Jack---Broadly speaking, I believe that most foundations would be positively influenced and impressed that you have projected operational and program costs related to the need and their use when you have your capital (building/renovation) asset up and running. Far more often than not, the reverse is true---when a building goes up without much thought about what goes into it or to have any idea about how to meet future costs of its operation. From your brief note, I am reading into it what you have not said with the following assumptions:
(1) Your “capital development” is for building or renovation. However, many capital fund-raising campaigns also have separate components for, (a) the raising of endowment funds from which its income will help to pay for future costs, (b) expenses for future operations and maintenance, and (c) costs of the usual and new programs and services made possible by the use of the new facilities. But, most foundations which fund capital projects---though influenced by your far-looking accounting for operations and program costs---will not fund the latter. You mostly obtain those funds from donors close to the organization, starting with the trustees. Naturally, the focus is on the raising of money for the capital campaign---but having those other components available to offer to selected prospects is a very good idea.
(2) I expect that since you “are asking for foundation support for capital development, operational, and program costs ....,” that the three initiatives have stemmed from your long-range strategic plan. You could not come up with reasonable and defensible costs if that were not so. The strength of any proposal for funding will be greatly enhanced that way. If not, you would be basically fund-raising in a vacuum. It would be very hard to develop exacting costs which are not clearly explained, all resulting in a far from compelling case for support of the entire project.
(3) From the directives and initiatives of your long-range strategic plan, you then knew the type of capital development you needed and how much it would cost. As well, based on the cost of the facility's future operation and maintenance, and with having a good idea of the cost of the future programs and services--- both the usual mission-driven, and the ones emanating from your vision statement---you should and could seek funding for those initiatives as well as part of the overall drive.
(4) With those directives and initiatives and their respective costs in hand, you had to have conducted an assessment of your best chances to raise the money. And you did this, either through an internal assessment, or with an outside consultant conducting a full-blown Feasibility Study. You had to do this. You could not go into the deep funding commitment stage without knowing if you could raise the money to pay for what you committed to spend. How much of what you have assessed regarding funding potential had to come from such an exercise---as described in my article:
--- Campaign Feasibility Studies: Taking The Time To Find Out Whether The Time Is Right
http://www.raise-funds.com/072302forum.html
(5) And Jack, you do know that for most capital campaigns of this type, only about ten to fifteen percent of the money raised might come from foundation grants. You probably have the other eighty-five percent or so of the money already projected to come from individuals’ major gifts. But in the event yours is a foundation-grant-driven effort, you could be in deep trouble. There are exceptions, of course, but they are rare, and an organization must not look for the exception to expect to raise all, or most, of the money it needs from foundation grants.
(6) If you have all of the capital campaign process needs in working order according to the path pointed out above, then your leadership can and should certainly get going now to raise the money. Waiting too long, such as when the building is partially built, or up and running---even in use---makes fund-raising for it much harder. Such a campaign will have lost some of its sense of immediacy. It is also likely that by that time prospects will assume the campaign is over. After all, they might say, the organization has already moved into the building, hasn’t it?
--- Capital Campaigns: Building For Now
http://www.raise-funds.com/1099aforum.html
Jack---Please excuse me if the “path” we have traveled is one already well worn by you and your organization. But, I simply could not tell from your note what planning and organization has already gone into your “capital development” project, so I had to go all the way.
Best fund-raising wishes,
Tony Poderis
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