Why this moment matters

• Briefly, what's prompted you to consider a capital campaign now?
• How soon do you hope to announce or launch the campaign? Options: Within 3 months, 3-6 months, 6-12 months, 12-24 months, No fixed timeline
• Which internal trigger led this forward, strategic plan, board motion, lead donor, or another event? Options: Strategic plan recommendation, Board motion, Lead donor interest, Facilities need, Other
• Who first raised the idea inside your organization?
• If the campaign does not proceed within 12 months, what are the concrete consequences to programs, staffing, or capital plans?
• Which fundraising goal range feels most likely right now? Options: $10M-$25M, $25M-$50M, $50M-$100M, Above $100M, Undecided

Where the current plan may be leaking value

• If your existing campaign plan has one flaw that will stop you from reaching the goal, what is it?
• Walk me through your current gift pipeline for gifts above $100k.
• How many confirmed major gift prospects do you have for six- and seven-figure gifts?
• When was the last time a top prospect unexpectedly declined, and what changed afterward?
• What breaks downstream when volunteer leaders are underprepared or unclear about asks?
• If a top prospect withdraws public support during a campaign, would you pause, scale back, or continue? Options: Pause, Scale back publicly, Continue as planned, Unknown

Who needs to be aligned for this to fly

• Name the one stakeholder who could veto the campaign if not persuaded.
• Who on your board usually leads campaign approval discussions? Options: Campaign committee chair, Board chair, Development committee chair, CEO/President, Other
• How involved is the CEO expected to be in donor visits and asks? Options: Primary lead, Shared between CEO and development lead, Development lead mainly, Volunteer leaders lead
• List the roles that must sign off on the engagement and feasibility scope.
• Is there a single board member whose public endorsement you need before going to the next stage? Options: Yes, No, Unsure
• Do any decision makers require committee approval that could add more than one month to the timeline? Options: Yes, adds >1 month, Yes, minor delay, No committee approval needed, Unsure

Proof from past campaigns and studies

• When a prior feasibility missed its mark, what was the single root cause?
• How many previous campaigns over $10M have you completed, and what were the announced versus closed totals?
• Would a history of overestimating feasibility by more than 20 percent rule out running another study? Options: Yes, it would rule out, No, we would run another, Depends on context
• Tell me what metrics you tracked during your last campaign and which mattered most to leadership.
• Do you have a maintained list of top prospects with capacity and affinity notes? Options: Yes, maintained and detailed, Partial list, needs updates, No formal top prospects list, We use spreadsheets only

Where things could go wrong

• What single risk would make you stop the campaign before public launch?
• Point to the timeline dependencies that feel most fragile, construction, hiring, donor timing, or approvals. Options: Construction timeline, Senior staff availability, Major donor readiness, Board approvals, Regulatory or legal issues
• How frequently does your finance team produce cash flow forecasts for large gifts? Options: Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly, Ad hoc
• Are there donor restrictions or gift terms that could delay use of funds? Options: Yes, several restrictions, Some restrictions for certain donors, No restrictions, Unsure
• How long would it take to resolve a donor legal hold or naming dispute?
• If an external audit of past gifts is required, would that pause feasibility work? Options: Yes, it would pause work, No, we would proceed, Depends on scope

Other routes you're weighing

• Name the alternative you are most seriously considering instead of hiring outside campaign counsel.
• Which of the following options are on the table, select all that apply Options: Do it internally, Hire another consultant, Delay the campaign, Run a small pilot study, Seek additional lead donor before engaging, Do nothing for now
• What would have to be true about your internal approach for you to keep it instead of changing?
• Has anyone inside proposed solving this without outside counsel? Options: Yes, a staff member suggested it, Yes, a board member suggested it, No one has proposed that, Unsure
• If your internal team committed 20 hours a week for 12 months, would that remove the need for external counsel? Options: Yes, removes need for outside help, No, still need external counsel, Maybe, depending on results
• Are you already in conversations with another consultant that would close before you could sign with an outside partner? Options: Yes, we have active talks, No, Informal conversations only, Undisclosed

Data and systems, are we ready to run?

• If we need donor contact lists, giving history, and prospect scores within two weeks, can your team deliver them? Options: Yes, within two weeks, Yes, but needs more than two weeks, Partial exports available, No, cannot deliver
• Which CRM category stores your donor records? Options: Enterprise CRM (cloud), Donor-specific cloud database, Spreadsheet-driven system, Hybrid system, Unsure
• Who on your team owns CRM access and can authorize data export?
• What condition is your donor data in, clean and de-duplicated, partially clean, or messy? Options: Clean and de-duplicated, Mostly clean with some duplicates, Partially clean, needs work, Messy and unstructured
• Do you have signed donor privacy or data-sharing policies that would limit outreach during feasibility? Options: Yes, restricts outreach, Yes, restricts some donors, No restrictions, Unsure
• Are APIs or data exports available for prospect modeling and analysis? Options: Yes, available, Limited exports only, No APIs, manual export, Unsure
• Is there any legal, privacy, or donor agreement that would prevent contacting major prospects for interview? Options: Yes, that prevents contact, There may be donor-specific limits, No legal barriers, Unsure

