he shared. More detailed information can be found in his E-Book at: http://bit.ly/bloomerang-social
Retain to Sustain
It comes as no surprise to any nonprofit professional that donor retention is key to long-term sustainability. However, studies reveal that most organizations retain only 23% of their first time donors. Giving USA reports that the national average for donor retention is only 46%. Although a lot of nonprofits use social media to communicate with donors, they may not realize the influential role it can play in keeping donors engaged.
Why Use Social Media?
Social media usage should be used by nonprofits for three reasons. They are:
- Appreciation
- Advocacy
- Appeals
Abundant Appreciation
Simply put, nonprofits should use social media to thank donors. In fact, posts with a message of gratefulness should account for 70% of the organization’s social media activity. It has been proven that posts of appreciation get the most engagement. They are retweeted nearly 99% of the time.
In our capital campaign consulting we stress the importance of a timely and sincere gift acknowledgement. While posts or tweets should not be used in place of a personalized thank you letter or phone call, they do provide the organization with the opportunity to respond almost immediately to a donor’s gift. With the donor’s consent, they can either post a gift acknowledgement (leaving out the gift amount) or share a picture of a volunteer workday with a note of gratitude. This puts philanthropy on display and gives the donor a sense of pride in the important work they are helping the nonprofit achieve.
When donors share or retweet appreciative posts, it creates a FOMO or “fear of missing out” among their peers. Hearing about the generosity of others can inspire others to get involved and this increases donations.
Engage Advocates
Every nonprofit has a cause for which they advocate. Social media provides an excellent platform to educate or raise awareness about an issue. Posts can come from external sources such as research, news updates or other content-rich sources. Internal sources may include insights from staff on a variety of topics. Employees might create videos, podcasts, webinars, or other content that can easily be posted to various social media outlets.
Limit Appeals
Although social media is a great place to make an appeal, these posts should be used sparingly. Appeals should only come after the nonprofit has established a regular pattern of activity heavily focused on appreciation and advocacy. When the time is right to make an appeal, there are three ways to make it effective.
- Be specific – It is important to remember that specific asks receive better response than general requests. For example, asking for the donation of a specific baby item (diapers) or volunteer need (writing letters to soldiers) help people know exactly how to respond.
- Get help – If you can get high-visibility donors, board members, volunteers and employees to help develop and deploy social media campaigns they will have a larger impact.
- Express Urgency – When an appeal is truly urgent, it is important to make people aware. Convey in posts the tight timeline and share why an immediate response is necessary.
Implementing the strategies outlined above can help your nonprofit develop an effective social media plan that will help you boost retention and increase engagement.
Sojourn East, Louisville
The old saying goes, “There’s no place like home” and the congregation of Sojourn East was ready to find out what it would be like to have their own space. They had selected a great facility that would serve the needs of their growing church well for years to come. The only thing standing between them and this new building was the $3.25 million needed to acquire the property. Sojourn East Pastor, Kevin Jamison decided to call The Covenant Group to help make their vision of home a reality.
“We were familiar with the work of The Covenant Group as they had helped another Sojourn site complete a very successful campaign,” recalled Jamison. Although we interviewed 2 other firms, The Covenant group stood out because of their competitive pricing, strong reputation and the fact that Len Moisan and the rest of the team knew our congregation well.” Jamison added, “We liked the fact that The Covenant Group was readily available. We could meet Len for coffee and get his advice.”
Jamison admits that he did not enter the campaign without some hesitation. “I was afraid that we would not be able to raise even $2 million. It was a big test of faith on my part as a leader.” He noted that The Covenant Group’s expertise and experience were invaluable and helped put his mind at ease. Jamison likened Len to a personal trainer. “He kept us on task and didn’t let us get off the path. I knew he cared as much about the success of the campaign as I did. He provided us with a logical, straightforward strategy. It was clear enough for me to follow on my own, but without his guidance and at times gentle prodding, I know I would not have kept to the plan.” Jamison laughed as he added, “It is like with personal trainers when you really want to eat ice cream, but they make you eat salad.”
