How our fundraising consultants helped Hummingbird House to dramatically improve their fundraising strategy.
Hummingbird House is based at the Wesley Mission Brisbane site at Chermside in Brisbane and operates in a partnership with Wesley Mission Brisbane.
Hummingbird House was a probono client of AskRIGHT for over two years and remains in contact to discuss occasional matters.
In 2012, Paul and Gabrielle Quilliam, the cofounders of Hummingbird House approached AskRIGHT for strategic advice that would lift their fundraising program and thereby enable the establishment of a children’s hospice in Queensland.
Some funds had been raised but a significant challenge was looming to not only formalise a more strategic plan but to also raise major gifts for the construction of the facility.
Hummingbird House needed to raise in excess of $6million from philanthropic sources as part of the funding mix with government funding to deliver a much-needed project.
A growing number of opportunities to raise funds at all kinds of levels presented challenges such as:
- ensuring that expertise and resources were utilised efficiently
- securing major gifts at the same time as other opportunities in general fundraising activity had to be embraced
- maintaining a complicated government lobbying effort
- establishing the full fundraising infrastructure and communication activity that would support fundraising for the long term
While each aspect (large gifts, general fundraising and government support) presented unique challenges, they were also connected to each other insofar as government was looking for signs of philanthropic success and donors were eager to see government step in and support a long overdue initiative.
Parents with children who were suffering from life limiting illnesses were desperate to see the initiative succeed.
The fundraising consultants from AskRIGHT worked closely with the co-founders, the Board and other volunteers to navigate the best way forward on a wide range of aspects such as:
- Prospect research
- Advice on various strategic fundraising and communication issues, case for support materials, submissions to government and prospective supporters
- Arranging a practice presentation to a high net worth individual who became a major donor and strong advocate of the project
- Provision of temporary office and meeting space in the Brisbane CBD
- Presentations on strategy and related issues to Board members
- Advice on engagement with major prospects that contributed to several major gifts that totalled multiple millions of dollars
- Advice on information management, development of a fundraising plan and various other ad hoc matters
Hummingbird House is now a well-regarded non-profit that is steadily increasing in profile and achieving fundraising results that are well on the way to meeting operational needs that exist in addition to the capital funds required.
Hummingbird House is being constructed on site at Wesley Mission at Chermside in Brisbane. Finally, parents and families will soon have a facility that they have long waited for.
The team’s decision at AskRIGHT to take us on as their pro-bono client and become so closely involved with us in every aspect of fundraising development proved to be a crucial turning point for us. The establishment of Hummingbird House has been the result of the tireless and passionate dedication of so many people and even with all those efforts we have to say that we don’t think it would have happened without the support and expertise from AskRIGHT consultants.
Paul and Gabrielle Quilliam
AskRIGHT offers a range of fundraising consulting and fundraising support services to help nonprofit organisations increase their capacity to raise more money. Learn more here.