Need: Determine potential for endowment campaign
Service: Pre-campaign planning analysis
Wanting to capitalize on the College’s building program, but recognizing the significant barriers that lay in the way of a successful endowment campaign, the College of American Pathologists Foundation retained Smith Beers Yunker to conduct a feasibility study. Preferring to call this important initial step a “pre-campaign planning phase,” Smith Beers Yunker guided the Foundation through a reality check and professional assessment of its ability to create an endowment.
According to CAP Executive Vice President Lee VanBremen, PhD, the Smith Beers report was “as honest and forthright a report as I have ever seen. This is not the first time we have worked with outside consultants, but Smith Beers interviewed our members in a more professional way and laid the facts on the line for us in a very constructive presentation that I believe our board members can accept and act upon accordingly.”
“One thing Smith Beers did differently was to provide suggestions on realistic steps we could take to strengthen our fundraising despite the fact that results of the planning study showed very little potential for a successful campaign,” explains Foundation Executive Director Diana Kelker. “They did not just deliver the ‘bad news’ and leave us to fend for ourselves. The interviewing approach taken by Jim Yunker engaged our leaders in a way that inspired them to think about how they could become more pro-active in addressing important issues. The final report was helpful in educating us on elements of successful fundraising and the options presented were not only positive, but doable.”
A seasoned fund-raising volunteer in his own right and Board President of the CAP Foundation, Jared N. Schwartz, MD, PhD, voices his satisfaction by saying, “They answered the questions we needed answered, and I know that doesn’t always happen with consultants. Smith Beers told us what we needed to hear, not necessarily what we wanted to hear. Their report was succinct and crystal clear. They worked hard to get a good understanding of who we are and of our goals. I was very pleased with the process.”