Typically professional fundraisers come in to the non-profit world for major capital infrastructure projects, which is what you're talking about. We don't see that very much in smaller infrastructure projects. Usually the local community does that kind of work itself. It's often led by the board.
In my experience with major capital, you almost always have to engage professionals, because there aren't dedicated staff for that kind of function. Generally, though, big institutions might have a foundation associated with them that is very experienced at fundraising. They have the in-house capacity, but as you're discovering, for projects of that size in a community the size of Saskatoon, I can understand why they would probably have to hire the external expertise.