Sinclair, Townes & Company - Fund Raising Consulting

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Fund Raising Consulting Services: Innovative & Traditional from Sinclair, Townes & Company

Count on fund raising consultants who care. Whether it's a national fund raising campaign, Southern giving, or a regional or local campaign, Sinclair, Townes & Company can help you raise more money.

We provide fund raising counsel for capital campaigns, endowment campaigns, planned giving campaigns, annual funds - and more. Our fund raising consulting services are listed below.

CAPITAL CAMPAIGN FEASIBILITY STUDIES

Just how ready and able are you for that upcoming capital campaign? A feasibility study is a market survey assessing your overall readiness for an upcoming capital campaign, endowment campaign, or major gifts fund raising effort. Sinclair, Townes & Company consultants are experts in gathering the facts and perceptions, and then relaying this information quantitatively and qualitatively. Specifically, we can:

• Provide an assessment of your strengths and weaknesses in fund raising and public relations.

• Give an assessment of your campaign readiness.

• Suggest attainable goals for your major fund raising efforts.

• Determine the validity of your case for support in the marketplace.

• Help identify potential donors and volunteers.

• Give an assessment of your image within the community.

• Make recommendations for timing and strategy.

• Assist in developing your campaign plan.

Feasibility studies typically include thirty to sixty in-person interviews along with focus groups and/or mail questionnaires.

CAPITAL CAMPAIGN CONSULTING

From large to small, international to local, we have helped hundreds of non-profits reach and exceed their campaign goals. Sinclair, Townes & Company can help you conduct a successful campaign by providing the necessary tools to identify, cultivate, solicit, track, and recognize your prospects, donors and volunteers. Specifically, we can:

• Provide advice, direction, and counsel to the volunteer and staff leadership on policy, planning, strategy, and scheduling.

• Recommend appropriate strategies and assignments for prospect cultivation and solicitation.

• Assist in the drafting of all written materials for the campaign, including the case statement, brochures, and other printed material.

• Conduct certain staff functions for the campaign including arranging and conducting screening and rating sessions, and training volunteers on cultivation and solicitation techniques.

• Conduct research of major prospects; assist with the establishment of an on-going research function in the development office.

• Assist in the planning, coordination and positioning of planned and annual giving within the campaign.

• Research and write proposals.

• Develop appropriate tracking and donor recognition systems.

PLANNED GIVING CONSULTING

A planned giving program is one of the most effective methods for obtaining the long-term charitable dollar. Sinclair, Townes & Company can provide you with experienced planned giving counsel to assist you in developing and executing a comprehensive, systematic, and sustained approach to planned giving. We can assist you in the technical, marketing, and administrative areas. Specifically, we can provide:

• Analysis of your current planned giving efforts, if any.

• Drafting of a comprehensive planned giving program plan, with particular emphasis on how to market the program to different constituencies.

• Assistance in the drafting and preparation of brochures, newsletters, and other written materials on planned giving.

• Assistance in the conducting of possible planned giving seminars and training sessions for board members, staff, volunteers, and prospects.

• Review of planned giving suspects and prospects with staff and volunteers to help develop a particular cultivation plan for each top prospect.

• Technical assistance to help close gifts, including meetings with prospective donors and their advisors, if appropriate.

INTERNAL DEVELOPMENT ASSESSMENTS & AUDITS

Is it time for an assessment of how well your development office is functioning? Sinclair, Townes & Company can provide valuable outside perspective on your effectiveness and efficiency -- as well as make recommendations for improvements. Sinclair, Townes & Company can help determine such items as:

• Is the development department adequately staffed?

• How does my organization/institution compare with others?

• How can our development program be better managed and better organized?

• Are the organization’s fund raising goals and objectives well-defined? Are appropriate office systems in place? Have future directions been established?

• How are trustees selected? Is the board well-informed and committed? Does the board understand and accept its responsibilities?

• Has your case for support been documented and is it compelling? What direct mail results have you had? How are the volunteers involved? Does the record-keeping system work? How effective are the donor retention,acquisition, acknowledgement and recognition programs? How effective is your stewardship program?

ANNUAL FUND CONSULTING

Does your annual fund do more than just bring in an ever-increasing revenue stream? If not, it should. The best annual funds build a dependable network of interested volunteers and establish patterns of giving that build the solid foundation for capital campaigns, major gifts and planned giving. Sinclair, Townes & Company can:

• Work with your development office and your volunteers to establish short-term and long-term goals for your annual fund.

• Devise a twelve-month plan for your annual fund, with detailed schedules and deadlines for each component of the program.

• Develop comprehensive job responsibilities for the staff to help guarantee that assignments are not duplicated or overlooked.

• Review the annual donor records and recommend appropriate segmentation techniques.

• Determine the appropriate blend of techniques i.e., direct mail, e-mail, phone-a-thons, personal solicitation, special events, etc.

• Draft annual fund materials, including text, brochures, response devices, and report forms.

• Recommend how your existing publications should be used to help promote the annual fund.

• Evaluate your record-keeping system and make any needed recommendations for improvements.

PROSPECT RESEARCH

Are you really ready to secure major, lead, and transformational gifts from your prospects? Sinclair, Townes & Company can assist you in researching the prospect information you need to make well-informed and well-timed solicitations of individuals, foundations, and corporations.

We can research individuals for such items as:

• Net worth • Board and club memberships • Other charitable gifts made • Other interests and hobbies • Business equity and other occupational information • Automobile, aircraft, and boat ownership • Recent newspaper and magazine articles • Real estate and stock holdings.

We can research foundations and corporations for such items as:

• Board members and relationships • Deadline dates and other requirements • Other charitable gifts and grants • Key components to include in your proposal • Recent newspaper and magazine articles.

BOARD RETREATS

Give your board members the encouragement and know-how they need to function most effectively. Let Sinclair, Townes & Company help educate and motivate your most important asset - your board! We can create a tailor-made board retreat by:

• Working with your organization to develop a board retreat agenda.

• Reviewing a description of the responsibilities typically associated with board membership, with particular emphasis on fund raising.

• Facilitating a session to help the board formalize a long range plan, develop the fund raising objectives to meet the plan, and explain thoroughly the board’s development responsibility.

• Providing information on forming and executing a successful development committee.

• Leading discussions on annual giving, planned giving, capital campaigns, and/or other fund raising topics.

• Providing all necessary support materials.

• Moderating the discussion in order to keep the retreat on track.

EXECUTIVE SEARCH

With Sinclair, Townes & Company you can feel confident of finding individuals who will best suit your organization’s needs. Looking for a new director of development, vice president of institutional advancement, director of planned giving, or other fund raising personnel? Our executive search services include such items as:

• Review the job description and compensation package suggesting possible changes.

• Draft and/or edit and place your advertising copy, suggesting appropriate publications for a large prospective applicant pool.

• Identify additional prospective candidates for you to consider, through canvassing colleagues, friends, and additional contacts.

• Review the resumes to select the best prospective candidates.

• Work with you to determine a standard interview format to assure consistency in the interview process.

• Conduct extensive interviews of the top prospective candidates and their references, to help determine their true institutional advancement skills.

• Meet individually with you and the top three to five candidates.

• Prioritize and recommend the best candidates for hire.

• Assist in or actually make the offer on behalf of your organization.

Sinclair, Townes & Company (770) 988-8111

670 Village Trace, Building 19, Atlanta, Georgia 30067 info@sinclairtownes.com