Last updated September 26, 2026
Feasibility study cost varies with scope, but a well-run study generally ranges between $50,000 and $75,000. The drivers are the number of prospect and stakeholder interviews conducted, how much of that interviewing happens in person, the geographic spread of those interviews, and whether the study is standalone or bundled with the full campaign engagement.
A study priced well under that range usually buys fewer interviews, a thinner report, or a more junior team, which is exactly how organizations end up with a goal their donor base cannot reach. A 30-interview study for a single-site nonprofit is also a very different scope than a national organization needing interviews across multiple regions or chapters, so Catapult prices each study after an initial conversation.
Many clients bundle the feasibility study into a broader Capital Campaign Counsel engagement, which prices more favorably than buying the phases one at a time, since the findings flow directly into Campaign Planning.
Catapult service
Capital campaign feasibility study. How Catapult runs a study: confidential interviews, a tested goal, a gift chart, and a written report for your board.
What moves the price
- Interview volume. Twenty five to thirty interviews is typical for a single site organization; national and multi campus clients need more.
- How many interviews happen in person rather than by phone or video.
- Geographic spread, which drives travel and scheduling time.
- Prospect research and screening, if your data needs work before interviews can be scheduled.
- Who does the work. Senior counsel conducting interviews costs more than a junior associate, and it shows in the report.
- Whether the study is standalone or bundled into a full campaign engagement.
What a study should include for that fee
A written report, not a slide summary. A confirmed or corrected goal with the capacity reasoning behind it. A gift chart. A revised case for support. Project prioritization. A recommended Campaign Chair and Steering Committee list. A candid readiness assessment of staffing, data and board engagement. And a presentation of findings to the board, which is where the value usually lands, because the board hears the donor feedback from a neutral party rather than filtered through staff.
Why the cheapest study costs the most
A study priced far under market buys fewer interviews, a thinner report, or a more junior team. The output looks similar. The difference shows up two years later, when the goal turns out to have been built on eight conversations and optimism, and the campaign stalls in public.
Set against a multi million dollar campaign, the study is a small share of total cost and the single highest leverage decision in it. If a proposal is dramatically cheaper than the others, the question to ask is how many interviews it includes and who is conducting them.
Bundling with the campaign
Many clients fold the study into a broader Capital Campaign Counsel engagement, which prices more favorably than buying phases one at a time. The practical benefit is continuity: the people who heard what your donors actually said are the people building the plan, so nothing gets lost in a handoff to a second firm.
If you would rather test the relationship before committing to the full engagement, a standalone study is a legitimate way to do that. Just confirm that the findings will be delivered in a form another firm could execute against.
Budgeting for it
Study costs are campaign costs and belong in the campaign budget, and in most cases a lead donor or a board member will underwrite the study specifically. It is a concrete, easy to explain ask: fund the work that tells us whether the campaign is real.
Questions to ask before you sign
- How many interviews are included, and what happens if we want more.
- Who conducts them, by name, and how much of the work is delegated.
- How many are in person versus by phone or video.
- Is travel included in the fee or billed separately.
- Do we get a written report, and will you present the findings to our board.
- Does the study include a gift chart built from our own prospect data.
- Will you tell us plainly if the answer is that we are not ready.
- If we proceed to the campaign, how does the study fee apply to that engagement.
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