In 2006, St. John’s College High School came to Campbell & Company with a history of campaign success. The School had previously conducted a successful $12.2 million capital campaign for a new gymnasium, science center and other new and improved facilities.
With plans for an $18.5 million effort to support an endowment and a number of capital projects, the School wanted to reach a wider donor base than it had in the past.
Campbell & Company provided strategic counsel throughout St. John’s campaign. In order to help the School effectively grow its donor base, we worked side-by-side with development staff to identify and engage new prospects.
The School had conducted an electronic screening of its database of more than 12,000 alumni, as well as thousands of former parents, and we helped staff interpret the results. In conjunction with additional data and research, we worked with the School to develop a list of top-tier prospects, which included a number of new names.
After identifying and qualifying these individuals, our team helped staff and volunteers implement a relationship management system and develop tailored cultivation strategies for each significant prospect.
“You never get the impression that Campbell & Company is here to do the job and punch out for the day. They really want their clients to be successful, and that attitude comes through.”
-Philip Brach, Former Vice President for Institutional Advancement, St. John's College High School
Through diligent cultivation efforts, the School secured leadership- and major-level gifts from a number of the prospects revealed by our joint research. One such prospect, a previously unsolicited faculty member who had made substantial annual fund contributions, made an outright gift of $50,000, as well as a planned gift of $500,000. The School completed the silent phase of The Campaign for St. John’s without soliciting any of the top three donors from the previous campaign. Ultimately, the campaign exceeded its goal of $18.5 million.