Sticking to the plan paid off. Jamison reports, “I was blown away at Commitment Weekend. We raised $4.25 million. Enough not only to acquire the church home we wanted, but $1 million more to put in a reserve fund for additional projects as needed.” Jamison’s faith was not the only positive outcome of the campaign. He adds that the process cultivated in his church members a deeper sense of ownership and the accomplishment of knowing that “God did this through us.” He also reports, “We have grown in stewardship, confidence and unity and we have experienced new levels of giving and attendance.”
Now at home in their new facility, Jamison reviews the entire experience from start to finish. “There is a lot of fear going in to a fundraising campaign. Len’s presence brought peace of mind and gave us the confidence we needed to move ahead with God’s plan without timidity.” Jamison describes The Covenant Group as professional, efficient, polished and strategic. When asked if he would recommend The Covenant Group to other churches seeking counsel, he is quick to respond, “Yes, I would and I have. I am glad to do it.” Then he adds his own bit of advice, “But if you hire The Covenant Group you are wise to do what they say. If you follow their plan, you will be successful. Not only are Len and his team good consultants, they are also good friends.”
GIVING USA, Philanthropy in Review
Source: Giving USA 2016 (Highlights)
Published by The Giving Institute, in cooperation with
Lilly Family School of Philanthropy
Thank you
A special thanks to everyone who came out last Friday to hear Len Moisan’s presentation on the results of Giving USA 2016. Also, thanks to the Center for Nonprofit Excellence for coordinating the event and Metro United Way for being such gracious hosts.
We trust that you found the data informative and applicable to your own development operations. We also hope that you are already finding ways to implement some of the strategies we discussed to enhance your fundraising efforts.
A Few Statistics
With 2015 being the most generous year ever that presents much optimism and opportunity for local nonprofits. Americans gave $373.25 billion to charitable causes last year and that was an increase of over 4% compared to 2014. The top five sectors that continue to receive the largest share of total giving are:
- Religion (32%)
- Education (15%)
- Human Services (12%)
- Foundations (11%)
- Health (8%)
Specifically, all four categories of giving experienced growth. Those include:
- Giving by Foundations: +6.5%
- Giving by Corporations: +3.9%
- Giving by Individuals: +3.8%
- Giving by Bequest: +2.1%
More than likely your nonprofit has received support from several of these sources. However, some categories maybe more than others, so how can you maximize your support from as many of these sources as possible? The following are a few of the key strategies we discussed.
Strategies to Consider
- Put a renewed emphasis on individual giving
- When conducting capital or annual campaigns, organizations tend to neglect giving from individuals.
- On average, individuals give 88% of the total giving each year.
- Of the total amount given, 71% came in direct gifts from individuals. However, individuals also are the ones who make bequests and nearly half of the gifts from foundations came from family foundations, again, controlled by individuals.
- The most effective form of solicitation is still face-to-face visits. In fact, 70% of the time a peer visits a peer in a face-to-face solicitation the answer is “yes”. However, it is still important to have a full program that includes social media, direct mail, special events and more.
More to Come
This is the first in a series of blogs that will continue to present strategies that you can apply to your own fundraising efforts. The next blog will focus on Starting to Think About Some Foundations as Individuals.
Remember, The Covenant Group is here to help you create and implement strategies to grow your fundraising. We have worked with hundreds of nonprofits to accomplish their strategic planning, capital campaign and fundraising goals. Our associates have raised over $1 billion in our 20-year company history. Contact us to put our experience to work for you.
Highland Presbyterian Church Louisville, KY
Labor Day of 2015 was memorable for Cynthia Campbell Pastor of Highland Presbyterian Church. “It was during this time we discovered a crack in the main truss of the roof of our sanctuary,” she recalled. In fact, the damage was so severe that the congregation had to relocate worship services to a different building on campus until the roof could be repaired. “We were faced with the question of how to pay for it?”
In response to the urgent need a taskforce was formed to evaluate launching a capital campaign. Part of their due diligence included researching and interviewing consulting firms. “The Covenant Group stood out because they were local and had a good grasp of Louisville’s philanthropic landscape. They also had an impressive track record of campaign success and were highly regarded by several of our members.”
