4662 Gravelly Hills Road
Louisville,
Tennessee 37777
(865) 379-1234
(865) 379-2034 (fax)
(800) 263-1976 (Toll-free)
300 Queen Anne Ave. N., Suite 377
Seattle, Washington 98109
(206) 364-1227
(206) 364-1218 (fax)
(800) 606-6922 |
fundraising for all type of churches
CAMPAIGN TIMETABLE
Rules of Thumb for Timetables:
Timetables for $1 million plus campaigns should be at least 12 weeks regardless of the
number of families
Timetable for goals of $500,000 or more with 1,000 or more families should be no less
than eight week – ten weeks is preferred
Six week timetable should be avoided – the campaign organization, Major Gift
prospect list, final timetable and case outline must be completed by the supervisor and
approved prior to the start of a six week campaign. Where possible, it is strongly
encouraged to have the Major Gift committee recruited and trained before the director
arrives in a six-week campaign.
The following is a sample timeline for a six-phase campaign that contains general
meetings and information. Every campaign’s timetable will vary.
The following does not contain pertinent information that would be specific to a
particular campaign. This includes: date, day, time, whose responsible, purpose and
description.
A Master Timetable should be given to every key leader of the campaign.
Sample Timetable
PHASE I – DESIGN & MARKETING PHASE
(Approximately Four Weeks)
| Purpose/Description |
| Minimum of 50 parish leaders are identified for interviews |
| In-Pew Survey is given to members during Mass or Service to gather and
impart information about the campaign and building plans. |
| Interview Request letters are mailed with personal follow-up by Pastor
to assure meetings are set-up. |
| Survey developed |
| Interview Process begins. |
| Research and database management to determine feasibility of goal. |
| Written Report to the Church regarding findings and recommendations. |
PHASE II - PACE SETTER PHASE
(Three to Four Weeks)
| Purpose/Description |
|
| Review & Finalize Proposed Timeline and Brochure Copy |
|
| Brochure Copy to Graphic Designer |
|
| Finalize Database – (Gift Levels and Volunteer
Prospects) |
|
| Completed & sign solicitation letters |
|
| Signed solicitation letters complete |
|
Set up 40 Major Gift Visits by phone. Phone call is followed by a thank
you and confirmation letter.
Approval of all campaign materials – Thank you letter, brochure, training,
presentation outline, meeting hand-outs etc.
Organize campaign publicity committee & projects.
Identify and recruit meeting hosts for Leadership Phase – four members who will
take care of hospitality for all upcoming campaign presentations.
Pulpit Announcements each Sunday informing parish of what is happening behind the
scenes and gradually preparing them for what will be asked of each parishioner or parish
family.
|
|
| Brochures completed and delivered to church |
|
| Volunteers help assemble all solicitation packets which
consist of personalized outside envelope, solicitation letter and campaign brochure. |
|
| Pastor and Pace Setter Committee make personal visits to
minimum 25 identified major gift (Pace-Setter) prospects. |
|
| Pastor calls 15-20 volunteer prospects for the Leadership
Task Force and invites to a recruitment meeting/campaign presentation. |
|
| Confirmation Letter is sent to all of those who agreed to
attend the meeting. |
|
| Volunteer or receptionist calls to remind the 15-20
parishioners who agreed to attend meeting about time and day. |
|
| Leadership Task Force Recruitment Meeting – At
this meeting 15-20 people will be asked to serve as the first group of campaign volunteers
for the campaign. The meeting consists of a presentation outlining details of the building
project, campaign and volunteer role. Those attending will be given the opportunity to
agree to volunteer, or not, after learning all of the details of their role. It is the
same style of presentation that is used throughout the remainder of the campaign. |
|
| Those who attended the Leadership Task Force Recruitment
meeting should return their gift cards in the offertory basket during Mass. |
|
| Complete all Pace-Setter Gift Solicitations |
|
PHASE III – LEADERSHIP PHASE
(Three or Four Weeks)
| Purpose/Description |
|
| Leadership Task Force Training and assignment meeting.
Task Force members will receive their "assigned church families" to call and
remind to come to an upcoming Leadership meetings/campaign presentation during the next
two weeks. They will be trained in follow-up to assure that every member makes a decision
about their support of the campaign. |
|
| Leadership Meetings - Leadership gift prospects
attend a brief, classy cultivation event to learn details directly from Pastor. Each
attendee will get a solicitation packet and is asked to bring their card back on within
two weeks. |
|
| Pastor is given invitation letters for all Exec. Team
members to sign. These letters will invite 30 potential Exec. Team members to a special
(recruitment) meeting. |
|
| Those who attended Leadership meetings should return their
gift cards in the offertory basket. |
|
| Report Meeting #1 for Leadership Task Force. –
All Task Force members meet to report on status of decisions of their assigned families.
