Cases for Support

The significance of a Case for Support

A Case for Support is the most important document your organization will ever write. Not only is it a portfolio of your organization's impressive achievements, but it serves as the master document of your fundraising campaign. You will need it when you make requests of large gifts from major donors and when you write proposals and grant applications.

A Case for Support is also much more than a fundraising tool. It can serve as a comunication and marketing tool, too.

What is a Case for Support?

Essentially it sets out the reasons why a donor or foundation should support your project or organization.

Key elements are:

• Brief background of the organization. How it began, it's reason for being.
• The need.
• How your project addresses the need. (Your aim and how you plan to acheive it)
• Your current priority - the urgent needs.
• Why your organization is different from similar organizations.
• What impact you are making. List your achievments.
• Mention the expertise of the team.
• The cost of the project.
• How you normally raise the funds.
• How the money will be used.
• How the funds will specifically benefit those you serve, and the community.

The Case for Support should reinforce the integrity and effectiveness of the organization, be persuasive enough to provoke a desire to help, and yet factual enough to be a credible and trusted source.

A Case for Support can be very long if your organization has many projects, or there are many aspects to the project. However, once it is written, it can be broken down into smaller documents to be used for specific projects or campaigns.

For example, a case for support can be broken down and used when making grant applications, when writing appeal letters, and when writing campaign reports or stewardship reports to major donors and foundations.

What's involved in writing a Case for Support?

When writing Cases for Support I;

1. Clarify the aim of the orgnization if needed.
2. Articulate its objectives and the actions the organization will undertake to achieve these aims. If the organization is not clear on these points, this is a valuable process for them to go through.
3. Conduct online research to find some impressive facts to support the need and the project.
4. Sometimes I visit the project and see it in operation.
5. I interview key people about different aspects of the project such as the budget, implementation, how the project and organization fits in with other similar organizations, the management of the project, the ultimate 'blue sky' goals. Encouraging blue sky thinking helps the staff to look up from the daily detail of their immediate tasks for a moment to really take a look at where they are heading. This is an inspiring and valuable process for them.
6. Help to construct a budget if necessary. This is usually needed in the blue sky component of any project.