Together We Preserve: Campaign Results + Program Build-Out

Written By Megan Franich

How We Built a Development Program and Raised $1.88M Simultaneously
Re-Launched a Capital Campaign After a 20-Year Fundraising Pause
Built Complete Fundraising Infrastructure While Leading a Capital Campaign

Project Overview

“Together We Preserve” Capital Campaign
Bell Tower Residence · Merrill, WI
Wisconsin Illinois Senior Housing Inc. (WISH)

Bell Tower Residence is an assisted living and memory care facility that has served seniors regardless of payor source—and people with disabilities—in rural Merrill, Wisconsin for 37 years. It operates within an 80-year-old building originally established by the Sisters of Mercy of the Holy Cross, continuing a legacy of compassionate, community-rooted senior care.

In 2019, Wisconsin Illinois Senior Housing Inc. (WISH) acquired Bell Tower Residence. WISH is a nonprofit organization managing 22 assisted living, skilled nursing, and memory care facilities across the Midwest. The organization experienced significant financial losses during the COVID-19 pandemic, creating added strain and making capital investment in aging facilities particularly challenging.

While the Merrill community knew and trusted Bell Tower, it had no relationship with WISH. Bell Tower had not run a major fundraising campaign in over 20 years. There was no development staff, no campaign-ready donor database, and no culture of philanthropy at scale. An initial internal goal of just $500,000—far below the true scope of need—reflected the absence of data, systems, and fundraising experience. WISH had never operated a structured fundraising program.

Mission Matters Partners (MMP) was hired to architect and lead a $2 million capital campaign while also building the systems, processes, and infrastructure required to support both immediate fundraising success and long-term sustainability. 

Central to this work was a unified case for support that connected three narratives: the Sisters of Mercy of the Holy Cross’ 100-year legacy in Merrill and Bell Tower’s role as the community’s cornerstone of senior care; WISH’s organizational scale and operational credibility as a 22-facility nonprofit organization committed to continuing that mission; and the immediate capital needs required to preserve the historic 1946 building and ensure Bell Tower’s future—carried consistently across major gifts, grants, annual giving, and future capital needs.

The Challenge

Bell Tower / WISH faced multiple, overlapping obstacles:

  • A leadership transition mid-campaign when Bell Tower’s longtime administrator retired, requiring immediate stability and continuity

  • Limited board fundraising experience, requiring training, solicitation planning, and hands-on support

  • An existing CRM with weak, incomplete data and no campaign-ready structure

  • No systems to support multiple gift types, moves management, or recognition tracking

  • No development staff and limited internal capacity

  • Incomplete donor records, including hundreds of missing email addresses and phone numbers

  • An underestimated fundraising goal that created early strategic risk

Context: Why This Campaign Was Uniquely Challenging

While a $2 million goal may appear modest on paper, in this context it was exceptionally ambitious. Merrill is a small, rural community with limited concentrated wealth. Bell Tower had never systematically stewarded donors or built philanthropic relationships. There was no major-gift pipeline, no donor engagement history, and no established fundraising systems.

MMP began by uncovering hidden capacity through comprehensive prospect research, then leveraged the community’s tight-knit culture. Personal relationships, local legacy, and connection to mission became the engines for sustained, collective philanthropic investment.

Why This Was About More Than Raising $2 Million

Raising $2 million for a capital campaign can appear straightforward—particularly when compared to large, high-profile building projects. But fundraising success is not defined by a single campaign total.

It is defined by whether an organization can continue raising funds year after year to support operations, staffing, programs, and future capital needs.

In this engagement, the objective was not simply to complete a campaign. The goal was to ensure Bell Tower / WISH emerged with the systems, processes, and discipline required for long-term financial sustainability. Without a functioning development program, even a successful campaign leaves an organization vulnerable—over-reliant on episodic major gifts or grants, with no infrastructure to support annual operating revenue.

MMP approached this work with sustainability in mind. The result is a development program capable of supporting annual giving, major gifts, grants, and future capital efforts alongside the campaign itself.

