Create a Case Statement
If your nonprofit organization has a goal or project in mind, then (first and foremost) the Cogeo team is incredibly excited for you! We know what a grueling year and a half this has been and we’re thrilled to see nonprofits all over the country begin to look towards the future again.
We would also like to support you in any way we can. One of the first tasks to prepare for the launch of your fundraising campaign should be to create a case statement.
This guide will introduce you to the concept and purpose of a case statement, if you’re not already familiar, showcase some strong examples of case statements that Cogeo has created for its clients, and provide clear instructions on how to create your own case statement.
WHAT IS A CASE STATEMENT?
A case statement is an external facing document that is used to tell your organization’s story -- what it does, where it’s going, and what resources it’s going to take to get there. The main audiences are those whom you are wanting to educate about your organization and current and potential donors.
Case statements use text, images, and supporting quotes to inspire the reader and help them understand your organization, including:
The value it brings to its community
Its vision for the future
Its fundraising goals
Therefore, the case statement should be the embodiment of your organization’s brand and message.
examples
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BENEFITS OF A CASE STATEMENT
The case statement will be a central tool throughout your development plan. You will find yourself using the case statement during:
Donor meetings
Events
Sponsorship opportunities
Grant applications
Annual appeals
And more!
(Which is why it’s crucial that you produce a case statement that truly represents your organization and that you’re proud to show off!)
A case statement not only centralizes all of the information about your campaign and proves that you have a formal development process — it helps professionalize your campaign and organization as a whole. If there is anything that donors like most, it’s knowing the organization they are contributing to is making an impact and optimizing the use of their gifted resources.
The best thing about the case statement is that it does the ‘talking’ for you. For example, when meeting with a prospective donor, you often have to work within a brief window of time. The case statement can be used to effectively manage that time to discuss the high-points of the campaign and touch on specific interests.
As well, the case statement is the perfect item to offer as a takeaway. Encouraging prospects, donors, and well-connected community members to take a copy of the case statement will keep the campaign fresh in their minds. This also gives them the opportunity to continue to learn more about your organization and spread the word about your campaign on your terms and in your words.
BUILD A CASE STATEMENT
Before you begin crafting your organization’s case statement, we encourage you to first familiarize yourself with these case statement examples. These Cogeo clients used the same templates and processes you are about to embark on to create their case statements, so these end products should give you a good idea of where you are going and what is possible.
Written Content
The foundation of the case statement is its written content, which is broken out into the following sections:
Mission Statement: The message that guides an organization’s activity and goals.
Overview: Provides a brief background of your organization. This section explains where your organization originated and how it has adapted over time to address the community’s needs and successfully manage growth.
Programs: A crucial section of the case statement that describes your organization’s programming. Each program, either current or planned, should be included and be broken down to explain what it does, who it benefits, why it was started, and where it’s going.
Vision: Take into account the organization and its programs you have described and put them on a 5-year timeline moving forward from the current year.
The Opportunity: This page of the case statement lists each component of the campaign and its associated funding needs. For an annual development campaign, this means listing each program and the dollar amount needed to optimally operate it for a full year. In a capital campaign, the opportunity section breaks out each phase of the build-out and the associated cost.The opportunity is typically described as a 5-year statement of need total with subtext that provides brief, additional information on how these numbers were calculated.
Leadership: This is a list or a photo gallery of your organization’s leadership. It includes the board of directors and key staff members.
Partners: If partnerships are a key part of your organization’s operations, you should include a section that highlights these partners.
Now it is time for you to start drafting the content of your case statement! Use this case statement content template as an outline for your writing.
Cogeo Key Suggestion: Keep in mind that your entire leadership should fundamentally agree on the case statement content and should have the opportunity to contribute their ideas as part of the editing process. This should happen in the written content stage prior to designing your case statement.
There are a few key rules to follow while creating your case statement content:
Use a third person narrative -- no we, I, or us.
Use data-driven language. Include specific goals for outcomes or historical outcomes, to support all general language.
Always use positive language.
The template also provides guidelines about writing the case statement content, as well a list of questions that will provide structure to the writing process. All of these elements combined, along with referencing the case statements as examples, should give you the proper guidance to make your writing process exciting, fun, and meaningful.
Choosing Images for the Case Statement
The case statement images complement the content they pair with. There should be a variety of high-resolution photos that demonstrate your organization’s mission at work. While selecting these images, you should be constantly considering your content. Try to find images that pair nicely and support specific pieces of content.
We also can’t stress enough the importance of quality imagery. If you don’t have good photos to use, using relevant stock imagery is a good investment or tapping a photographer in your network to assist you is a good alternative, too. Be sure to include a diverse collection of photos to display the breadth of your organization and be able to appeal to multiple audiences.
Gathering Quotes for the Case Statement
The quotes are used to evoke emotion from the case statement and describe first-hand the impact of your organization’s work. There should be quotes from a variety of key stakeholders who are connected to your organization, including but not limited to:
Direct program participants
Families or those one degree of separation away from program participants
Board members
The Founder(s) and/or CEO/Executive Director
Prominent Community members (ie: mayor, city council members, etc.)
These quotes can be anywhere from 2-3 sentences to an entire story. If the quote powerfully supports the case statement and adds the right amount of emotion, it should be included. Like imagery, try to find quotes that pair nicely and support specific pieces of content. If some quotes are more general, they can be used as introductions or closing statements to the overall case statement.
Designing the Case Statement
Cogeo Key Suggestion: It is important that you and the rest of the leadership team finalize the written content before starting to design the case statement. The written content will drive the images and quotes you use, as well as affect the overall design layout. Trust us -- it is way more enjoyable to go through the design process once instead of completely redoing it a few times because you ultimately decided you want to make major changes to the story you want to tell.
We highly recommend using Google Slides, PowerPoint, or Adobe InDesign (a paid product) to design your case statement.
Below is one of our templates that we are offering to Cogeo members and subscribers. If you’d like to unlock more templates, you can do so through our FREE Starter Program.
click to download design template
If you’d like to have Cogeo design your template for you, you can find that service in our shop.