The #1 Question Your Feasibility Study Must Answer

The #1 Question Your Feasibility Study Must Answer Main Photo

10 Apr 2018


Arts and Culture

Feasibility studies are a critical first step in fundraising. Therefore, crafting them with care is extremely important. They typically are 20 to 30 questions in length and give you an excellent perspective on your organization: how people view the board, the team's effectiveness, and who in the community should lead the campaign. So, you might wonder, which is the most important question to include in your feasibility study?

My answer will probably surprise you: it's none of these! So instead, here is a closer look at some core feasibility study defense questions, answers, and insights to consider.

Credibility: The Most Important Feasibility Study Insight

The perfect feasibility study doesn't just answer who, what, and why questions; it gives you a clear picture of the perceptions around your organization and its proposed project. These perceptions, taken together and analyzed carefully, answer the most critical feasibility study question: does your organization have the credibility needed to reach your campaign goal successfully?

Feasibility study questions should be carefully designed to exact answers that help determine your credibility, a critical component of your organization's Asking Rights, as it relates to your local community and potential investors.

Let's face it, individuals and companies will not invest in an organization they don't trust. Therefore, your organizational credibility must be strong to reach your fundraising goal.

Asking critical questions in your feasibility study defense can provide the background needed to determine the credibility level of your organization. Let's look at a few popular defense questions for feasibility studies.

As your interviews unfold and feasibility study answers come in, the conversations spurred by your initial questions are likely to provide keen insight into the overall level of confidence the community has in your nonprofit.

Listening to What is Said in Feasibility Studies (and What Isn't)

Often, hearing what isn't said is just as important. If interviewees as a group cannot rate the effectiveness of the board or identify accomplishments, chances are you have some public relations work to do before embarking on a capital campaign fundraising effort. By listening to what is said and understanding what isn't said, our nonprofit consultants use your feasibility study to determine if you have the credibility and the Asking RightsTM to move to the next step of your campaign.

Convergent Fundraising Services and Feasibility Study Support

A good fundraising services firm can help you write questions for your feasibility studies that will get to the bottom of the most important insights. Convergent Nonprofit Solutions has extensive experience helping nonprofits navigate the feasibility study process and guide capital campaigns that exceed fundraising goals. We invite you to learn more about our fundraising services and resource development services to learn how we can help your organization craft the perfect study that will lead to a successful campaign. You can explore our resources or contact our professionals to get started today!

About The Author

Tom Ralser, CFA's Profile Photo

Tom Ralser, CFA

Principal & Director of Asking Rights

Department: Team

“Why should I give your organization money?”

When I began in this business in 1995, this is the question I was first asked to answer. Not only was this asked in my first feasibility study by a prospective donor, but from a company perspective, it became the driving question that would allow us to become leaders in the industry.

Since then, I have strived to not only address this question but improve and refine the answer. In the early days of economic development projects, it was relatively easy to answer. Since then, I have applied my approach to answering this question to virtually every type of nonprofit. The narrower term “ROI” has given way to the broader “OVP” (Organizational Value Proposition®) which is more appropriate for social missions and my focus on outcomes delivered has led to a revolution in addressing the motivations of givers, transforming them from nominal donors to major investors.

My work is not yet done. As investors in nonprofits become more sophisticated and demanding, the bar is continually being raised. Stay tuned.

Tom has worked with organizations of all kinds, from Chambers of Commerce to religious organizations, national museums to rural health networks, and local youth organizations to international research institutes. He pioneered the concept of applying return on investment (ROI) principles to nonprofit fundraising, and fundraisers have described his work as the “silver bullet” that justifies larger investments in nonprofit organizations.

Hundreds of organizations have utilized Tom’s sustainability planning techniques to ensure they can thrive in a tight money environment. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation, which provides the framework for his Investment-Driven Model™  of fundraising, and led to the development of the Organizational Value Proposition®, which is widely used by corporations, foundations, and individuals as confirmation that the nonprofits in which they invest are truly delivering outcomes with values. His specialty of utilizing for-profit concepts and methods in the nonprofit world has helped nonprofits raise over an estimated $1.6 billion in the 22 years he has worked with them.

Tom is a frequent and highly acclaimed speaker, addressing topics about attracting new funders, outcome-based sustainability planning, and delivering value to investors.

Summary of Experience

  • Personally involved in over 600 nonprofit funding projects in all 50 states.
  • Author of the books ROI for Nonprofits: The New Key to Sustainability, Asking Rights: Why Some Nonprofits Get Funded (and some don’t), and the companion workbook, Developing Your Asking Rights.
  • Holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation, ranged by Economist as the “gold standard” for investment analysis.
  • Session leader and/or keynote speaker at dozens of conferences throughout the nonprofit sector and country. A sampling includes:
    • Planet Philanthropy (2016) Keynote Speaker.
    • National School Foundation Association Annual Conference (2016, 2017) Presenter.
    • Association of Healthcare Philanthropy Big Ideas Conference (2017) Presenter.
    • Council for Advancement & Support of Education’s Conference for Community College Advancement (2017) Presenter.
  • Founding Director of Western Colorado Bureau of Economic and Business Research at Colorado Mesa University, where he was a tenured professor.
  • MS in Finance from the University of Utah and BS in Marketing from Illinois State University.

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