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Why Your Organization NEEDS a Case for Support
Explaining the cornerstone of any fundraising campaign
THE CORNERSTONE OF ANY FUNDRAISING ENDEAVOR
What would you consider the cornerstone of your fundraising endeavor? Is it your staff? Is it your print and digital collateral? Is it the breadth of your donor database and the quality of your data? Is it your strategic plan? While all these are important, there’s still something more important.
“WHY” YOUR MISSION MATTERS
Maybe you’d say, “Well, it’s our mission, of course”, but while the mission is your organization’s cornerstone, the mere existence of your mission does not automatically compel donors to make contributions toward your mission.
For example, maybe your mission is “to provide every child with awareness and access to all the career options available to them”. While that mission very well may light a fire within you, the mission itself begs an enormous question: “why?”. As in, “why are you pursuing that mission?”, “why should what matters to you matter to me?”, “why should I (donor prospect) support that mission?”, “why should I believe you’re capable of achieving that mission?”, “why is career access important?”, “why is there a need in the first place?”, and so on and so on.
The question “why” is answered by your Case for Support. This is the cornerstone of any fundraising endeavor.
AN INTERNAL DOCUMENT THAT ALL FUNDRAISING LEADS BACK TO
A case for support is not the brochure that you develop to give to prospective donors and volunteers that explains the “why behind your mission. Something like a brochure may result from a case for support, but the actual case is more fundamental than that.
A case for support is an internal document/statement that serves as the basis for all external communications geared toward seeking support for a nonprofit organization.
The language on your website rehearses your case for support to the community engaging with your mission digitally. The asks of your mid-year and year-end appeals will hearken back to your case for support. How your front-line fundraisers move the donors on their portfolios up the major gifts ladder will depend on strength of relationship (we can never forget this!) and effective communication of the case for support.
EVERY CAMPAIGN NEEDS A CASE FOR SUPPORT
As your organization grows, you’ll likely undertake significant focused fundraising efforts, known traditionally as campaigns. Every distinct campaign must have its own case for support that is both nuanced from the broader case for support and in line with the broader case for support.
Here are some examples:
- Broad Case for Support: Answers why anyone should contribute time, talent, or treasure to giving all children exposure and access to career opportunities.
- Annual Campaign Case for Support: Answers why anyone should become a regular supporter on a repeating and likely increasing basis over years.
- Year-end Major Donor Campaign Case for Support: Answers why anyone should make a gift to the specific need we’re asking for at this year’s end.
- Capital Campaign Case for Support: Answers why anyone should contribute to this major building project and major expense your organization is undertaking (note: a robust case for support is critical to effective capital and comprehensive campaigns).
- Endowment Campaign Case for Support: Answers why someone should make a gift to the future sustainability of the mission likely well beyond their own generation.
These could be many more examples. And the case for support for each different type of campaign will look very different.
HAVING A GENERAL IDEA IS NOT ENOUGH
Every fundraiser and nonprofit leader is familiar with the feeling that there’s too much to do and not enough time to do it. And this gut feeling leads some to think, consciously or subconsciously, “I don’t have time to develop a clear, written, case for support. I think I (and my team) have good idea of our case for support in my head”. If that’s you, it’s ok. There are a lot of us in that boat! But let us encourage you to push beyond that line of thinking and make a commitment to spend the necessary time and resources to develop your case for support. Here are 6 reasons why:
1. If it’s not clearly written, your case will be inconsistently communicated. Every fundraiser will have a subtly different articulation and definition of the case for support.
2. There are hundreds, if not thousands of incredible nonprofits with great missions in your community. And every individual you’re hoping will become a major donor is receiving mail and emails from at least a dozen of them.
3. Most of those other nonprofits have a compelling case for support.
4. Everybody knows you need a great elevator pitch. A great elevator pitch is simply the case for support distilled down to a few sentences. The elevator pitch becomes obvious once the case for support is clarified.
5. In times of discouragement, your case for support will motivate your team. It’s not just the reason why people should give, it’s the reason why your team should continue working hard. But if they lose sight of the “why”, it’s difficult for them to envision anyone else to invest in the mission.
6. It prevents mission drift. It keeps you, your staff, your volunteers, and your donors on the rails leading toward your mission and goals.
GETTING A GOOD START
Just like the case for support answers the question, “why”, so this white paper is simply aimed at answering “why” you need a case for support. How to write an effective case for support … well that’s a different white paper. But here are a few simple principles to set you on the right track:
Any case for support should be:
- Clear and simple. Bigger goals typically result in longer cases for support. But length should not come at the expense of clarity.
- Thorough. The elevator pitch results from the case for support. But the case is much more thorough. It needs to be able to bear the weight of all your communications that you’re going to ask it to.
- Memorable. If nobody can remember it, a woman may be inspired by it when she meets with one of your fundraisers, but then when her spouse asks her that same night why she’s suggesting they make a $10,000 gift, she’ll either get it wrong or just decide it’s not worth the effort to explain and drop the idea.
- Unique. If it’s too general and not differentiated from organizations doing similar work in your community, you haven’t given donors the reason why they should give to your mission.
- Compelling. It’s not an explanation of all your programs. Don’t fall into that trap. Your case for support should set hearts on fire and move people to compassionate action.
If you’ve found something within this white paper that you would like to explore further with our team, please contact us.
Claudia A. Looney, FAHP, CFRE
Principal and Managing Partner
Kyle Houlton, CFRE
President and CEO