Staff and volunteer capacity to deliver

• If your development director were to leave tomorrow, could you still meet the proposed campaign schedule? Options: Yes, schedule intact, Maybe, would delay, No, schedule would slip
• Who will be the day-to-day partner on campaign operations?
• Estimate the number of volunteer leaders who can commit to regular solicitation work and the typical monthly hours each can give. Options: 0-3 leaders, 4-8 leaders, 9-15 leaders, More than 15
• What training or coaching have volunteers received for soliciting major gifts?
• Please indicate the number of donor visits per quarter the CEO can commit to. Options: 0 visits, 1-2 visits, 3-5 visits, 5+ visits
• If volunteers cannot commit to assigned prospect visits, would you pause recruitment, reduce the goal, or proceed without them? Options: Pause recruitment, Reduce goal, Proceed without them, Other

What success will feel and measure like

• Identify the single measurable outcome that would convince your board this campaign was worth it in three years.
• What are the top three acceptance criteria the executive team will use to approve the campaign plan? Options: Evidence of top gift readiness, Detailed gift table, Volunteer leader commitments, Feasibility modeled to realistic goal, Clear solicitation plan, Timeline and staffing confirmed
• Pick the reporting cadence that will keep leadership confident, monthly, quarterly, or milestone-based. Options: Monthly, Quarterly, Milestone-based, Ad hoc updates
• How would you prefer we surface early warning signs of underperformance?
• Would you be comfortable announcing a fundraising goal that is conditional on feasibility thresholds being met? Options: Yes, Maybe, with guardrails, No
• If the feasibility suggests a goal outside your board's comfort range, would you accept the recommended goal or insist on a lower public target? Options: Accept recommended goal, Insist on lower public target, Delay public announcement, Need further board discussion

Decision hinge and next steps

• Point to the upcoming board or executive meeting that will serve as the decision hinge for this engagement.
• What budget range has the board or finance committee authorized for feasibility work? Options: Under $25,000, $25,000-$50,000, $50,000-$100,000, Over $100,000, Not yet approved
• Who signs the contract and who signs the data access form?
• What payment terms would your finance team need to approve to begin work? Options: Standard net 30, Split milestone payments, Retainer plus milestone payments, Custom terms required, Unsure
• If we delivered the feasibility report in eight weeks, would you be ready to move to a campaign engagement within 30 days? Options: Yes, ready within 30 days, Need 30-90 days, Need longer than 90 days, Undecided
• Is there a hard no-go deadline after which you will not approve a new engagement? Options: Yes, date exists, No hard deadline, Undisclosed

• Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA)
• Master Services Agreement (MSA)
• Statement of Work (SOW) — Feasibility & Optional Campaign Support
• Data Access Authorization & Data Processing Agreement (DPA)
• HIPAA Business Associate Addendum (BAA) — conditional
• Payment Schedule & Billing Terms
• Expense & Reimbursable Costs Policy
• Change Order Agreement
• Engagement Acceptance & Authorization to Proceed

• Fieldwork Kickoff and Assumption Confirmation
• Stakeholder Interview Synthesis
• Major-Donor Prospect Assessment Review
• Data Modeling and Gift Table Refinement
• Volunteer Leader Outreach Confirmation and Assignment

