A Capital Idea: Experiences from Oklahoma

By Dr. David R. Brown
Published on Monday, October 01, 2007
ARTICLES

Though the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs houses some of the brightest minds in the country, we sometimes pride ourselves by following the famous Winston Churchill quote, "Continuous effort, not strength or intelligence, is the key to unlocking our potential." In other words, whether it's promoting an issue or a program, we harness as much effort as we do intellect.

That was the approach we took with our first-ever capital campaign. The three-year, $3 million Capitol Freedom Fund was focused on the purchase, renovation and occupation of new headquarters for OCPA.

Previously, OCPA was housed in a small industrial rental property, far removed from the center of the policy-making process. Our board decided that in order to be more effective, we needed a first-class headquarters in the heart of Oklahoma City. With that decision, there was no turning back.

We assembled the right team. In 2003 we hired current director of development, Margaret Ann Hoenig. She originally came on as capital development associate, tasked with raising $3 million to purchase and renovate an old historic building, located just 60 seconds from the Oklahoma State Capitol building.

We also gathered together a small group of board members and legal counsel, who comprised a subcommittee designed to assist the staff with the financial goals of the capital campaign. Another team was assigned to the construction process, but we believed it was important to have a task force devoted to thinking solely about the monetary needs of the campaign.

We crafted the plan. The aforementioned subcommittee initially consulted with Bob Russell of Robert Russell & Associates and then met on a weekly basis to assess OCPA's needs and design a timeline that could guide us through the next three years. Among those needs was a catchy name for this new campaign. The group came up with the Capitol Freedom Fund. Notice "capitol" was spelled with an "o" because of our new building's proximity to the Oklahoma State Capitol building. We chose "freedom" because OCPA prides itself in being part of the lineage of those who stand for liberty.

The subcommittee also addressed the need for communications materials, specifically a high-end brochure that would tell the story of OCPA's first 10 years and outline our successes, as well as the challenges that lay ahead. We made sure the brochure was colorful and contained endorsing quotes from prominent people. There were, of course, other electronic and printed communications pieces.

We started meeting with people. This series of meetings began at the top, with our board of trustees. Compared to other think tanks, our board may be considered large (more than 30 members), but it was essential to have financial participation from 100 percent of our board. It is like a church, if the elders are not giving, why should the rest of the congregation? I am proud to report we achieved this primary goal in just a few short months. This enabled us to confidently go into meetings where we planned to ask for significant gifts.

We did not ignore smaller donors, and indeed, we worked our way down to communicating with donors whom we suspected might only be interested in giving $100 or less. To reach the large groups of people that it takes to make a capital campaign successful, you cannot use only meetings; you must also use mailings. We sent two of those mailing throughout the first year.

I would like to underscore why we chose this multi-tiered strategy. We could have gone to one or two major donors and asked them to underwrite the whole project, but we thought it was important to include every donor, large and small, to create a feeling of community. Every donor would have the opportunity to help in the purchase and renovation of the new headquarters, which gives more people a sense of ownership in the organization and its goals.

At some point, if you rely on too many givers, you risk some pledges not being fulfilled. I am proud to say that 100 percent of OCPA's capital campaign pledges were paid in full. That is, every single person fulfilled their promise. This success is due, in part, to the staff following up with donors on each and every pledge. And each donor was thanked promptly for his or her pledge.

During the fundraising process, we started actual work on the building. We purchased the 8,000 square-foot facility, obtained city permits and attended to every detail. But no matter how well the renovation (or in your case, perhaps, new construction) goes, your members need to know about it.

For that reason, we detailed the renovation process with words and pictures in most issues of our monthly publication, Perspective. We also took many potential donors on a guided tour, though sometimes it meant wearing OCPA hard hats.

What we could have done better. We could have created a method to ensure we were following our master plan and improved communication by continuing the weekly meetings, which quickly stopped after the public campaign started. Next, we could have used naming rights to our advantage more. We did name the boardroom after one of our most beloved families, but we could have continued that with our OCPA library, student intern center and plaza. Finally, while our managers watched our costs, we could have anticipated some expenses better, such as furnishings. As with building a house, take your expected expenses and add a contingency fee for the project.

Tough questions to ask if considering a capital campaign. A capital campaign is not for the faint of heart. Make sure you know what you are getting into and can pull it off. Below is a starting list of questions to answer before committing your organization's resources to the task.

Does our organization have a strong enoughsupport from the board of directors?
Do we have a sufficient donor base from which to solicit specific funds?
Are we 100 percent clear as to how and why we would benefit from a capital campaign?
Do we have the long-term development strength to sustain the expense of owning a building?

In the end, the building was successfully renovated and occupied and is serving us well to this day. The staff and interns moved into a state-of-the-art facility, just down the street from the state capitol. Our new headquarters has taken us through several very successful years since, with hopefully even brighter days to come.

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David R. Brown, M.D., is founder and chairman of the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs and chairman of the Heritage Foundation. This article was compiled with the help of OCPA staff members Kelsey Poe and Brian Hobbs. Write them at ocpa@ocpathink.org.

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