The Country School decided on a capital campaign to fund renovations to existing facilities, safer parking, as well as a new school building. CCS was brought on to conduct a planning study and assist with campaign management. The effort passed its $8.5 million goal, reaching $9.3 million.

Based in: Easton, MD, Mid-Atlantic and Southeast U.S., United States

Sector: Primary and Secondary Education

Key Elements

  • The County School first engaged CCS to conduct a Planning Study to evaluate its readiness for the campaign.
  • Using the findings from CCS’s planning and analysis work, The Country School launched their It’s Our Time campaign with an initial goal of $7 million.
  • The campaign exceed its goal before public launch and has now raised over $9.3 million.

The Challenge

The Country School focused on three primary goals as areas of improvement that were identified by school leadership and families: a safer, more convenient traffic flow; a new 20,000 sq ft Upper School with modern classrooms; and renovation of existing facilities. The new parking lot and Upper School building will provide a new “face” to the school, improve its learning and teaching spaces, and better prepare students for the type of collaborative, hands-on learning they will encounter beyond The Country School.

The Solution

In order to ensure a successful campaign, CCS was brought on to conduct a planning study. After the study was completed, CCS stayed on board to provide campaign management, leadership cultivation, major gifts strategies, and improve volunteer engagement.

The Impact

The Country School’s campaign, It’s Our Time, launched privately with an initial working goal of $7 million. The campaign had already raised $7.6 million by the time of the public launch less than a year later, at which time the goal was announced at $8.5 million. That goal has also been surpassed, as the campaign has now raised over $9.3 million.

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