How To Write A Nonprofit Case For Support Including Examples

Each consultant brings a unique experience, specialization, and abilities to the group, which makes for a diverse and innovative approach to each project. When you are writing about what you do, watch out for jargon and acronyms. Super-long proper noun names can be a mouthful but will offer more clarity to an outsider than an acronym. You want to make sure your document is as easy as possible for readers to understand. Even if you don’t engage the services of a consultant, ask individuals not familiar with the organization to read what you create and explain to you what they think the document says. Another shortcoming of many cases for support and case statements is too much of a focus on organizational history.

Benefits and Recognition—The campaign case may include naming opportunities and other forms of campaign recognition. The case must make an impact, which is best done if it is to the point, organized, and meaningful. It also conveys a sense of urgency to encourage immediate action by the donor. Part II of this blog series dives deeper into what constitutes your mission and your values . Includes a checklist for “What makes a story a good story?” and tips for clarifying your values. Donations flow from your website forms, straight through payment processing, and to your database, so there’s less effort and less errors.

Write A Capital Campaign Case Statement

With your contribution to our capital campaign, AWAG will be empowered to lend a hand up , to hundreds of more women over the next decade. Dedicated to promoting women’s physical and spiritual well-being, AWAG has successfully provided housing to over 5,000 women and children escaping intimate partner violence over nearly three decades. To move campus locations and rebuild our school from the foundation up, we at CPA intend to raise $15,000,000 over the next three years. With your support, our school can grow into the next phase of our history and meet the needs of our changing Greenfield community. Following the significant success of our most recent capital campaign three years ago, we were able to combat damage caused by flooding and rebuild our library after a hurricane.

This demonstrates community support for your organization, which is so very important. If you are the community arts center, your story is about being a place people can express their creativity while learning a new skill or kids can attend art camp.

Gifts will support our general services, or they can be restricted to a particular service or program at the donor’s wish. Please help us reach our immediate goal of $5 million to expand our facility, increase the number of women and children we serve, and counter the terrible scourge of domestic abuse in our community. That is an ambitious goal, but we know we can get there through our donors and the community’s continued generosity.

How To Create Compelling Case Statements: What You Need And When

If they need a refresher on the scope of the campaign, the project it is funding, or other important information, they can consult it. People like to be involved, and by including your entire community of support in the development process, you strengthen their ties to the campaign.

Following a structure is helpful to make sure you haven’t missed anything important, but once you’ve created a sample case for support structure – feel free to move things around and make it your own. See how you can launch your next online fundraising campaign with CauseVox.

Case statements are common for fundraising campaigns, such as capital and major gift campaigns. They incorporate visuals to paint a picture for prospective donors of what can be accomplished with their gifts. Just as all nonprofit organizations need a mission statement and have a strategic plan, they need to be able to articulate to donors why they need financial support and what gifts will be used for. If your organization has ever written a grant, you have the start of a case for support.

Nonprofit Case For Support Examples

Once your case for support is done and you’re ready to start fundraising, you might want to consider upgrading to a betternonprofit CRM to help you manage your donors and easily track campaign goals. An emotional opening is key to a successful case for support. Make sure the beginning is emotionally charged and inspires donors to give. Start with a story that draws the reader in and highlights the challenges your beneficiaries face. The first few sentences of your nonprofit case for support will decide whether prospective donors read the rest of the document. These studies consist of multiple interviews and discussions with stakeholders to find out what they believe is important.

Without a compelling case statement in line, supporters may find it difficult to understand why your cause is worthy of their support. Every fundraising campaign has a case statement at its center.

The process began with interviewing key staff to learn about the organization and campaign goals. Stephanie reviewed existing collateral material supplied by the organization to get a sense of brand and voice so that the case statement blended with the website and other supporting materials. While many capital and major gift campaigns are branded separately, campaign materials should still reflect the organization’s brand. Next, she created a draft case statement and shared it with staff for review and revisions. Once the language was approved, Stephanie incorporated images and colors to design the case statement.

Here are key elements that your case statement should include to create a donor-centered case statement. In our last fiscal year, the Shelter had a $1.5 million budget.

Find out how we can help you achieve your fundraising goals with world-class consulting and custom training. Share your organization’s qualifications to carry out its work. This is where the reader may FEELa connection – a resonance with their own values. If you can achieve this connection now you will have the reader’s interest. The most essential part of your case is WHY your organization’s work is important.

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It can be used in any fundraising campaign, such as the annual appeal, major gift campaigns, capital campaigns, and endowment campaigns. You may find that it works best to have a document that can be customized for each prospect or one document presented to all. But the case should be singularly focused on inspiring a donor to make a commitment to your campaign. Resist the temptation to create a case for an internal audience. Avoid laying out plans in extreme detail or going too in-depth on fundraising expenses of the campaign. Keep the focus on what the need is that you’re trying to address and on those whom your organization serves. If a specific donor has detailed questions you can always follow up with additional materials or resources for them to consider.

• Board members and leaders need to ensure that the vision and mission of the organization is clearly communicated and understood by all.
• The most fabulous case statements are concise, urgent, and inspiring.
• If the statement isn’t able to justify your fundraising goal, the timeline of your capital campaign, or even your organization’s overall mission, that’s a sign that you need to reevaluate.
• If your nonprofit case for support is longer than 10 pages don’t try to cut it down.
• They have become amazing stories that captivate and entrance, and may arrive in the form of a beautiful brochure or a delightful annual report.
• A case for support is one of the most important documents you will create for your nonprofit.

Take Double the Donation’s fundraising strategy assessment to figure out where your organization needs to make strategic improvements. This is likely what you think of when you think of a capital campaign case statement. Solicitation collateral might include a print brochure, PDF document, slideshow presentation, or other types of documentation that your team can use when soliciting prospects. Your capital campaign is not ready to move out of the planning period if your case statement isn’t in line. Vision—In articulating the organization’s vision, you provide a general roadmap of where you are headed and provide an early opportunity to bring donors and prospective donors along with you into the future.

The fact of the matter is that quite often, these end up as materials you leave behind after soliciting prospects. They don’t necessarily revisit them, and for many prospects, they’ll start collecting dust as soon as your representatives are out the door. Your capital campaign, your case statement can be reused and repurposed in marketing materials, speeches, solicitations, and more.

Avoid Using Multiple People To Write Different Sections

This will help you form the basis of the text for the case statement. Make sure you get input from a variety of sources within your station so you have the most complete picture as you begin.

That means there’s a place for your own emotions in your fundraising conversations. Of course, you can’t just read Ms. Prospect your case statement. She can probably read herself, and she didn’t agree to coffee so that you could give her a bunch of information that is on your website. She wanted a meeting with an authority on your organization to learn if she wants to be a part of it.

To move the prospective donor to ACTION – this takes more work. Your arts center may serve several counties or just one city. Your case statement is the backbone of your fundraising program. The case statement is usually a public-facing document tied to a particular fundraising appeal. The Shelter has also focused on influencing local and state legislation that would benefit families in need.

You can miss this if you’re too wrapped up in making your case for support, so it’s important to listen. “Professional” usually means “unemotional,” but that doesn’t quite work for fundraisers. People give because they have empathy, and most fundraising is emotionally-driven.

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Include your organization’s mission statement to remind your audience of your overall philanthropic goals. Don’t forget to emphasize how your capital campaign supports this mission.

Looking for additional guidance when crafting your capital campaign case statement? Consider some of the following condensed examples of case statements to serve as a jumping off point for your team. While creating this content should form the core of the case statement development process, don’t spend too much time or money on creating solicitation resources.