Capturing the Imagination of the Community

By the Donor By Design Team

Earlier this month, the Fond du Lac Family YMCA opened its new facility. We’ve chronicled the amazing journey of this YMCA before, so it was our great joy as a team to get a tour last week from Greg Giles, the YMCA’s CEO.

Greg was proud to show off his new facility and afterward we had a great conversation about what made a difference for his volunteers and staff while raising money during one of worst recessions in memory.

Greg’s Three Keys to Capital Campaign Success

1. Leadership – you have to have the right people on board. Take the time you need during this step because rushing the leadership decision will just mean more work to finish the campaign.
2. Vision – when people are taking potshots at the time it’s taking to raise the money or construction delays, stick to your vision. If you know what your outcome is, you can steer toward it.
3. Wait to Ask – once volunteers are psyched up, they want to rush right out and make the ask. But taking the time to raise a prospective donor’s interest is critical. Do your “friendraising” and don’t rush to fundraising.

The volunteers of the Fond Du Lac Family YMCA knew they needed to capture the imagination of the community. They did this by creating an “Imagine Room” and painting a clear picture of the new YMCA. Now, the entire downtown district of Fond du Lac is slated for more development and improvements. The success of the YMCA has inspired an entire community to grow!

In the end though, Greg reflected about what’s really important. “The building is beautiful,” he said, “But thirty years from now, you won’t remember how beautiful the building was. You’ll remember the joy in your son’s face as he learned to swim or the determination of your daughter as she learned to do a lay up. The experience has to be as beautiful as the facility.”

Last 5 posts by Donor By Design Team

• What we believe. - April 23rd, 2012
• An Early Christmas Present - December 19th, 2011
• That Guy - September 23rd, 2011
• When the Going Gets Rough - September 2nd, 2011
• Filling the Bucket - June 10th, 2011

Comments RSS You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.