Anatomy of a capital campaign.

The ASAE Foundation raised a record $5.7 million in pledges for its "Endowing the Future" campaign in a public phase that lasted only seven months. Here's a look at the whole story.

Like most successful campaigns, the ASAE Foundation campaign was built on a solid planning base that involved over a two-year period both the Foundation and ASAE boards, key constituents, and potential givers. The Foundation board's vision for the future included greatly expanded resources to meet the many needs identified in ASAE's visioning process.

The ASAE Foundation had established an enviable record of growth, from an operating budget of $338,000 in 1990 to more than $500,000 in 1994. Special events, annual contributions, and grants fueled this growth, with an average cost to raise a dollar well below industry averages. Total reserves were a healthy $450,000, providing the security needed to undertake a campaign.

In 1992 the ASAE Foundation board began serious discussions about the Foundation's future role and how to make the Foundation most effective. It was obvious that more resources would be needed to meet emerging needs, and that continued incremental growth could not keep pace. Thoughts about creating a permanent endowment began here.

Endowment feasibility study 

The first step was to determine if support for an endowment existed among the membership. The board selected Community Counselling Service Co., Inc. (CCS), New York City, to conduct a feasibility study. ASAE underwrote one-half the costs of the study.

CCS's confidential interviews with nearly 70 association executives and industry leaders showed broad support and a very high level of willingness to be part of the campaign. A campaign goal of at least $5 million would be attainable, according to the feasibility study; of that, an ambitious goal of $1 million was set for association giving. Respondents to the study also indicated that they wanted to know more specifically how interest from the endowment would be spent.

Defining the case for giving

Over the next year, staff and board members worked on the "case" for giving, and ultimately determined that the Foundation should focus on four core areas: Leadership Development, Strategic Research, Innovation, and Public Outreach. We also decided to change the way the Foundation operated, moving from a product-producing organization to one that accomplished its goals through a grant-making program. The goal was to make the Foundation a catalyst for change and innovation.

Charting gift levels

The feasibility study was also the basis for the development of a gift chart showing how many gifts at each level would be needed to make the $5 million goal. As CCS President Bill Hanrahan had told us, the easiest and best possible campaign has only one gift, for the total amount of the goal, but this rarely happens.

The largest gifts, which set the tenor for later gifts, are always solicited first, and the gifts chart establishes how many gifts must be solicited at each level to reach the goal.

The campaign was to emphasize "new money" (over and above current participation in Foundation and ASAE activities) and offer donors the chance to pay their pledges over a three- to five-year period.

The campaign leader and committee

Recruiting the best possible leader was the next challenge, and Jonathan Tisch, CEO of Loews Hotels, was the unanimous choice. Tisch had been suggested by many industry leaders interviewed in the feasibility study because he had the stature, leadership ability, and track record to lead the campaign. A milestone was reached when he agreed to serve. In addition, the leadership gift he brought from Loews Hotels, The Loews Anatole Hotel, and CNA Insurance set the stage for subsequent, significant leadership gifts.

We next identified members of the Campaign Executive Committee, who would lead the solicitation of gifts in different segments of the membership. Every member segment to be solicited would have an executive committee member with a team of volunteer solicitors under him or her. Qualities we sought in executive committee members included stature, willingness to work, and access to other association executives or suppliers. A strong campaign executive committee is essential to recruit the next tier of volunteers, who worked on the various committees. The association phase of the campaign, for instance, led by Roderick L. Geer, CAE, ultimately involved more than 50 association executives, each of whom had responsibility for soliciting gifts from their peers. Reflecting ASAE's membership makeup, the other committees were for major gifts, hotel gifts, convention and visitor bureau gifts, insurance industry gifts, and independent hotel gifts.

Recognizing donors

Every campaign needs to recognize its supporters, and we worked over a six-month period with prospective donors to design a recognition plan that gave donors the kind of exposure and recognition they wanted. Separate plans were developed for major constituencies among associate members and for association executives. This step was very important in creating enthusiasm for the campaign among top prospects and was well worth the time invested.

Timing and marketing

Timing was crucial to the success of the campaign. Although a 12-to-18-month effort was originally considered, the committee ended up setting the start of the campaign around two key events. The first was the ASAE Board meeting in December 1993, where the first leadership gifts were announced. The campaign would culminate at the ASAE Annual Meeting & Exposition in August 1994. This short time frame added pressure to achieve the goal, but it also gave volunteers a great incentive to proceed.

