On occasion, people ask if it is necessary to use the Benevon Model solely for raising operational funds. Some organizations, whose primary needs are for capital or endowment, ask if they can use the model for these purposes. "After all," they note, "it seems as if it would fit. We could do Point of Entry^® Events about our capital or endowment needs, follow up and involve people based on their interest, and then ask them to give—one-on-one. Then we would recognize them and re-cultivate them at a Free Feel-Good Cultivation Event^™, do more follow-up and eventually ask again."

They have a point. The model works just fine for these purposes, especially if you begin with prior donors. These people already understand your needs, are somewhat connected to your mission and are likely willing to give at bigger levels.

The question is: is it appropriate to ask for a donor's first gift to be used for capital or endowment? If that is the only thing the organization needs, then yes. So long as the amount being asked for is not so high as to offend many would-be first time donors.

We usually encourage these organizations to take a deeper look at their annual fund to see if the model can be used first as a bridge between a somewhat weak annual fund and a capital or endowment campaign. By bringing prior annual-fund donors as well as new donors to a Point of Entry and cultivating them through the process leading up to a multiple-year pledge, you have taken the time to "ripen the fruit" and involve the donor in your initial giving levels for annual needs. Their multiple-year commitment allows you to invite them back quickly to Point of Re-Entry Events focused on your capital and endowment needs.

Having said that: if your only needs are for capital and/or endowment, by all means, use the model for that which you truly need. In that case, design your Points of Entry to showcase the Facts 101 and Emotional Hook for your new building or your endowment fund. Have your Visionary Leader give the statistics about the need for the new facilities or the uses for the endowment fund and what it will mean to the people your organization serves.

Be sure the Emotional Hook^™ is emotional enough. An endowment fund unto itself can sound pretty dry. In fact, many people do not really understand what an endowment fund actually is and how it works. Unless you tie it emotionally to the ultimate use of the funds it generates, you will not have hooked people emotionally. Tell them about the number of students or patients who will be helped in what ways. Tell them how many more people it will allow you to serve. Talk about the lasting difference it will make in your community for people to know this wonderful organization will always be around.

I believe that every organization that has been in existence over ten years should be actively working to establish an endowment fund large enough such that the interest off of that fund, when invested wisely, would cover the full operating shortfall of that organization each year. For many groups, that is a huge goal.

In other words, endowments are not just for large universities and national organizations. Even small local organizations deserve to have them as evidence of the will of the community that they continue to provide programs and services. There is no need for small- to mid-sized organizations to be suffering about fundraising anymore than a large institution need not suffer. In fact, I recall a high-tech donor telling me during the halcyon days of the dot-com era that he was working to fully fund the endowment for a women's shelter he and his wife supported.

Unlike endowment campaigns, many smaller organizations conduct capital campaigns. This is often the first time they have approached individual donors for larger gifts. The Benevon Model is designed to bring organizations of all sizes into the new reality of individual giving, so that, rather than having to rely on sporadic large (and often scary) campaigns, the major gift process will occur naturally with each donor as he or she is cultivated. The real purpose of the model is to be that bridge or stepping stone for donors, at whatever level they start the process, to gradually cement their relationship with the organization so that they are anxious to move to increasingly higher levels of giving.

Therefore, whatever your most pressing needs when you start implementing the model, focus there. Whether for operating funds, capital or endowment—as long as you are connecting donors to your good work, involving them and asking them to give at a pace that is comfortable to them, the Benevon Model will help you to go forward with great success!