Focus groups, mail surveys, and telephone surveys can be useful, but I believe the best way to gather information is to conduct one-on-one interviews with individuals of affluence or influence. For these interviews to be of optimum value they need to be candid and frank. That means interviewees need to be guaranteed confidentiality. In order to do that the interviewer must be someone who is neither a staff member nor a volunteer leader of the organization.

Whether comprehensive one-on-one interviews, or a mix of other information gathering methods is used, feasibility study planning must take into account:

1. Size and make-up of the constituency to be surveyed.
2. Complexity of the study subject matter.
3. Study timeline.
4. Adequacy of resources to perform the study.
5. Budgetary considerations.

What should a feasibility study plan include?

Any plan needs to state what will be done, how it will be done, and who will do it. It is crucial that the consultant and organization agree in writing to what each is responsible for. A typical plan should be developed along the following lines.

Interviews: Consultant will conduct one-on-one, in person interviews with 25 to 30 individuals taken from a list of 40 to 60 of candidates supplied by the organization. These candidates will be key area stakeholders of affluence and influence identified by the organization as important to it. The goal of these interviews will be to discover:

1. The best candidates for campaign leadership.
2. Top donor prospects.
3. Effective donor-focused language upon which the case for support will be built.
4. Challenges, opportunities, and barriers that may be encountered.

All interviews will be completed as quickly as possible over a period of seven to ten workdays.

Candidates for Interviews: The organization will categorize and rank candidates for interviews as:

1. Must be interviewed.
2. Should be interviewed.
3. Could be interviewed.

A cross section of those whose support (financial as well as philosophical) is considered vital to the success of the campaign must be interviewed. Potential interviewees include:

1. Major donors to the organization past and present.
2. Corporate, business, financial, foundation, and government leaders.
3. Major donors to other organizations.
4. Current and former board members.
5. Civic leaders.

Statement of Intention: Consultant will develop a Statement of Intention from information provided by the organization’s staff and board. The Statement will be no longer than two single-spaced pages. It will describe how the project will meet documented consensus needs and cite its benefit to the organization and community. The organization will review and approve the Statement.

The Statement of Intention will apprise, enlighten, and interest persons of affluence or influence about the organization and the proposed project. It is not the Case For Support. That document will be developed later to entice campaign leadership and to solicit major contributions.

Letter of Introduction: Consultant will write a Letter of Introduction for the organization’s board president to send to interview prospects. (See Appendix A for a sample letter.) Included with the Letter of Introduction will be the Statement of Intention and a proposed budget for the project and campaign. The Letter will:

1. Ask its recipient to participate in the study.
2. Explain the role of the interviewer.
3. State that a follow-up phone call will be made to confirm willingness to participate and set up an appointment.
4. Assure that information collected will be confidential and not linked to specific interviewees.
5. Assure anonymity of interviewee.
6. Assure that no solicitation will be made during the interview.

The Letter and Statement will be sent in waves to the must-be, should-be, and could-be interviewees until a sufficient number have agreed to participate.

Scheduling Phone Calls: Consultant will provide a script and checklist for use by the organization to make the phone calls and obtain appointments. The checklist reiterates what was said in the letter of introduction. The script should include a request that the potential interviewee examine all materials received and be prepared to discuss the proposed project and campaign. These calls are best made by either the organization’s board president or CEO and should again assure that no solicitation will be made during the interview. Great care must be taken to avoid scheduling conflicts. Interviews should be at least one hour apart to allow for travel. Interviewees should be asked to set aside one hour for the interview. One person should control scheduling. Assuming no unduly long travel time, at least four interviews per day should be scheduled when possible.

Appointment and Profile Form: The organization will develop a profile of each person who agrees to be an interviewee by collecting pertinent information about that individual and combining it with data from the organization’s records. The organization will put each profile together with the time and place of the appointment to create an Appointment and Profile Form for every interviewee. (See Appendix B for a sample form.) These forms will be provided to the consultant for interview preparation.

Interview Questionnaire: Consultant will produce a series of questions to elicit information from interviewees in order to determine the feasibility of the campaign. These questions will be developed from the Statement of Intention and other information supplied by the organization. The organization will review and approve the questions. (See Appendix C for a sample questionnaire.)

Gift Table: Consultant will prepare a chart of gifts delineating size and number likely to be needed at each level of giving to achieve the campaign goal. (See Appendix D for a sample gift table.)

Interview: Consultant will conduct all interviews. The interviews will elicit important information relative to the proposed project and the campaign. Interviewees will not be asked to rule for or against the project. They will be asked for their opinions, not their recommendations. We can act or not act on opinions without a problem, but we cannot risk the alienation of individuals giving directives we cannot follow.

The campaign go or no-go decision is up to the organization’s board and senior staff. Asking outsiders to recommend for or against a proposed campaign could hamstring the organization’s ability to make the correct decision. No organization should be placed in the position of having to go back to a person of affluence or influence and explain why that person’s advice was not followed.

Final Study Report: Consultant will produce a final report on the feasibility of the proposed campaign. The report will include:

1. A statement of methodology and process including the number of interviews conducted and the time span of the interviews.
2. Findings about perceptions of the project, feelings about the organization, size of a likely donor base, availability of campaign leadership, and factors external to the organization.
3. Conclusions and recommendations based on the study findings and the consultant’s expertise and experience. Most important of all will be a recommendation to proceed with the campaign at this time, forego it altogether, or postpone it until the organization is better ready and/or the climate more receptive. If a campaign is determined to be feasible, included in the study will be recommended goals, timeline, volunteer organization, leadership, public relations approaches, staffing, budgeting, and the potential role of outside counsel during the campaign.

Next month we will present part three of this piece: What are some of the pitfalls for feasibility studies?

Tony Poderis is a development consultant, speaker and author of It’s a Great Day to Fund-Raise. You can reach him through his web site at www.raise-funds.com.