Convergent Senior Project Director Len Romano recently shared his three top tips for conducting a successful feasibility study. Watch and learn from Len or read on to find out his tips below.
The important first step in any capital campaign is the feasibility study process. There are basically three things that are critical for a study to be successful. Here are my top feasibility study tips:
- First, you want your study to help you get unbiased feedback about the nonprofit organization and your case for support.
- Second, the study should uncover what potential investors in your campaign are concerned about as far as your goals and outcomes are concerned. (We call them investors instead of donors, by the way, because we want to encourage long-term investment in your nonprofit.) The information gleaned from the study can give you the opportunity to revise your goals if needed to be more relevant for potential investors. This will give you a better chance for success down the road in your capital campaign.
- Creating a connection with these investors is the crucial final step. I like to think of a triangle divided into three sections. The top section at the triangle apex is connection; the middle is concern; and the bottom is capacity. A mistake that many organizations make is to only conduct their study with donors in the “capacity” category. They don’t have a connection with these people or have any idea of what their concerns and priorities are.
Overall, a thoughtfully written feasibility study combined with the soft skills of an experienced fundraising professional utilizing the three tips listed here can cover all three sections of that triangle and pave the way for a successful capital campaign and millions of dollars in investments for your nonprofit organization.