In addition to the roof project, the committee compiled a list of other projects that needed to be addressed. “When we combined all of the projects together they totaled $4.7 million. Although the feasibility study revealed that achieving this goal could be a stretch, church leaders were adamant that we needed to tell the congregation all that needed to be done and what it would cost.” Campbell states that there was considerable apprehension among congregants about undertaking another campaign so soon after a campaign begun in early 2006 (which ran into the recession). “People were discouraged by the results of that effort and the fall-out lasted a long time.”
This campaign was different from the start though. “The most helpful thing The Covenant Group did was provide us with a very organized, clear process. It was so well laid out” Campbell complimented. “We just had to follow the instructions and by doing so we were successful.” Comparing her past experience with institutional campaigns Campbell remarked, “the process worked as well as any I have ever seen. Providing the campaign manuals helped us not waste time trying to decide the next steps …we knew exactly what to do and when to do it.”
She describes The Covenant Group as “professional, engaging and flexible. They let us modify the model as needed to better fit our church.” Campbell continued, “Success depends on the organization’s fit with the consultant. Can the consulting firm adapt to match the ethos of the congregation? The Covenant Group was a great match for us.” The campaign was completed on a very compressed timeframe, January to May of 2016, which also included doing a feasibility study up front. In June, church members received the exciting news that the $4.7 million goal had been surpassed.
Campbell reports that in addition to the financial results, other benefits have come from the campaign’s success. “We have seen member involvement increase, there is a renewed energy and positive feeling of success among members and we will be back in the sanctuary by September of this year.” And as for the campaign leadership once hesitant about the campaign, “they refer to the entire process as ‘painless’ and ‘actually kind of fun’”. Campbell concluded by saying, “I have hired and fired a lot of consultants during my career. However, given the process and the results, I would absolutely recommend The Covenant Group to others seeking campaign counsel.”
Prince of Peace Catholic Church, Madison, IN
Prince of Peace Catholic parish had an urgent need. The steeple of the church was falling down and required emergency repairs. In addition to the steeple work, the church also needed exterior paint and other updates. After concluding a feasibility study, the church set a goal of $1.5 million.
Pastor Chris Craig states that the goal represented a significant stretch. “Past campaigns the parish had conducted raised an average of $900,000.” Although another firm had helped with the feasibility study, at the recommendation of the Archdiocese, Prince of Peace parish decided to hire The Covenant Group to provide counsel during the campaign.
“When we first met Len, we could tell he was personally invested in our success. He was committed to the end result and helping us achieve our goal.” Pastor Craig described The Covenant Group’s process as “energizing”. He continued, “They really motivated our leadership, who were a bit reluctant at first. They helped us define our needs clearly and then they helped us get the parish involved. We had over 200 volunteers engaged at some level. The campaign went from ‘we have to do it’ to ‘a genuine excitement about it’ and the spiritual aspect became a key component.”
Father Craig described Len’s leadership style as “very hands on.” He adds that “the process empowered me to become much more confident in fundraising techniques and in striving towards larger goals.” As Celebration Weekend approaches campaign leaders are thrilled to announce that more than $2 million has been raised! “We are shocked. This campaign has been much different than past campaigns. People are doing more, digging deeper. We already have significant funds collected and in the bank. We will begin renovation work next month”.
“One really smart concept The Covenant Group recommended was the 5-year pledge period” commented Father Craig. “By allowing people to spread their pledges over a longer period, people were able to give more. They are choosing weekly and monthly giving options. We have seen gifts grow from $20,000 in a 3-year campaign to $50,000 in a 5-year campaign.” The longer period has really made a difference. He further noted that they are now working to try to get as close to 100% participation in the campaign as possible.
When asked if Father Craig would recommend The Covenant Group to other churches seeking counsel, he responded. “Absolutely! I may be at 2 or 3 more parishes in the future. When I am in a situation where our church needs to raise money, they will be the first call I make”.