REALTOR® Magazine Online: Developing a Compelling Case Statement

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Developing a Compelling Case Statement

In the nonprofit world, the kissing cousin of the business plan is the case statement. They share lots of content overlap, so if you’ve done one, you’re well on the way to doing the other. It’s just a matter of focus.

A case statement is a basic fundraising document. The case statement is a broad, comprehensive overview of your organization that explains why it’s worth philanthropic consideration. You write a case statement for a limited, but important, number of people involved in fundraising. Hopefully, it will stir them to support your organization. If it’s well done, the case statement becomes the template for future fundraising materials.

Your case can be long or short and still be effective. Some case statements can be very long: 50 to 100 pages or more. These documents are often written by major organizations that can commit the time and effort to creating an exhaustive review. An effective case can be 10, 15, or 25 pages and still cover the topic range that is usually included in a case.

TIP: Longer cases, and sometimes even rather short ones, begin with Executive Summaries that allow reviewers with less time to glean the major salient points from the document.

The basic content of every case statement is virtually the same:

What is the history of the organization?
What is its current status?
What will it be like in the future?
What philanthropic resources will be required to assure the continuance and progress of the organization?

The art is in the presentation. There are myriad ways to present the “yesterday, today, and tomorrow” of any organization. A thoughtful case finds the best way to present the compelling essence of the organization and its aspirations. The case is a subtle marketing document--it tells the truth, however, it does so in the kindest possible light.

Within its overarching framework, the case incorporates essential information about your organization:

A statement of the organizational mission and an expansion and exploration of its meaning.

A presentation of the organization’s programs and initiatives with a focus on how these efforts address the goals of the mission and community need.

A review of the organization’s governance, describing its board as a body, as individuals, and as a reflection of the community.

A review of the organization’s administration and staff, with a focus on professional credentials and capacity to maintain and grow the organization.

A description of how the organization is financed and how it maintains its financial viability, especially through philanthropy.

A projection of the future of the organization—whether it’s one of stability or of growth and change—and how its financial integrity will be maintained.

Your case must “sell” your organization to the reader. By the end of reading a good case, a reader should understand why your organization exists, how it responds to real community needs, and why it should be sustained as an organization or allowed to grow.

Dos and don’ts about writing in general and case writing specifically:

Keep the writing clear and comparatively simple. Write for the average reader. Don’t expect people to understand professional jargon.

Make the document interesting to read. Use factual examples and stories related to the operation of your organization. Present pertinent statistics that back the need for your work. Quote authorities or professional staff members.

Be complete without being exhaustive. In its totality and in each page, paragraph, and sentence, provide all the information that’s needed to understand your organization and its importance. However, don’t make your reader plow through extended, self-serving material once your central points are made.

Present as many facts as appropriate to back your subjective statements. A case is a delicate balance of fact and fantasy. Offer your best factual information as evidence that your most subjective assessments are valid.

Make sure the overall presentation is reader inviting and friendly. Usually, a case is a word-processed document that is fairly informal. These days, because of the ease of using computer programs, charts, graphs, and photographs appear more frequently.

As with your business plan, make sure your case statement has buy-in among your major stakeholders. Writing a case statement is an occasion that allows your organization to ask for consensus among its major stakeholders.

There are different kinds of case statements.

The kind of case document described here is an “institutional” case, a presentation that describes an organization and substantiates its philanthropic need.

Some organizations print an introductory promotional publication about themselves and deem that a “case” publication, because it can be given to potential benefactors.

Special case statements can be written in support of particular fundraising initiatives, such as capital campaigns, in which sizeable amounts of funds are raised within a comparatively short time.

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