The Lawrence Chamber of Commerce will seek to raise $1 million to $1.5 million in private funding to boost economic development efforts after a feasibility study showed strong support for a campaign.

Chamber board members voted Wednesday to move forward with the campaign after receiving a study by National Community Development Services, an Atlanta-based consulting firm. The report showed 98 percent of the approximately 70 area residents interviewed by the firm supported the idea of a private fund-raising drive.

“We were absolutely thrilled with the response,” Chamber President Bill Sepic said.

Sepic said the chamber and the consulting firm would begin to develop marketing materials describing how the money would be spent. He said he expected the group to begin soliciting potential donors before the end of the year. No timetable has been set for when the campaign will end.

Sepic said it was too early to say how the chamber specifically would spend the money, but he said it likely would be spent in a four- to five-year period to support work force development, recruitment of new businesses, expansion of existing businesses and industrial site development.

“We really believe we can achieve much higher goals if we have more money in the economic development program,” Sepic said. “This would allow us to put our money where our mouth is.”

The chamber’s economic development budget is approximately $270,000 annually. Sepic said the private funds would allow Lawrence to have a budget more in line with other communities in the state.

He said Manhattan and Kansas City, Kan., already have completed similar fund-raising campaigns.

“When we’re trying to attract a company, they’re not just looking at us,” Sepic said. “They’re also looking at these other communities. We have not had a lot of announcements lately about new jobs, and we’re looking forward to changing that.”

Sepic said he wasn’t sure how large a group the chamber would approach about donating to the campaign. He said potential donors generally would be businesses, business owners and other residents interested in bolstering economic development.

He said he didn’t believe the current economic conditions would put a damper on the chamber’s ability to raise the money.

“We’re looking at some difficult economic times right now, but without producing jobs right now, we’ll see even more difficult times in the future,” Sepic said. “It may be a difficult time to give money, but we’re very confident we have people who see the big picture.”