• A short list of model sensitivities and the data needed to reduce uncertainty for the highest-impact lines.
• Prepare individualized briefings or talking points for the next-round outreach to top prospects.
• Capture any unresolved evidence gaps for high-value prospects and assign follow-up research tasks.
• Publish the refined gift table, scenario models, and a summary of assumptions for the feasibility report.
• Review input assumptions and sources
• A finalized gift table ready for inclusion in the feasibility report, with scenario outputs documented.
• A recommended campaign goal range with explicit model assumptions and prioritized risk notes.
• Reconfirm scope and success signals
• List the top model sensitivities and request the specific additional data or follow-up interviews required to reduce uncertainty.
• Document the recommended campaign goal range and associated risk mitigation steps for inclusion in the final deliverable.
• Review volunteer outreach findings
• A signed volunteer assignment matrix tying named volunteer roles to prospect segments and solicitation windows.
• Agreed volunteer ask scripts and role time commitments for immediate use in cultivation outreach.
• A recruitment plan for any unfilled volunteer roles with timelines to fill gaps.
• Publish the volunteer assignment matrix and outreach scripts to support upcoming cultivation calls.
• Initiate recruitment steps for any unfilled volunteer roles within the agreed timeline.
• Schedule briefings for volunteers assigned to top-tier prospects to prepare them for solicitation conversations.
• Mutual agreement on the interview roster and a prioritized outreach list to begin scheduling within 48 hours.
• Signed data-access checklist with required extracts and delivery dates confirmed.
• Fieldwork schedule that maps interviews to dates and assigns time windows for draft synthesis delivery.
• Publish the finalized interview roster with priority tiers and contact info within 24 hours.
• Provide the required CRM data extracts and documents listed on the data-access checklist by the agreed date.
• Distribute the approved fieldwork schedule to interviewers and stakeholders.
• Quick status and evidence review
• A validated findings matrix where each interview finding is marked accepted, disputed, or needs follow-up.
• Top 8 donor signals and 3 volunteer leadership signals prioritized for the gift table and campaign strategy.
• Clear list of follow-up probes with timelines to close evidence gaps.
• Publish the validated findings matrix and prioritized signal list for prospect assessment and modeling.
• Schedule and complete the agreed follow-up probes within the stated timeline.
• Flag any data or contact gaps that prevent confirmation and request remediation from the buyer.
• Present prospect profile summaries
• A finalized ranked prospect list with documented capacity and propensity ratings for use in the gift table.
• Recommended ask amounts or ranges and a sequenced solicitation plan for the top prospects.
• A 90-day cultivation action list for immediate prospect outreach.
• Produce the ranked prospect list with ratings and recommended ask amounts for integration into the gift table model.
• Finalize interview roster and priority tiers
• Present modeled gift table and scenarios
• Confirm role definitions and ask language
• Assign capacity and propensity ratings
• Validate individual interview findings
• Surface cross-cutting themes and donor signals
• Reconcile model with field evidence
• Set recommended ask amounts and sequencing
• Assign volunteers to prospect segments and timelines
• Data access and deliverable checklist
• Fieldwork timeline and logistics
• Contingency planning for unfilled roles
• Agree recommended campaign goal range and risk notes
• Prioritize follow-up probes
• Decide on immediate cultivation actions
• Risk and contingency points

• current_state
• desired_state
• gaps
• decision_readiness
• stakeholders
• success_criteria
• gaps
• current_state
• decision_readiness
• success_criteria
• desired_state
• stakeholders
• stakeholders
• desired_state
• success_criteria
• decision_readiness
• current_state
• gaps
• decision_readiness
• decision_readiness
• decision_readiness
• decision_readiness

• Confirm delivery of final feasibility deliverable package
• Obtain written acceptance sign-off on the feasibility report
• Approve modeled gift table and recommended campaign goal
• Approve recommended solicitation strategy and major-donor prioritization
• Approve proposed campaign timeline and critical milestones
• Acknowledge risk register and mitigation owners
• Document and accept plan for any outstanding issues
• Trigger billing milestone and issue invoice per engagement agreement
• Assign next-phase engagement lead and primary contacts
• Schedule initial campaign strategy workshop and confirm participants

Environment and site access

• Which system categories will the seller need access to before launch? (select all that apply) Options: Single production CRM org, CRM + analytics / data warehouse, Email / marketing platform, Finance / pledge accounting system, Volunteer management system, Shared document drive (policies, gift agreements), Other — will describe below
• For any system that requires seller access, is production-level access available now or what date will it be granted? (so we can schedule integrations and donor outreach)

Data and configuration

• Which system is the authoritative source of donor/prospect records for campaign work? (one choice — used for mapping and reconciliations) Options: Single production CRM org, CRM with downstream data warehouse / mirror, Prospect tracking spreadsheet / shared file, Other — will describe below
• Is the campaign gift table and prospect-to-chair assignment finalized and approved? Options: Yes — finalized and approved, Approved in principle — minor edits expected, Not approved — requires further feasibility or seller support, Will be developed after launch
• If the gift table or prospect assignments are not finalized, by what date will they be approved? (so we can lock solicitation sequencing and coaching milestones)

People and ownership

• Who is the buyer's primary launch owner (full name and role)? (this person will receive deployment tasks and signoffs)
• Volunteer leadership readiness — which statement best describes current status? Options: All named solicitation chairs confirmed with schedules, Key chairs confirmed; remaining chairs to be recruited, Only campaign chair confirmed, No volunteer leaders confirmed yet
• If any solicitation chairs or volunteer leaders are confirmed, when are the first major-donor visits scheduled or by what date will the visit calendar be available? (so we can align coaching and materials)

Timing and constraints

• What is the target public launch timing for the campaign? (choose the best current state so we can plan milestones) Options: Specific launch date confirmed, Targeting a specific month / quarter (tentative), No launch date set yet
• Are there any blackout windows or scheduling constraints that will restrict solicitation or a public launch (fiscal close, board retreats, major events, accreditation activities)? If yes, please list dates below. Options: No blackout windows, Yes — will list dates below
• Development staffing: are dedicated buyer staff assigned to work directly with embedded seller counsel during launch (name(s) and committed FTE% or 'by what date will staff be assigned')? Options: Yes — named and committed, Yes — roles assigned, names to follow, Partial capacity — additional buyer support required, No — staffing not yet assigned
• If staffing or volunteer leadership are not fully committed, by what date will named staff and chairs be available? (so we can confirm coaching and visit sequencing)