Campaign Efficiency

Through disciplined planning, data-driven prospect development, and focused execution, the campaign achieved an exceptionally strong return on investment.

Funds Raised: $1.88 million
Active Campaign Period: February–December 2025
Cost-to-Raise: 9.0%

This performance is well below the industry benchmark of 15–25% for new or relaunched campaigns.

Transparency Note:
Total campaign investment, including pre-campaign planning and wealth screening conducted September–December 2024, was approximately 9.5%.

Achieving this level of efficiency required hands-on implementation alongside strategic leadership. The Bell Tower Residence campaign delivered a 9.0% cost-to-raise while also building complete fundraising infrastructure from the ground up. This work was executed without existing development staff, with Mission Matters Partners serving as both strategic advisor and hands-on implementation partner, averaging approximately 80 hours per month throughout the active campaign period.

Strategy & Execution

Strategic Assessment First

Before campaign planning began, MMP conducted a comprehensive wealth screening and feasibility study to identify true major-gift capacity, test the initial $500,000 goal, and establish a realistic fundraising strategy. A formal feasibility study report guided all subsequent campaign decisions.

Campaign Planning & Brand Development

MMP created the complete campaign framework from the ground up, including a comprehensive campaign plan and timeline, campaign theme and logo, a naming opportunities program defining recognition levels and revenue structure, and naming agreement policies governing donor recognition and facility naming rights.

Case Development & Positioning

With no recent campaign to reference, MMP developed a case for support that leveraged both organizational scale and local legacy—pairing WISH’s credibility as the owner and operator of 22 senior-care facilities with Bell Tower Residence’s deep roots and trusted role in the Merrill community.

Infrastructure Built

With strategy defined, MMP rebuilt the organization’s fundraising foundation:

  • Recovered more than 1,000 missing donor email addresses and phone numbers

  • Integrated wealth screening data into the CRM with custom fields for capacity and solicitation readiness

  • Rebuilt and expanded the CRM to support:

    • Pledges and multi-year payment schedules

    • Stock gifts, IRA QCDs, and Donor-Advised Funds

    • Moves management and solicitation tracking

    • Campaign and fiscal-year reporting

    • Donor and honoree recognition tracking

  • Established standardized gift entry and acknowledgment workflows

  • Implemented a mass email platform and donor communications structure

Expanded Giving Options

MMP formalized and clearly communicated multiple ways to give, supporting both immediate campaign needs and long-term sustainability:

  • Pledges with multi-year payment schedules

  • Stock gifts

  • IRA Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs)

  • Donor-Advised Funds (DAFs)

A comprehensive donor and honoree recognition system was built within the CRM, and vendors were secured for the campaign donor wall and recognition plaques.

Campaign Leadership & Execution

MMP led campaign execution in close coordination with board and leadership. This included building more than 80 detailed prospect profiles, supporting donor meetings, and guiding solicitations.

Strategic Pivot at 70%

When the campaign stalled at approximately 70% of goal, MMP pivoted to a foundation-focused strategy. Thirteen grant proposals were submitted, including multiple first-time asks between $25k–$150k. This approach ultimately brought the campaign to 94% of goal.

The Impact

Campaign Results (as of December 31, 2025)

  • $1.88 million raised toward a $2 million goal (94%)

  • Multiple six-figure leadership gifts, including from new donors

  • Seamless continuity maintained through an unexpected leadership transition

  • A complete development program built while executing the campaign

Long-Term Outcomes

Bell Tower / WISH now have:

  • A sustainable fundraising program

  • A donor database supporting multiple gift types and detailed reporting

  • Expanded giving channels and a grants framework

  • Stewardship and donor communication systems

  • A unified, adaptable case for support

  • Clear documentation for ongoing maintenance

  • A strong major-gift pipeline

  • A scalable fundraising model for all WISH facilities

What’s Next

With fundraising infrastructure in place, Bell Tower is positioned to continue raising funds for capital projects and programs. WISH now has the foundation to launch annual giving programs across all 22 facilities—transforming a single campaign into a sustainable regional fundraising model supporting future capital, programmatic, and operating needs.

Megan Franich