How often have we heard the expression “state your case” in a legal proceeding or in a debate? To state your case means to be factual, persuasive and concise. That’s the same principle behind the Case Statement used by nonprofits to raise badly needed funding from big money donors.
Big Money donors are people, too! A well-written case statement never forgets that:
- The human attention span is growing shorter and shorter. This means that your statement of the NEED must be brief, punchy, and impactful.
- Decisions are made out of emotion, as well as a logical assessment of the facts (the rational side). Therefore, a well written case statement is a translation of your continuing need for BIG MONEY gifts into words that will inspire.
Since every nonprofit that depends on gift support for operating income knows that the top 20 to 30 gifts they receive each year account for 80 percent of that gift income, the Case Statement becomes even more important.
In our two-book set, Secrets to BIG MONEY Fundraising, you will learn the four elements that must be included in every nonprofits’ written case for support. And the first of those four elements is your NEED statement.
If you have never seen this kind of writing, take a look at the following example.
THE NEED
1) Across the United States there are over 1.2 million high school dropouts annually.
2) 7,000 dropouts a day, 1 dropout every 26 seconds.
3) Nationally, high school dropouts commit 75% of crimes in society, and are the population most susceptible to teen pregnancies and welfare dependent families.
4) Girls who drop out of school usually become teenaged mothers and welfare dependent single parents.
5) High school dropouts earn as much as $1,000,000 less than college graduates over a lifetime.
6) The majority of students who drop out of high school (3 out of 4) regret doing so later.
Can you write a NEED Definition for your nonprofit organization and make it just as tight as this one?
Here’s my Case Statement Challenge to you!
I invite you to make your best effort to do this, and then send me what you have created. I will present the top 3 best examples on this website for everyone else to see … and learn by example!
Are you up for the challenge?
All the best —
John