Questions, problems, comments are discussed. Some volunteers may be done if all of their
families have made a decision or may choose to be assigned to more families to help other
Task Force members. |
|
| Report Meeting #2 for Leadership Task Force –
Same as above. |
|
| Letter is mailed to all prospective Executive Team members
to invite to meeting. |
|
PHASE IV RECRUITMENT PHASE
(Three or Four Weeks)
| Purpose/Description |
|
| Pastor calls to confirm attendance of Executive Team
Prospects at a meeting. |
|
| Volunteer calls to remind all of those who agreed to attend
the Exec. Team Recruitment meeting about time and day. |
|
| Executive Team Recruitment Meeting to invite these
40 people to serve as volunteers on Exec Team to help to recruit the Team Captains through
follow up phone calls and possible visits to those who don’t attend the meeting. This
meeting is conducted in the same manner that the Leadership Task Force Recruitment meeting
was conducted. |
|
| Those who attended Exec. Team meeting return gift cards in
Sunday’s offertory basket. |
|
| Pastor calls to personal invite 50 people to attend the
Team Captain Recruitment meeting. |
|
| Executive Team Training meeting – Executive
Team members meeting for training and assignment of their families. "Their
families" are those who are being invited to the Team Captain Recruitment meeting. |
|
| Team Captain Recruitment Meeting – Meeting to
ask 50 or so parishioners to serve as team captains. |
|
| Those who attended Team Captain Recruitment Meeting return
their gift cards in the offertory basket |
|
| Team Captain Training Meeting – Team Captains
meet with Executive Team and are assigned their families to follow up with for the
Participation Phase of the campaign. They receive an orientation on making phone calls and
personal visits, if necessary. |
|
PHASE V – PARTICIPATION PHASE
(Three or Four Weeks)
| Purpose/Description |
|
| Personal letters are mailed to every parishioner asking
them to complete an RSVP card and return it either in the mail or during Mass the
following week, indicating which of the two parish-wide meetings they will attend. |
|
| Volunteer Sunday – Parishioners return their
RSVP cards in the offertory basket indicating which parish-wide meeting they are
attending. |
|
| Team Captain Assignment Meeting- Team Captains &
Executive Team members meet to receive their assignments and begin to make phone calls to
remind parishioners to attend the meeting that they have selected or to call and ask those
who didn’t return a card to commit to a meeting. |
|
| Parish-wide Meeting #1 - This is the large meeting
where all of the details of the case are explained, the campaign is outlined and members
are asked to join their team. Everyone attending will complete a form indicating whether
they will give, volunteer, and/or pray for the appeal. They are also given a packet with a
solicitation request and brochure as well as their own gift card. They are asked to return
their gift card at either the first team meeting on Tuesday, or during Commitment Sunday. |
|
| Parish-wide Meeting #2 – Number of parish-wide
meetings depends on size of church and style of campaign. |
|
| Every parishioner who has not attended a meeting will be
mailed a personal packet including brochure, cover letter and gift plans. They will be
asked to return their card on Commitment Sunday, during Mass. |
|
| Commitment Sunday - Prior to the collection, Pastor
will speak from the heart outlining the importance of each parishioner’s financial
participation. A short prayer will follow and then the ushers will collect the cards of
those present. |
|
| Team Captain/Worker Report Meeting #1 Training &
Team Worker Training and Assignment Meeting. This meeting will update the volunteers on
the progress and each pair of volunteers will start making personal visits on each family
that has not made a gift as yet. |
|
| AMEN Sunday – Amen Sunday will consist of a
moving presentation, preferably as part of the Homily, encouraging all families to give
generously. Then ushers will pass out special gift cards and each family will complete one
card indicating either their gift level or "amen" indicating that they have
already given. The cards are then collected and mass continues. |
|
PHASE VI- CLOSURE PHASE
| Purpose/Description |
|
| Report Meeting #2 – Report meetings continue
until every parishioner has made a decision regarding support. |
|
| Campaign Evaluation – Formal post-campaign
evaluation to determine next steps. I.e., celebrations, publicity, announcements, etc. |
|
| Pledge Redemption Continues – Pledge redemption
is ongoing for three-five years. |
|
|