Following formal Foundation board approval for a campaign in November and ASAE board endorsement in December 1993, CCS was hired to conduct the campaign. A full-time campaign executive director began working in the Foundation office in December, along with a campaign secretary. Although the consultants had responsibility for directing the campaign, more than half of my time and one quarter of the Foundation's associate director's time was spent on the campaign in the early stages.

It was time to begin marketing efforts. During December and January we worked to develop the campaign brochure, which is the major promotional piece and case statement for the campaign. We wanted our brochure to project a first-class image and showcase both our volunteer leadership and the Foundation's four funding areas. High-quality paper, four-color presentation, and a simple but elegant graphic presentation accomplished our goal.

The brochure was mailed to all prospects, along with a personal letter from Jonathan Tisch and ASAE President R. William Taylor, CAE, inviting them to invest in the future of association management through the campaign. As each letter was sent out, the volunteer solicitor was copied and asked to make a follow-up telephone call or write a supporting letter in the next few days.

This was a period of high intensity, long days, multiple deadlines, and great excitement as we worked with volunteers to secure the leadership gifts that would take us to the public launch. The campaign executive committee was heavily involved soliciting volunteers for committees during this period, which is known as the "quiet" or nonpublic phase. Internally, things were anything but quiet.

The public launch

The campaign's public launch was timed for ASAE's Management and Meetings Forum in March. Between December 1993 and March 1994, $2.6 million in pledges was raised from top prospects among associations and industry suppliers. Several key girls early in the campaign made a tremendous difference by raising sights. Among those were Bill and Jeanette Taylor's personal pledge of $25,000, a pledge of $50,000 from the National Association of College Stores, and Loews' combined pledge of $300,000. Each of these gifts set a high standard for others to emulate.

Our original goal had been to launch with at least $2 million in pledges, so we were well past that target. In fact, during the last half-hour before the general session announcing the campaign, volunteers solicited an additional $400,000 in pledges, taking us to the $3 million mark and providing a spectacular launch.

Naturally, we wanted the launch to catch everyone's attention, so we needed a device that would show pledges received, celebrate those who stepped forward early in the campaign, and provide an incentive to others to make significant gifts. A 10-foot-high pyramid encased in smoked Plexiglas with 84 spaces for back-lighted donor logos was our solution. A pledge of at least $10,000 was required for inclusion on the pyramid and on-stage recognition.

Campaign chairman Jonathan Tisch invited the founding donors to come on stage and light up their logos on the pyramid as they were recognized during the general session, and the "Endowing the Future" campaign was officially launched.

During the Management and Meetings Forum we also held volunteer orientation sessions to help volunteers understand the basis for the campaign, and we made sure that press releases were ready to announce the campaign to the world. A second full-time consultant came on board in our offices as the pace of the campaign picked up.

Success and recognition

Between March and August solicitations continued and expanded. A third consultant joined us in June to handle the large number of prospects being contacted. The number of volunteers involved in soliciting prospects grew. Each day brought new gifts as we inched closer to the $5 million mark. We began feverish planning for the annual meeting celebration. Because of our success, there were more gifts than the pyramid could accommodate, so its panels were subdivided to ensure all 124 logos could fit.

Additional annual meeting celebrations were planned: a reception honoring campaign volunteers during which Jonathan Tisch presented each person a crystal pyramid in thanks and recognition; the annual ASAE Foundation Chair's reception was expanded as a major celebration of the campaign; and a joint luncheon of the ASAE and Foundation boards gave additional recognition to major supporters. The general session recognition was complex to orchestrate, with more than 100 major donors coming on stage. Press releases and news stories in ASAE publications, as well as an on-site donor recognition piece, were readied.

Finally, the big day came. Jonathan Tisch and George D. Kirkland, CAE, ASAE Foundation chair, announced during the opening general session of the ASAE Annual Meeting & Exposition in August that the "Endowing the Future" campaign had exceeded the goal and reached $5.7 million in pledges. After more than two years of hard work by literally hundreds of volunteers, a dream was realized: A permanent endowment for the association management profession had been created.

This campaign enjoyed broad and generous support among the membership. More than $1 million was pledged by associations, and an equal amount from convention and visitor bureaus under the leadership of John Marks. Allied societies pledged more than $50,000 collectively, and individual Fellows added personal pledges totalling $82,000. Support from associate members surpassed $4.5 million, an extraordinary figure.

