CCS Feasibility and Planning Study

Transcription

1 November 2014 CCS Feasibility and Planning Study Final Report Summary Prepared for Our Lady of the Assumption

2 Study Overview CCS was retained in September 2014 to conduct a feasibility and planning study. Study objectives included: Assess level of support for project plans and campaign Evaluate feasibility of $4.5 million goal Further educate members about parish needs Strengthen case for support and determine appropriate messaging Identify potential leaders and significant donors Develop recommendations and campaign plan to guide effort CCS completed the following steps over the course of the study process: Drafted study materials (letter of introduction, background statement, list of invited participants, table of gifts, questionnaire, in-pew survey, call scripts, etc.) Reviewed and analyzed requested documents, materials, and reports 50 interviews completed between October 1 and October 26 In-pew survey collected data from 1,311 families Final report produced; preliminary campaign plan developed; lists of recommended leaders and prospects prepared 2

3 In-Person Interview Findings Questions OLA - VP / P Avg. - VP / P* In general, what is your impression of the parish? 100.0% 95.1% What is your reaction to the parish s overall plans? 92.3% 84.5% Questions OLA E / G What is your specific reaction to the church renovations and upgrades? 80% What is your specific reaction to the office consolidation? 80% What is your specific reaction to the auditorium renovations? 90% What is your specific reaction to the rectory renovations? 64% What is your specific reaction to the convent renovations? 66% *Compares statistics from the Our Lady of the Assumption study against the responses from CCS most recent studies conducted at 24 parishes representing over 1,242 interviews. 3

4 In-Person Interview Findings Questions OLA Yes/ Maybe Avg. Yes/ Maybe* Would you be willing to work as a volunteer? 74.0% 71.6% Would you be willing to assume a leadership role? 40.0% 39.5% Would you be willing to help identify prospective donors? 82.0% 70.8% Would you be willing to consider making a pledge to the campaign? 91.7% 92.0% Questions Do you believe the parish can raise $4.5 million in five-year pledges? OLA Yes Avg. Yes* 64.0% 38.5% Should OLA conduct a capital campaign for this project? 89.8% 81.3% *Compares statistics from the Our Lady of the Assumption study against the responses from CCS most recent studies conducted at 24 parishes representing over 1,242 interviews. 4

5 In-Pew Survey Results The following tables provides survey results from 1,311 respondents collected over two weekends. Questions VP / P or SA / A In general, what is your impression of OLA? 89.7% Overall, what is your reaction the Master Plan? 77.8% Questions SA / A What is your reaction to the need for church renovations and upgrades? 87.2% What is your reaction to the need for office consolidation? 62.4% What is your reaction to the need for auditorium renovations? 75.8% What is your reaction to the need for rectory renovations? 67.6% What is your reaction to the need for convent renovations? 69.8% 5

6 In-Pew Survey Results Questions Do you agree with a plan to conduct a fundraising campaign to support the Master Plan? Would you be willing to attend a meeting to learn more about the plan to raise funds? Would you be willing to work as a volunteer for a fundraising campaign? Would you consider making a financial gift/pledge to the campaign? Yes No Unsure 77.0% 5.3% 14.6% 32.3% 28.8% 35.2% 21.4% 37.5% 36.8% 55.5% 8.6% 30.1% 6

7 Indications & Suggested Leaders/Donors METHOD # RESPONDENTS # GIFT INDICATIONS TOTAL INDICATED Personal Interview $552,000 - $832,500 In-Pew Survey (Non-duplicated) 1, $4,017,321 TOTALS 1, $4,569,321 - $4,849,821 Interviewees suggested 49 individuals/families capable of making a major gift. Interviewees suggested 82 individuals/families as potential volunteer/leader candidates. 7

8 Recommendations 1. Our Lady of the Assumption has the capacity to raise a minimum of $4.5 million (and potentially more) through a well-conceived and well-executed campaign effort. The active fundraising effort of the campaign can be completed successfully in 7 months. 2. We recommend an immediate start to the campaign to take advantage of the momentum generated through the study and to complete the campaign before the summer months and Fall stewardship campaign. The recommended campaign timeline would be as follows: November December to Mid-January Mid-January thru February Early March April Mid-May May Late May Campaign organization, materials development, initial leadership recruitment, and prospect list development Begin leadership and major gift efforts, finalize recruitment, begin cultivation and parish-wide project education Continue leadership and major gifts, continued parish-wide project education Campaign announcement and launch community gifts phase, parish-wide mailing, continue major gifts, and volunteer recruitment Phone-a-thons and continued parish project and campaign education Commitment weekends Campaign wrap-up and Continuation Committee recruited and launched 8

