A case for support is not a brochure. It’s the argument for why someone should give to you, now, at a level that matters to them.
That distinction changes how you write it. A brochure describes. An argument persuades, which means it has to anticipate the reader’s questions and answer them in the order they come up. Most weak cases fail here: they’re full of true, warm, well-designed information that never adds up to a reason to give.
The good news is that a case can be built from scratch by almost anyone who knows the organization well, if they work through it in the right order. Write the argument first. Design it last.
Internal case, external case
There are two documents with the same name, and it helps to know which you’re writing.
The internal case is the full argument: everything the organization knows about the need, the plan, the cost, and the evidence. It might run 15 or 20 pages and nobody outside will read it all. It’s the source material your board, staff, and volunteers draw from so everyone tells the same story.
The external case is what a donor sees: a few pages, a slide deck, a web page, or a proposal tailored to one person. It’s cut from the internal case, never written separately.
Start with the internal case. It will feel slow. It saves you from rewriting the argument every time someone needs a proposal.
The questions a case must answer
Before you write any prose, answer these in plain sentences. A shared document with one heading per question works well. Bullet points are fine at this stage.
What is the need? What is wrong, missing, or at risk, and for whom? Be specific about people and places.
Why does it matter? What happens if nobody addresses it? Who is affected, and how?
What will we do about it? The plan, concretely. Not “expand access” but what you’ll build, hire, start, or change.
Why us? What makes your organization the right one to do this: your history, your track record, your relationships, your people. This is where your past earns its place.
Why now? The honest reason this can’t wait. A rising cost, a growing waitlist, an opportunity with a deadline.
What will it cost? The total, broken into parts a donor can understand.
What will change if we succeed? What a student, family, or community will have in three or five years that they don’t have now.
How will we know? The measures you’ll use, stated simply.
What are we asking you to do? The role you’re inviting the donor into, including the ways to give and, for a campaign, the levels.
If you can’t answer one of these in a sentence or two, that’s not a writing problem. It’s a planning problem, and it should go back to leadership before you write anything more.
An outline you can fill in
Once the answers exist, arrange them into a document. Here’s the outline I recommend for an internal case.
Case for support: working outline
- The need. Two or three paragraphs. Who, what, where, and how you know.
- The vision. What changes if we succeed, described from the point of view of the people served.
- The plan. What we will do, in what order, over what time.
- Why us. Our history, track record, and the people who make this possible.
- Why now. The timing, stated honestly.
- The cost. The total and its main components, with a simple table.
- How we’ll measure it. Three to five measures.
- The invitation. Ways to give, naming opportunities if any, gift levels for a campaign.
- Who is leading. Board, campaign chairs, key staff.
- Appendix. Budget detail, data sources, financials, letters of endorsement.
A few notes on the writing.
Write to one reader. Picture a specific donor who knows you a little and likes you. Write so that person would follow every paragraph.
Lead each section with its point. The first sentence of each section should state the claim. Supporting detail follows.
Use real numbers with sources. Every statistic in your case should trace to your own records or a source you can name. Keep the source list in the appendix.
Keep the voice human. Use “we” and “you.” Quote real people, with permission. Cut any sentence that could appear in any other organization’s case.
Mind the opening. The first page carries a lot of weight. I’ll write separately about why it should start with the need, not the history.
Test it with donors before you design it
This is the step that makes a case work, and the one most organizations skip. Before anyone designs anything, take the draft to five to eight people who know you: two or three loyal donors, a board member, someone who gave once and stopped, and someone who has never given.
Call it what it is: “We’re working on how we explain our plans, and I’d value your honest reaction before it’s final.” Many donors appreciate being asked, and some of these conversations become the start of a gift.
Bring a short version, three or four pages, and ask:
- After reading this, what do you think we’re trying to do?
- What’s the most convincing part?
- What’s missing, or what made you skeptical?
- Is there anything you didn’t understand?
- If you were going to support this, which part would you want to support?
Then listen and take notes. Don’t defend the draft. If three people misunderstand the same paragraph, the paragraph is wrong, no matter how clear it seemed in the office.
Afterward, revise. Expect the need section to get shorter and sharper, the cost section to get clearer, and the invitation to get more specific. Expect at least one thing you were proud of to go.
From internal to external
Once the internal case holds up, cut versions from it: a four-page leave-behind, a one-page summary, a proposal template, talking points for board members. Each should keep the same argument in the same order, just shorter. When the case changes, change the internal document first and let the versions follow.
A finished case doesn’t stay finished. Revisit it at least once a year, or whenever the plan, the cost, or the need changes. The work of writing it, and especially of testing it, is what makes everyone who talks to donors sound like they’re telling the same true story.
If you’d like help building your case for support and the materials that come from it, that’s part of our Brand Messaging and Content Strategy work.
– Mary-Ellen
Featured photo: Photo by lilartsy on Unsplash.
