i team

Discovery Service
Feasibility Study

The campaign feasibility study is an important i team Discovery Service. The study is vital to the overall success of a potential capital campaign for many reasons. The feasibility study is an opportunity to inform, interest, and involve key community and corporate leaders. The i team, in partnership with the client, will:

examine potential funding sources, and establish, through factual and subjective information, a professional estimate of the funding potential available
describe the community needs that will be met through the accomplishment of this project and anticipate the community’s response to a proposed capital project
evaluate the general readiness of the organization to launch a capital campaign
plant the seeds of philanthropy among target constituencies
encourage interviewees to begin sharing ownership of the organization’s vision and uncover issues or concerns important to the organization
define the necessary steps to create a sense of urgency that is required prior to beginning a capital campaign
involve potential capital campaign participants in the early phases of campaign development
identify potential campaign leadership including general, corporate, advance, and special gifts volunteer leaders

Feasibility studies are not intended to secure financial commitments. In fact, appointments are made with the explicit understanding that no solicitation will take place. Rather than seeking commitments, an effective feasibility study is intended to accumulate enough factual and subjective information to form an accurate indication of campaign potential, both aggregately (taking all the interviews together) and individually (gathering information about how the individual interviewee feels about financially supporting the campaign, and the possible range of his/her gift commitment). These studies can vary widely in size, scope, and length, and are created for the unique needs of the client organization.

The i team generally employs four criteria for determining campaign potential:

The extent to which the organization’s constituencies hold generally favorable attitudes toward the mission, and toward its perceived effectiveness in carrying out its mission.
The strength of the case for support in terms of community needs, numbers of people to be served, lack of duplicate services, and potential for the project to enhance the quality of life.
The giving potential of corporations, businesses, foundations and individuals to provide support.
The availability of strong leadership and well-recognized individuals to assume key volunteer roles within the capital campaign organization.

The i team associates are experienced interviewers who respectfully and professionally represent the client when interviewing. All interviews are held in the strictest confidence, and the final report becomes the property of the client.