Would I do it over again? You bet, but give me a month or two to rest up!

The Inside Story

Our lives as staff changed dramatically when the campaign consultants and extra administrative staff joined the three permanent foundation staff. At the peak of the campaign we had grown from three to eight.

Staffing and communication. A long-term temporary campaign secretary managed all details concerning donors, including date of pledge, solicitor, thank-you letter completion, and primary contact at the organization. Shorter-term temporary staff took up the slack when the pace quickened.

We found we had to assess our staffing needs each week because they varied so greatly. As various prospects were targeted, individualized proposal letters were created and sent along with the campaign brochure. Volunteers were alerted to follow up with their prospects within 10 days.

We included all staff in our weekly meetings. Using a standard agenda, we discussed last week's progress, the challenges coming up, and goals to be met that week. Problems were also identified and solved, especially involving access to information by the consultants.

To help keep everyone on staff up to speed and involved, we used two white boards on which we posted basic information, such as major prospects, gifts received during the week, the ongoing campaign total, and the week's schedule of meetings.

Celebrating along the way. Early in the campaign, when the first gifts were arriving, we had no way to celebrate. Realizing that whooping in the hallway was unseemly, I brought in a large bronze ship's bell. Every time a gift was pledged, we rang the bell, and the whole staff gathered to celebrate as the gift was marked up on the board. By the end of the campaign, even the volunteers were asking us to ring the bell during conference calls to celebrate our success.

Shared challenges breed camaraderie, and we had our full complement of staff celebrations. During the seven-month period we marked a birth, a marriage, and three birthdays. We also held three staff picnics complete with competitive but hilarious boccie tournaments. Meeting an interim goal on the way to success called for a champagne toast, pizza lunch, or high five's in the hallway. All this good humor stood us in good stead when the workload escalated, as it did toward the end of the campaign.

Key Success Factors

It goes without saying that the critical elements for a campaign's success are its leadership, its case, and volunteer commitment and involvement. Without these, there can be no campaign. But there are other, less visible factors that make a difference as well.

* Having the right staff on the job was critical to the ASAE Foundation's ability to continue on-going program's while under the intense pressure of the "Endowing the Future" campaign. Everyone pitched in whenever it was necessary to meet a deadline or finish projects.

* We were extraordinarily lucky in having key leaders who were accessible and responsive on short notice so that our compressed time line could be met. Their quick response time enabled decisions to be made and the work to be go on.

* Creating a team of regular staff, consultants, and short-term employees rather than trying to isolate the campaign from day-to-day business made everyone a part of the team and enabled us all to share in the success.

* Creating "pressure points" for reporting on progress was key to keeping on schedule. In most campaigns this is done through face-to-face meetings, but we found that conference calls chaired by the campaign chairman provided an equal incentive for volunteers to meet their goals.

* Keeping all the volunteers informed and involved in the campaign was another key factor in building momentum and keeping sights high. A bi-weekly GoodNews Letter informed everyone of new gifts and progress toward goal, and also recognized those who had given. GoodNews was faxed rather than mailed to add the sense of immediacy and urgency. Additional progress reports were given to the ASAE Foundation executive committee and board, and progress was reported to the ASAE board via Board Briefs, its monthly newsletter.

Developing Recognition Plans

Recognition plans developed with prospective donors give them the opportunity to tell you what they want and increase the probability that they will support your campaign. Normally, the higher the level of gift, the more recognition accrues. Here are some of the elements the ASAE Foundation included in our plans for the "Endowing the Future" campaign:

* Annual or more frequent printed recognition in ASSOCIATION MANAGEMENT, the "ASAE Foundation News," Foundation annual report, and on-site printed pieces at major meetings.

* Recognition in the Associations Advance America program. Leadership donors' sponsorship enabled them to be on stage at the ASAE Annual Meeting & Exposition to present awards to winners and to be listed on the program brochure and application.

* Plaques for suppliers to have at their booths, along with ribbons for all booth personnel, identifying them with the campaign.

* Graduated rebates to advertisers and exhibitors linked to the level of their gifts to the campaign. When we send the rebates each year, we will be able to once again thank our contributors for their support in our cover letter.

Ann C. Kenworthy, CAE, is executive director of the ASAE Foundation.