Dos and Don’ts of Case Statements

By David Cobb
Senior Vice President, Campaigns, and Senior Consultant

Anyone who has been through a capital campaign can vouch that they’re a huge undertaking. But how do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. As in many other scenarios in life, preparation is key.

One of the most important components of a campaign is the interview with a potential donor. To prepare, it’s critical that your goals are clearly defined and outlined, empowering you to make a case that convinces the donor to invest in your campaign. A case statement helps frame the conversation so donors understand exactly what they are being asked to support and inspire them to play a role in the meeting campaign goals. When proposing a campaign, one of the most important things a nonprofit can do is keep donors well-informed of the details, and a concise case statement can go a long way toward doing the work for you.

I recommend including the following elements in any case statement:

Challenge: It is important to remember that the central idea behind a campaign should be the need to improve a part of the organization. It is imperative that a case statement persuasively and convincingly lays out the challenges being faced so donors understand what they are helping improve.

Project Details: A case statement must outline what the money will support, including specifics of the project and conveying what will change – whether in a physical sense, such as a campaign for bricks and mortar, or more intangibly, such as for an expansion or addition of programming.

Transformation: To tie everything together nicely, a case statement must share the post-campaign vision. The case statement should include the broader community impact and how the organization—or the people or cause(s) it serves—will be transformed. An organization can better convince donors to donate if they can visualize what their money has the power to do.

Next, there are a few dos and don’ts to keep in mind when creating a case statement:

Do:

• Have a clear and realistic budget for the proposed elements. You don’t need a line-by-line budget, but you should have a verifiable estimate for the funds needed.
• Limit your case statement to two pages. It’s useless if no one reads it, and anything longer than two pages will lose readers quickly.
• Use bullet points, rather than a paragraph structure. This helps simplify your talking points and goals, and makes it easier to read and digest.

Don’t:

• Do not include more than a few projects. Listing every conceivable project you’d like to tackle could overwhelm and confuse donors. Select the projects that will use donor funds most appropriately and with the biggest impact.
• Don’t set an unreasonable goal. It’s tempting to aim for a high number that will allow you to accomplish many things on your wish list, but in general, your campaign should not aim to raise more than ten times your annual fund. If your goal is dramatically out of ratio with this number, donors may be deterred from participating.
• Do not share the case statement outside of your donors and your staff. Keeping information private until a campaign is finalized will prevent potential public relations issues as well as keep you grounded in how much money you can realistically raise.

Our team is well versed in writing case statements that get results. If you’re thinking about a campaign or could use an extra set of eyes on your potential case statement, feel free to reach out anytime!