Maintaining Momentum Through an Ambitious Multi-Year Capital Campaign
Arie Crown Hebrew Day School has been educating students from pre-K-8 for almost 75 years, over 50 of which have been spent in its well-worn building in Skokie, IL. The school found its new home in a large and modern office complex on spacious grounds which needed to be transformed into a school.
This ambitious $40M+ campaign was the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to engage the full breadth of the Arie Crown community, including both individual donors and foundations. A campaign of this magnitude can seem daunting, and therefore, RAISE broke it into phases and developed unique strategies and associated tools such as committees, marketing materials, dedication opportunities, gift tables and pipelines customized for each phase. RAISE created and leveraged inflection points to maintain momentum and accelerate giving throughout this multi-year campaign.
RAISE facilitated the closing of multiple seven and six-figure gifts in Phase 1 utilizing white-glove cultivation strategies, customized proposals and thoughtful solicitor matches. In Phase 2, RAISE served as a strategic partner in shaping cultivation plans and solicitation of major gifts, providing talking points and correspondence and coaching through role play as needed. Phases 3 and 4 focused on remaining major gift prospects, Arie Crown families, and broader community engagement, including a groundbreaking event and community-wide crowdfunding event.
In all campaign phases, tours were an essential tool in building community, generating excitement and ownership of the project. Stewardship and recognition were prioritized across giving levels. A dynamic website and virtual tour helped prospects get a sense of the project’s scope and naming opportunities and served as an additional recognition tool. All the while, we also worked with Arie Crown on its Annual Fund to ensure its current operating needs are met.