The Case for the "Case"
Philip Gartenberg
We all know that diversity of funding sources is one key to success for any not-for-profit organization. For many agencies that rely on public support for the vast majority of their funds, achieving diversity can be an enormous challenge. Private contributions totaling even less than ten percent of an agency’s budget can make a significant impact. Those marginal dollars can make the critical difference in program quality and the ability to respond quickly to new opportunities.
Almost all agencies engage in fundraising of some form—they may hold an annual dinner, host a golf outing and, of course, reach out to board members for annual gifts. If fortunate, these activities will generate predictable sources of revenue. Taking fundraising to the next level requires the tools that can be used in direct solicitation of significant gifts.
A key ingredient to raising private funding is the ability of volunteer and professional leadership to engage donors and prospects in a dialogue about the work of their agency. There are two significant challenges to accomplishing this goal.
First, an agency must articulate why it stands out among the many organizations providing comparable services. New York City or State contracts are tightly drawn. Agencies A, B and C may all be providing community mental health services receiving similar per capita allocations. The same holds true for adult day care, foster care, and the host of other government-funded programs implemented by private sector agencies.
Second, volunteers are key players in fundraising campaigns. The challenge to agency lay and professional leadership is to energize the board to play leadership roles, to help by attracting new board members and donors and to serve as enthusiastic ambassadors of their agency to the community at large. Yet, too frequently, fundraising campaigns are couched in terms of raising sufficient funds to offset a deficit and fill the gap between projected expenses and projected government support. Insuring a balanced budget is, of course, critically important. It is not, however, the kind of message that excites prospects and donors.
The title of this piece is “The Case for the ‘Case.’” The case statement is often perceived as a document for a major philanthropic undertaking. Yet, developing a case statement is an important exercise for any agency that strives to expand its base of support however modest or grand.
First, board and staff leadership should take the time to step back to take stock of what the agency is doing, how it is defining its goals and objectives and how it distinguishes itself from other agencies. This exercise fits naturally into strategic planning or can even be accomplished at a time when there is no immediate crisis to consume leadership attention. The process should result in a realistic assessment of goals and objectives and the resources required to achieve them. It should be hard headed—but should also present a challenge to achieve targets that stretch the agency’s imagination. It should identify specific areas that require support, thereby creating the “argument” for a positive basis for the “ask” from a donor or prospect rather than the request to offset the deficit.
Developing a case statement is not a scary prospect. Case statements should be short. The key ingredients are the well thought out assessment of the agency’s needs and aspirations framed in positive terms either by the agency’s own staff or by reaching out to professional assistance from people who are skilled at writing case statements.
All the ingredients of a well-written case statement are incorporated in the strategic plan:
• The positioning of an agency among its colleague organizations
• An articulate statement of program
• The vision for the future and the identification of the resources required to accomplish that vision.
Even without a formal planning process, an agency should be able to communicate its needs and aspirations in a way that can serve as the basis for the case statement.
The value of the case statement is only in part what the reader gleans from its contents. It also plays an important role for energizing an agency’s lay and professional solicitors.
Equally important, the case statement is a sales document. A good case statement is written to grab the attention of the audience and briefly explain programs and specifically how the donor’s gift will facilitate the accomplishments of the organizations worthy goals and objectives.
Philip Gartenberg, PhD, is the President of Fulcrum Associates, LLC.
|
|
