Insight: Maintaining Momentum

Capital appeals are not simply a means for generating substantial funds. They add warm donors to the database, raise a charity’s profile and boost the morale of an organisation’s stakeholders. But after the honeymoon period is over, is it safe to bask in the glory of success for a while or should you press on to avoid losing momentum?

The answer lies in what the organisation wants to achieve going forward. While a capital appeal can raise millions of pounds, this income tends to be restricted. What else does the organisation need to fund, how much does it need and who is going to pay for it?

In other words it needs a plan of action, says Marion Allford of consultancy Marion Allford Associates. “A new fundraising strategy should swing into action as soon as the campaign is over or there is a risk that momentum and morale will be lost,” she says.

A new strategy requires research, both into what lessons can be learnt from the previous appeal and into what the charity hopes to achieve. From this an organisation will then be able to surmise when would be an appropriate time to embark on more fundraising and exactly what format it should take. This is the avenue fundraisers at Evelina Children’s Hospital Appeal are taking having raised £10m between March 2004 and June 2006.

Geoff Shepherd is the chief executive of Guy's and St Thomas' Charity which supports the costs of the Evelina Children’s Hospital Appeal. “We’re waiting until 2007 to launch our next appeal. We want to take our time because we want to think about what we’ve achieved so we can improve what we do. We’ve hired some consultants to help us do this and believe that what we learn from the exercise will ensure we raise even more next time.”

One organisation that has recently implemented its new strategy is the North Bristol NHS Trust. It recently completed a two-year Tiny Lives appeal which raised £1.2m to build a new intensive care neonatal unit at the hospital.

Karen Willis, fundraising manager and PF's 2006 Professional Fundraiser of the Year, explains what this entails: “We decided to minimise the risk of losing momentum by launching something very different to the Tiny Lives Appeal. We have developed a ten-year strategy that involves a Trust-wide appeal. It’s not for a specific purpose, instead we envisage it acting as an umbrella appeal under which two major appeals and several smaller projects will come. We to be innovative and try new things.”

Both Willis and Allford state that charities can maintain momentum and at the same time reduce the level of risk involved following the closure of a specific appeal by carefully looking after their most valuable asset – their donors. “You’re not just after a one-off donation,” says Allford. “You want their prolonged commitment, you want a legacy donation, and beyond that you want their family to be supporters too.”

Whether you want to launch a new appeal or not, the first port of call is, of course, to say thank you. One way to do this is to host a thank-you event to which all donors, however large or small, are invited. Willis and her team, for example, organised for their donors to meet 300 people who had been babies at the unit. They also created a display of ceramic tiles that had been decorated by former "tiny lives" and a 4ft interactive wheel of thanks which turns to reveal the names of every donor.

“I’m hoping that these events will enable us to maximise the long-term value of our donors,” says Willis. “The Tiny Lives Campaign has been run by a small team with a small budget and it’s been very much about developing personal relationships with donors.” Not only do events such as this show donors they are appreciated but they highlight how important their money has been, which in turn helps retain their interest in an organisation. Stewardship, as it is proving to be very successful when working to retain big gift funders.

It’s one aspect that Patrick Boggon, director of fundraising consultancy Tarnside Consulting, believes is hugely important. He says that the best way to keep the pot boiling after a capital appeal is by engaging and involving donors in a meaningful way – not just monetarily, but also emotionally and intelligently. Boggon illustrates this using Tarnside Consultancy’s Curve of Involvement, which is founded on the premise that people will give more, the more they believe in the cause. However, exactly how involved a donor becomes depends on the charity. He likens the experience to a romantic relationship developing between two people. If they want the relationship to grow they have to communicate with each other and learn about their expectations and needs. And if one of them only appears to be after one thing then the relationship isn’t going to last very long.

Boggon suggests keeping donors on board for future appeals by asking for expertise rather than money. “An arts charity, for example, may need someone who has a good knowledge of art for acquisitions,” he says. “The worst thing that can happen is that they say no, but even so they will go away flattered and feeling positive about the charity.”

He also recommends identifying the "gatekeeper" of a donation, the person who the decision to give lay with, and then building a relationship with them. He says that regardless of whether an organisation's major gift donors are statutory sources, trusts, corporates or individuals, there will always be one person who can heavily influence, or has sole responsibility for, the decision to donate.

At the NSPCC, this type of stewardship has formed part of its fundraising strategy for some time. Back in 1984, the children’s charity launched a major appeal to coincide with its centenary celebrations. The aim was to raise £15m to fund uniformed child protection agents. Many of the people and organisations that donated to this appeal have become lifelong supporters of the charity, thanks to the care and attention that was given to them by the fundraisers.

“The Full Stop campaign was able to go back to these people, who were not necessarily top donors,” explains Tim Hunter, deputy director of appeals at NSPCC. “They’d grown alongside the charity and many felt they wanted to get involved again.”

However, Hunter issues a word of warning for charities looking at launching a capital appeal. “You need a reason to do these things. You shouldn’t feel that you have to launch straight into the next one in order to keep the money rolling in. A special appeal for the NSPCC needs to be for something special, such as a change in direction. For donors it all depends on how they are already giving to you. If the pledge they have made is to be delivered in installments it’s unreasonable to go back to them for other appeals.”

One way around this is to survey stakeholders, volunteers, donors or others, to find out exactly how they want to be involved and for what duration, recommends Shepherd. “Conduct some research by organising interviews with those who have supported your organisation and find out how they feel about doing so again,” he says. “This means you can be sure who to target next time.”

But while compassion fatigue may be one consideration, brand fatigue also plays a part in maintaining momentum – as Marion Allford discovered following Great Ormond Street’s Wishing Well appeal, of which she was director. “While high profile appeals can attract admiration from the public and other charities, they can also cause resentment if a charity is perceived as getting more than its fair share.” In this respect, says Allford, it’s down to the fundraising department to weigh up the pros and cons of launching a new appeal immediately after one has finished.

Research, therefore, is key to a charity’s ability to maintain momentum after an appeal has closed. Communication with both donors and volunteers will shed light on income generation potential, and from here a strategy can be developed that can maximise the opportunities presented.

Insight: Maintaining Momentum

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