The Flaws of a Grassroots Campaign Model

Is a grassroots approach an effective strategy?

Every now and then, you’ll hear of an organization that wants to raise money, large sums of money, the good ole grassroots way. The thought process goes something like this: If I can just find one million people to give $1.00, I’d reach my capital campaign goal. The problem with a grass roots approach is that finding a lot of people who will make a small contribution to reach a large financial goal is a very slow and ineffective way to raise large sums of money.

Direct mail is the wrong way to raise funds; but it is an effective way to acquire names of potential supporters. Whether it’s a capital campaign raising $1 million or $50 million, it takes less than one hundred people (including grants) to account for more than eighty percent of all the money received. Do you have eighty to one hundred prospects with the giving capacity to add up to eighty percent of your campaign goal? Well . . . let’s see.

• How many folks do you know who could make a gift that is twenty percent of your desired campaign goal?
• How many prospects do you have who might make a gift that is ten percent of your financial goal?
• How many people do you have who could make a gift that is five percent?
• How many potential donors do you have who could make a gift that is one percent of your campaign goal?
• How many prospects do you have who you think could make a gift but you have no idea how to place them in the giving ranks?

Rule of Thumb: If you have between fifty and one hundred prospective donors and the total for credible donations is at least twice as much as your campaign goal, you have enough donor depth to start planning your campaign. One hundred donors is a whole lot easier to find than one million any day!

Steeple provides fund raising and organizational development services to faith-based and community-based organizations of the nonprofit sector. Our efforts are dedicated to putting nonprofit managers and trustees in touch with the tools and resources they need to develop their organizations and to conduct successful capital campaigns. Our work with clients is for the long-term—to build internal capacity, to create brand equity, and to attract and retain funding. Since 2007, we’ve helped nonprofit organizations like yours raise more than $14 million.

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