The thought of needing to raise millions of dollars to fund bricks and mortar can seem cumbersome, but with a strategic approach and robust capital campaign – it’s achievable!
A successful capital campaign should incorporate diverse income streams – including but not limited to:
- Major Donors
- general public donation campaigns
- government funding and
- Trusts and Foundations
No one source should be relied upon to fund the capital project in its entirety.
Trusts and Foundations (T&F’s), including Private and Public Ancillary Funds, play a pivotal role in raising capital dollars. T&F’s should be considered, and treated, as a Major Donor – you must identify the alignment between your organisations, establish a connection, steward a relationship, and nurture the relationship to achieve the desired outcomes for both parties.
It’s unlikely one T&F will fund an entire capital project. So, you need to package the capital project into ‘bite size’ pieces. Break down the total project cost into sections with relevant ‘price points’ that individual T&F’s can fund.
The following example outlines how a capital project can be packaged, and the strategy of identifying T&F prospects.
Project packages and price points:
- $100,000 will build and equip a training room
- $125,000 will build and equip the kitchen
- $175,000 will build and equip a bedroom with medical equipment
- $500,000 will build and fit out X number of program/ service delivery rooms
Once the project has been packaged, the benefits and objectives for each ‘package’ can be identified to provide measurable outcomes and impact (and for a reminder on getting outcomes and outputs right – check out our blog post from the archives here).
For example, for the training room – how many staff will receive training in the training room per year? What impact will the training have on beneficiaries?
Examples of projects to pitch once the funding interest of the T&F is determined:
- If a T&F is interested in funding training or professional development, discuss the outcomes of the training room
- A T&F interested in funding service delivery outcomes may consider funding a service delivery room
- A T&F interested in funding equipment may consider funding the fit out of a bedroom / room dedicated to delivering a service
Do your homework and dedicate time to qualifying individual T&Fs to ensure your organisational mission and capital project aligns with the T&Fs funding interests.
Perhaps one of the most important points – before approaching a T&F with a funding proposal – is to ensure you are familiar with the project timeline, deliverables and impact of the capital project. These vital pieces of information will optimise your ability to identify prospect T&Fs, and secure funding for your capital project.
The Strategic Grants team can help you with your grant-seeking strategy, including writing, advising, training, and setting you up with a subscription to GEMS – our Grants Expertise Management System. Get in touch to find out more!