School district explores $7.5M–$10M athletics campaign after feasibility study finds interest but few major donors

The School District of New Berlin reviewed results of a third‑party feasibility study and wealth screen Thursday that evaluated whether the district could mount a capital campaign to renovate outdoor athletic facilities at its two high schools. District task‑force lead Dave Cody and consultant Jason Perry of Abundant Philanthropy presented findings and recommended exploring talks with two corporate prospects before deciding whether to launch a campaign.

The study, which the district and the Education Foundation split $20,000 to fund, interviewed 33 major gift prospects, received 186 survey responses and screened more than 4,000 households. Jason Perry said the research found “over 90% of the individuals that we communicated with in some fashion indicated that they would make a gift or would at least consider making a gift to this process,” though he and the district staff also told the board the list of clear five‑ and six‑figure individual donors is limited.

That gap matters to any campaign design, the consultants told the board. Perry presented two campaign options: a phased $7.5 million effort focused initially on football, track, field and soccer, and a larger $10 million plan covering all outdoor athletic facilities. The feasibility work identified one corporate prospect willing to review a $2.5 million request and another that might consider $1 million; after examining their prior giving, Perry said those asks should be discounted (he estimated the larger prospect was more likely to provide about $1 million based on past patterns).

The administration said the district has already set aside $2 million in the long‑range facilities plan for new tracks and is willing to consider using an additional $2 million as a community matching fund if the district can demonstrate external fundraising progress. Administration staff said any match from district fund balance would be reserved for community fundraising rather than automatically applied to a single corporate gift.

District staff and the Education Foundation recommended next steps focused on cultivating the two identified corporate prospects and refining proposals this fall; the presenters said they expected decisions from those prospects’ boards or giving cycles in 2025 and 2026. The board did not take a formal vote to begin a campaign; the chair asked if there were any objections to continuing outreach and several members said they had none. The administration described that response as an informal, nonbinding endorsement to continue exploring the two large prospects.

Board members and consultants flagged key constraints: a small pool of large‑gift prospects, reliance on corporate decisions that could favor other philanthropic priorities, and the amount of staff and volunteer time required to pursue a multi‑million‑dollar campaign. If the district secures the leadership gifts and community support, staff said a phased approach could allow the district to proceed with stadium and field upgrades and later add baseball and softball facilities.

The administration said Julie Cordero of the Education Foundation will handle gift tracking and stewardship when donors are identified and that the New Berlin United Athletic Foundation has expressed interest in volunteer engagement. Staff estimated that, if talks with the two corporate prospects are successful, the earliest firm campaign plan would take shape in 2026.

Board members asked about timing, the probability estimates used to discount corporate pledges and how a public matching campaign would be communicated; staff said they will return with proposals for presentations to the prospects’ boards this fall and will report back to the school board as negotiations progress.