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Case Confusion: How to decide who will create your Case for Support

Don’t leave it to Rock, Paper, Scissors

When embarking on a capital campaign or major appeal, many organisations struggle to decide where to assign responsibility for developing the Case for Support.

The Case for Support (aka Prospectus) is an exceptionally powerful document and getting it right is critical to the success of your campaign. When deciding who should create your case, there are several options to consider, each with their pros and cons.

Getting your campaign board or committee to create the Case for Support is an excellent way to engage them and secure their commitment early on. If committee members have helped create the case and are invested and familiar with its content, then they are going to be more comfortable and confident in presenting to prospective supporters. However, given the longer lead-time required for this approach, it may not be appropriate for campaigns and appeals with short time frames (<12 months or 18 months for example)

A more time efficient option is to have a member of the fundraising team or senior management write the case (which can be signed off by the board/committee). While an internal resource will have a thorough knowledge of the organisation and project, they can sometimes be too close to translate the vision effectively.

Another approach is to use an external resource, like us, to develop your case for support. Often an outside observer with an objective eye and fresh perspective can best determine how to engage other outsiders. While there are costs involved with utilising external counsel, your Case for Support is something well worth investing in. It raises 4, 5, 6 and 7 figure donations.

OKP has prepared fundraising collateral for a wide range of for-purpose organisations for example RSPCA, Salvos, Dolphin Research Institute, St Augustine’s College, Berry Street, St Vincents Health Australia and so on.

Keen for more information, here are 6 handy tips to jump start your efforts….get your skates on!

TIP 1 - Take your prospects on a journey

TIP 2 - Make it people centred - donor focussed

TIP 3 - Keep it simple

TIP 4 - Enhance your story with engaging visuals

TIP 5 - Write for your audience (prospective donors)

TIP 6 - Appeal to emotions then to intellect