You Have A Story, Now Tell It!
Thinking Through Your
Case Statement
There is a great temptation to develop a campaign case statement that focuses on numbers and "factoids" meant to impress the potential donor with an organization's achievements. There is nothing wrong with including this kind of information in a case statement, but to capture the attention of your donor prospects you need to keep three things in mind.
- People give to people, not to organizations.
- People decide to give based on emotion and decide how much to give based on facts.
- Most people won't read more than the first four lines of a document. That's all the time you have to capture their emotions.
Compare the next two selections and see which one makes you want to read on.
- Dwyer County Family Services, with a budget of over $4 million per year, serves more than 500 low-income families annually at seven sites located throughout Dwyer County. Services include counseling, temporary shelter, one-time assistance with rent and utilities, foster placement, and emergency financial assistance. Two well-baby clinics, one at each end of the County, offer free checkups for eligible infants from birth to six months of age. For families who care for elderly or chronically ill members, in-home respite services are available.
- I will never forget the look on Donny's face when I told him he could pick out his own brand new winter coat. In second grade they had laughed at him for wearing a coat a classmate's mother had thrown away. Ever since, the first time he wore that year's "new" used winter coat he had been terrified it would happen again. Thanks to the generosity of a donor he will never know, Donny is looking forward to the chilly winter days of his seventh grade year with a new sense of confidence.
Someone knows a true story about your organization that will catch the attention and the hearts of your prospective donors. Part of your campaign preparation is to find that story and tell it!
