What is a Capital Campaign?

A Capital Campaign is a dedicated effort by a nonprofit organization to raise money for a large capital expenditure (like buildings, property, or something physical that is going to last a long time). A capital campaign will have a specific dollar goal to be raised within a specific amount of time.

The Hodge Group has assisted with many capital campaigns, including a multi-year effort by Rhodes State College to establish a new building in downtown Lima, Ohio. You can view a good example of the messaging and scope of work that goes into a capital campaign effort here:

You can find out more about Rhodes State College's efforts in this news article.

Hyper-Philanthropy™ Begins with a Good Strategic Plan

The Hodge Group leads organizations towards the strongest philanthropic response possible by tying that response directly to an organization’s strategic plan. Furthermore, we coordinate that plan with the strategic alignment of resources, messaging, and outreach, in order to customize our trademarked methodology of Hyper-Philanthropy™ for our clients.

The Hodge Group has a long history of facilitating successful strategic planning sessions with organizations of all sizes and missions. Organizations experience a session(s) which may run between two-four hours and is interactive and collaborative. We encourage attendance to be a combination of Board and staff leadership and begin our process with advanced research and discussion with the respective leadership groups. This assists all to reach consensus on the current state of the organization, its potential within its current structure, and further potential with the establishment of enhanced resources. The Hodge Group believes that a strategy that is not shared will not last, and one of the most crucial outcomes of this strategic planning situation is that the Board adopts ownership of the planning process and its result.

Organizations can expect to reach any combination of the following objectives through our initial session and subsequent sessions:

• Consensus on opportunities and challenges
• Established understanding of the mission and vision and its relationship to your values and service delivery
• Established understanding of the relationship between Board and Staff Leadership and their respective roles in the creation and implementation of strategic planning
• Understanding the relationship between the key planning components:
  • • Areas of Focus
    • Goals
    • Objectives
    • Measures
    • Assignment of the Areas of Focus
    • Discussion and Assignment of Goals
    • Discussion and assignment reasonable measures and tactics
    • Assistance with the writing of the full plan
    • Assistance with the celebration of the plan’s approval and adoption

   

All of this is tailored towards unlocking a Hyper-Philanthropic™ culture among your Board and Staff Leadership. Two actions necessary to achieve that culture are that, first, your organization has to empower its Board to become brand ambassadors for that organization; next, new initiatives the organization wants to implement have to be socialized within the community. The Hodge Group’s unique strategic planning process accomplishes both those goals by naturally creating a value-embued brand for the organization which can then be socialized through strategic messaging and invite a powerful strategic response, thus attaining a Hyper-Philanthropic™ state.

Contact The Hodge Group today to find out how you can embark upon a strategic planning process to unlock your Board’s Hyper-Philanthropic™ potential.

Experts tell us that the face of philanthropy is changing rapidly. The Giving Institute’s data reveals that individual giving makes up less than 70% of our $400 billion industry for the first time ever, and online/mobile giving rates are up almost three times the rate of overall giving. Despite these changes, though, it’s crucial to remember that the fundamentals of this field remain constant. Giving is about personal connections, now more than ever in an increasingly impersonal world, and the only thing that has changed is the medium. With that in mind, The Hodge Group (THG) has trademarked a term, Hyper-Philanthropy™, that we believe can define giving in the modern age.

Hyper-philanthropy™ is about taking advantage of resources within your organization and your community at large to foster an environment where staff, board members, and community leaders all feel passionately about serving the public good through philanthropy.

Northwest Arkansas, for example, is a hyper-philanthropic™ community in large part thanks to a culture fostered by Walmart. What actions create a strong culture?

1. Empowering community leaders to become brand ambassadors for an organization.
2. Socializing a new initiative.
3. Streamlining operations in an organization through the use of new technologies, such as advancements in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

Such elements make it easier for a hyper-philanthropic culture to exist because they create convenience for a community. Approximately 70% of Americans live online lives today through social media, blogs, and more, and by meeting these people where they live the promise of becoming a hyper-philanthropic organization becomes achievable.