9 Recommendations 3. To achieve the levels of major gift support required at six-figure levels, and to encourage significant sacrifice among the parish, we recommend: OLA offer campaign donors the opportunity to pledge gifts over a five-year period. Father Charles and other volunteers ask for a specific, hopefully sacrificial, financial target. As often as possible, depending largely on how many volunteers can be secured to assist the campaign, personal visits to present these requests would be preferred and encouraged. 4. Father Charles should play an important and highly visible role in the campaign: Take responsibility for visiting with and asking the top families for their support during the course of the campaign. Be the most vocal cheerleader and advocate for the project and campaign. Continually communicate the significance and importance of both the project and campaign. 9

10 Recommendations 5. We believe the campaign will benefit from having at least three Campaign Chairs and recommend one family per specific language-mass: English, Spanish, and Vietnamese. 6. In addition to the Campaign Chairs, a Campaign Committee should be recruited to assist with fundraising, strategy, and oversight. The Committee should represent the parish s demographics (age, ethnicity, etc.) and should be prepared to play a significant role in fundraising (especially with major and leadership gifts). The Campaign Committee would also help with the following: Review and approve the case for support and approve a campaign name and theme Assist with identification, cultivation and solicitation of leadership and major gift prospects (as required) Review the campaign plan and strategies presented by fundraising counsel Take action in identifying and recruiting candidates for campaign positions Review campaign progress reports from campaign counsel Personally support the campaign with a gift commensurate with each member s leadership in the campaign and financial ability 10

11 Recommendations 8. CCS recommends creating sufficient collateral materials to properly educate and inspire the parish about the project and campaign. Materials include: brochure, prospectus, request letter, pledge form, PowerPoint presentation, campaign DVD/video, website, and more. We anticipate the need to have all materials translated and available in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese. It would be prudent to work closely with Cunningham Group to develop renderings, site plan, timeline, and budget that can be incorporated into campaign materials (brochure, website, video, etc). 9. An important part of any campaign is the education it provides to its prospects. Education must be an important part of the campaign plan to ensure that all members of the parish have received an opportunity to learn about the project before they are asked to support it. CCS recommends that a schedule of cultivation events and educational opportunities be developed for each of the phases of activity. These cultivation and education events will take various forms, from small receptions in parishioner homes, town hall-type meetings in the church, and presentations during Mass. CCS also recommends that the weekly bulletin, Mass announcements, and the church s website be used frequently to support the events and materials that are created to educate all members of the parish. 11

12 Recommendations 10. We believe that the use of naming opportunities should be considered as a tool to inspire and motivate gifts at the highest levels and to properly recognize the extraordinary generosity of several who will make this campaign a success. A list of naming opportunities, including the associated gift levels and locations will need to be prepared and approved at the outset of the campaign. 11. Staffing the campaign appropriately will play a significant role in its success. We recommend: Hiring a part-time (20 hours a week) campaign assistant during March, April, May, and June to help perform data entry and provide support around print jobs, mailings, and communications to prospects and donors. Retaining a full-time Campaign Director (40+ hours a week) to manage and guide all aspects of the campaign from beginning to end (November 2014 to end of May 2015). 12

13 Recommendations 12. A budget sufficient to carry out the campaign will need to be established at the outset of the campaign with campaign costs funded out of the proceeds of the campaign. Costs include administrative support, campaign management/counsel, event costs, material design and printing, mailing, donor recognition, and other associated costs. CCS recommends the budget not exceed $270,000 on the $4,500,000 goal, or 6% of the campaign goal. 13. In terms of Together in Mission, CCS recommend the effort be continued in 2015 but not pushed as diligently as it might be in other non-campaign years. CCS suggests perhaps not making a special weekend appeal for Together in Mission but rather mentioning it in the bulletin and from the pulpit and then mailing letters. In this way, Together in Mission is continued, but the success of the campaign is not jeopardized. In 2016, the parish can and should return to a normal Together in Mission appeal. 13

14 Questions?

15 Contact Information Christopher Looney Principal & Managing Director CCS Office Toll Free