Is Your Feasibility Study Terrible?

By Peter Heller

Feasibility Studies - What Are They?

I used to hate capital campaign feasibility studies. Then I grasped their power. Now I can talk all day about why they are important and break down the details for you (and I have in fun, day-long training sessions). But instead, I’m going to keep it simple - and I’m going to help you understand if the one you just paid a lot for is, well, in fact terrible. A feasibility study is a great way to get set up for a successful campaign. Done right, studies are always a useful tool. Depending on the magnitude of your campaign, studies can be calibrated to meet your project timing, budget and magnitude — a study does not always have to be expensive and big.

Heller Group-led studies focus on 6 specific elements of capital campaign planning.

1. Dollar Goal
2. Case for Support
3. Campaign Committee
4. Prospects/Donors
5. Systems/Staffing
6. Timing

We use these elements to assess your campaign readiness and make very specific, data-driven recommendations to help you reach your Dollar Goal, build a strong donor pool, and strengthen the focus on the future of your community.

We Have Rules for Studies

During a study we analyze and organize these 6 elements, and then we conduct a series of face-to-face and phone/video interviews. The Heller Group has a few rules about feasibility study interviews. We will only conduct interviews:

• of the 25-60 prospects or donors who can have the greatest financial impact on your campaign’s success. Everyone has opinions, but it’s the opinions of these people that will matter financially.
• once there is a draft case for support document. The case is crucial for building an irrefutable story about your project, and we must hear from your donors what they think of the plan.
• after the dollar goal has been clarified (at least within reason).
• using a gift table that states the dollar goal and lists audacious but reasonable gift amounts at the very top. once the site has been identified, if your plan involves moving to or building a new site.

Read more about our views on studies here: https://hellerfundraisinggroup.com/feasibility-studies

Too Many Studies Are Terrible (…based on what we’ve seen)

Now for the terrible studies.

We find that terrible studies do not follow these rules. Here are the predictable tell-tale signs of a terrible feasibility study:

• Interviews are conducted too soon. The results, therefore, are not substantive.
• The case for support is either a weak boilerplate case document or does not exist at all.
• The dollar goal details of the project have not been explored and cannot be explained to interviewees.
• A gift table isn’t used to ask interviewees how much they will give toward the specified goal.
• Conclusions are not substantiated with data, especially when it comes to how much money can be raised.

What is the Outcome of a Terrible Feasibility Study?

A terrible feasibility study wastes time, money, and the opportunity to connect with donors.

Here are quotes from two studies that really upset me when I read them. Why? Because the nonprofit Executive Directors who paid for, and depended on the recommendations of, these studies did not get anything substantive to help them move forward. For a $60 million construction project campaign, this was the sum total of the conclusion in the study.

"As long as there is a strong mix of public and private commitment to the institution, with particular focus on several large-scale individual and/or other private sector institutional gifts, the goal of a $60 million for the XYZ Campaign, to be raised over four years, is feasible."

BTW, the interviews showed a total of $1.9 million in possible gifts. So how did they get from that number to confidence in a $60 million campaign? Here’s another one. The sentiment is nice enough, but this conclusion was accompanied by no data:

"With an indicated giving level of $1.1 million from the top twelve gifts, based upon our experience in comparable situations as well as what we might anticipate from the rest of the community in a well-crafted and disciplined effort, we can project a successful campaign at the $7.8 million level." Without data, this is just a summary statement.

A Final Plea - No Study Before It Is Time

We believe in feasibility studies. But, people, please insist that your consultants don’t sell you on doing a study before all the elements are lined up for getting useful data. And make sure that whomever you are working with is substantiating their recommendations — a single sentence like those above does not cut it.

We have led many organizations through clear headed studies and then onward to successful campaigns. We can do the same for you. Be in touch.

Peter Heller is the Founder of the Heller Fundraising Group, a New York City-based fundraising consulting firm that works with local, national and international nonprofits on capital campaigns, campaign feasibility studies, major gift programs, and hands-on training. peter@hellerfundraisinggroup.com