Hyper-philanthropy™ recognizes three seismic shifts in how communities operate:

1. A rise in people power (i.e. globalization shown through increased crowdfunding and social platforms);
2. A shift from hierarchies to horizontal decision-making (i.e. the rise of telework and the popularity of open offices);
3. And a fierce increase in competition (nonprofits account for over 10% of all private jobs in 2019).

Far from being scary, these seismic shifts represent outstanding opportunities that can be leveraged to create that hyper-philanthropic culture we all want to embody.

Hyper-philanthropic™ cultures emerge through the identification of shared core values, and such values become easy to identify through the use of new technologies.

A large social presence online makes it so that a nonprofit can offer digital and immersive tours of their facilities and/or programs to donors from anywhere in the world. The fight for philanthropic dollars is more intense than ever before, but new AI tools allow development offices to have one staffer do the work of three when it comes to prospect research and identification. By focusing on bolstering your SEO strategy through a use of blogs, social media, and other platforms, your organization achieves brand penetration that socializes initiatives. Using new technologies in these ways means more time for executive directors, Boards, and development teams to do what they do best – forge stronger relationships.

As American culture evolves, so must our philanthropic culture evolve if we are to meet donors where they live in an increasingly digital world.

Whether you are conducting a feasibility study or embarking upon a capital campaign, your organization needs to know how to make the most of scarce resources and how to best engage, excite, and empower your most promising volunteers. Watch our video on hyper-philanthropy™ here, and then send us a note at info@hodge-group.com if you’d like a free consultation to determine how to make your organization hyper-philanthropic™.

Recession Proofing Your Non-Profit

Though the economy expanded at a rate of 2% in Q2 2019, there is emerging evidence that economic growth is slowing, causing many to brace for another recession.  Considering that our non-profit industry makes up 2% of U.S. Gross Domestic Product, we need to pay attention.

Many in our industry are haunted by the recession of 2008, which did not discriminate and left many non-profits with considerably less operating revenue and flexibility.  The Weingart Foundation cites some relevant research from the Chronicle of Philanthropy here: https://www.weingartfnd.org/files/ChronicleRecessionin2019.pdf

While the article suggests non-profit organizations aren’t thinking much about a recession and are forging ahead under an assumption of business as usual, we at The Hodge Group recommend a pro-active approach to recession-proof your non-profit by following these steps:

1. Encourage Hyper-Philanthropy™ by diversifying your resources

By using data and going through a strategic planning process, you will align your constituents to a predictable and sustainable philanthropic response that allows you to continue to be impactful. Strategic use of your volunteers and technology enhances this and helps drive your organization toward a hyper-philanthropic state.

2. Create a Useable Strategy

Many non-profits engage in Strategic Planning to appease accreditation requirements or to remain in compliance with a grant-making organization.  THG believes in creating a strategic plan that is regularly referenced.  By having this type of tool available, all resources can be directed effectively without compromising mission delivery.

3. Know Your Value Proposition

Several non-profit organizations mimic services, sometimes inside the same area of expertise.  When individual donors are faced with making decisions during a time when their philanthropic dollars are limited, you want your organization to stand out as one they should choose over others.  That’s where THG can offer vital aid with our proprietary formula for crafting a branded, donor-centered value proposition.

4. Establish Flexible Funding

Now is the time to bolster your annual giving efforts so that you have more unrestricted dollars accessible for remaining agile through tough times.  Testing specific variables within this fundraising stream is most effective before a recession and the data acquired will help direct a more predictable response should you be faced with having to make difficult operational decisions.

5. Gather Data regarding Organizational Capacity 

A Feasibility Study is not only for Capital Campaigning.  THG offers an enhanced, proprietary assessment model which delivers to organizations information about specific attributes which exist to support them through any conditions.  These measurements come from both internal and external resources and offer insight regarding expectations and assumptions.