New York Aikikai

Aikido is a traditional Japanese martial art focused on learning to "become an integrated and balanced individual and explore our full human potential." — Yoshimitsu Yamada

New York Aikikai has been a center for this beautiful martial art for more than fifty years. For their community to continue to thrive and to adhere to city regulations, their school needs a variety of improvements. We saw the need for a capital campaign, but first, we knew it was essential to establish a fundraising base.

In the middle of laying this foundation, the aikido community had a great loss: the first chief instructor of the New York Aikikai passed away in early 2023. Fundraising generally and capital campaigns specifically are deeply linked to who a community is, who they have been, and who they are becoming. Grief, of course, plays a part in all of this. We walked alongside leadership as they navigated reflections on their community’s identity, and helped them strengthen their bonds with each other as they moved into a new era.

Phase I: Annual campaign

When we first started working with the New York Aikikai, there wasn't a history of strong annual campaigns. When done well, annual campaigns thread the needle between donors motivations and giving, and also train leadership to communicate, organize and ask. Annual campaigns train fundraising muscles for capital campaigns. Prior to the capital campaign, we ran two annual campaigns.

Phase II: Feasibility study

On the heels of the pandemic, we conducted a feasibility study, which continued to thread the needle between motivation and giving. We communicated the great care that this community has for each other through a case statement, interviewed individuals throughout the world, received surveys and made recommendations not only for an appropriate goal and timeline, but also for necessary changes in infrastructure to ensure long-term success. From this, in concert with the annual campaign, we helped onboard a new database, procedures for thanking, and more regular communication and transparency.

Phase III: Solicitation

As we were preparing to begin the solicitation portion of the campaign, the school’s beloved chief instructor and leader Yoshimitsu Yamada Sensei passed away. After a few months of adjusting to the new normal and hosting a memorial service that drew people from all over the world, we started up again.

New fundraising goals were set, leadership recruited, and we utilized the legacy of Yamada Sensei as a way for people to honor their relationship with the dojo, while looking squarely forward to the strong promise that the future holds for this community. Finishing the campaign at the end of January 2024, we raised funds from individuals, dojos and communities in 14 countries. The organization surpassed their primary and stretch goals, and exceeded everyone's expectations.

Phase IV: New website

Coming out of the gate with such strength in 2024 we turned our attention to a new website. Between the community having been gathered in new ways through the capital campaign, and the expectations for strengthened communications, we translated much of the learnings from the campaign into a brand new, interactive website. We continue to maintain this site.