Writing your case for support

This guide is for anyone who asks for money for a small charity: the founder writing a first grant, a board member about to visit a donor, a volunteer updating the website. All of them need the same thing underneath: a clear, honest explanation of why the work matters. That explanation is your case for support: why your work matters, what you need, and what a gift will make possible. After reading, you'll know what goes into one, how to back it with evidence, and how to reuse it everywhere you ask.

What a case for support is, and isn't

A case for support is a document the charity writes for itself first. It's the agreed answer to "why should anyone give to us?" Once you have it, you cut and reshape it for grant applications, appeal letters, your website and conversations with donors.

It isn't a brochure, an annual report or a strategic plan, though it borrows from all three. It is one argument, made well: there is a real need, you have a sensible way to meet it, you can show it's working, and a gift now will make a specific difference.

Writing it also helps the board. If board members can't agree on the case, they'll each tell donors a different story. Work on it together.

The six parts

1. The need, with evidence

Start with the problem in the world, not with your charity. Who is affected, how many, where, and what happens if nothing changes?

Use evidence you can cite. A number with a named source carries more weight than "many families struggle." Good places to start:

• The American Community Survey (ACS) from the U.S. Census Bureau. The Census Bureau describes it as an ongoing survey that provides information every year about the nation and its people, on topics including jobs, education, veterans, and whether people own or rent their homes. Its 5-year estimates cover every area, including small ones (more on that below).
• Local Area Unemployment Statistics from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, which publishes monthly and annual employment and unemployment figures for states, counties, metropolitan areas and many cities.
• Your state and local government: health departments, school districts and housing agencies often publish local data.
• Your own records. Waiting lists, people turned away, requests you couldn't meet. This is often your most persuasive evidence, because no one else has it.

2. Your approach

What do you do about the need, and why this way? Describe your program in plain words: who you serve, what happens, how often. If your approach is based on research or on what the people you serve asked for, say so.

3. Results so far, honestly

Show what has happened because of your work. Use real numbers from your records: people served, sessions held, outcomes you measured. Our guide to measuring impact can help you decide what to count.

Be honest about scale and about what you don't yet know. A new charity can say, "In our first six months we served 40 families. We're starting to track whether children's reading improves, and will report results next year." That builds more trust than a big claim you can't back up.

4. What a gift does

Turn money into something people can picture. Work out what things actually cost, from your budget, and say what a gift of a given size makes possible: a week of meals, a month of tutoring, a share of a new van. Only use figures that come from your real costs.

Also say what the whole plan costs and how much you still need to raise. Donors like to know their gift is part of a complete plan.

5. Why now

What makes this the moment to give? A growing waiting list, a matching grant with a deadline, a building lease that ends, a new program ready to launch. "Why now" must be true. Invented urgency wears out trust fast.

6. Who you are

Close with why your charity is the right one to do this: your history, your connection to the community, your board and volunteers, your partners. Keep it short. Donors give to the need and the change, then check that you're trustworthy.

Using public data responsibly

Numbers lend authority, so they need care:

• Cite every figure. Name the source, the table or report, and the year. Keep a list of links so anyone can check.
• Use the right geography. Don't use a national figure to describe your town. Find the local one, or say plainly that it's national.
• Understand the data you use. The Census Bureau publishes ACS data as 1-year estimates, for areas with 65,000 or more people, and 5-year estimates, for all areas. It describes 5-year estimates as the most reliable, best for small populations and areas like census tracts, and 1-year estimates as more current but less reliable. For a small town or neighborhood, you'll usually be using 5-year estimates; say so.
• Don't stretch the numbers. A figure for everyone in poverty in your county isn't the number of people your program could serve.
• Update every year. New data comes out regularly. Put a date on your case and refresh it.
• Protect people's privacy. Share your own data in totals, never in a way that identifies individuals, and only use personal stories with permission. See telling your story.

One page and the full version

Write two versions:

• The full case (four to ten pages): all six parts with evidence, a short budget summary and a list of sources. This is your internal master copy, and the version for a major donor or a funder who wants depth.
• The one-page case: a short paragraph for each part, the main numbers, and one clear ask. Board members can carry it to meetings, and it's often the first thing you send a new contact.

Write the full case first. The one-page version is easier to cut from something complete than to grow from a slogan.

How the case feeds everything else

Once the case exists, most fundraising writing becomes reuse and adaptation:

• Grant applications. The need statement, program description, outcomes and organizational background usually map straight onto your case. Adapt the wording to each funder's questions and priorities. See grant writing basics.
• Appeal letters and emails. Lead with a story from the "results" part, use one number from the "need" part, and end with "what a gift does" and "why now."
• Your website. The "about" and "donate" pages should say the same thing as your case, in shorter form.
• Donor conversations. Board members who know the case can explain it in their own words. Our guide to building a donor base covers how to ask.

Case for support checklist

• The board agreed the case together
• The need is described with cited, local, dated evidence
• Our approach and why we chose it are in plain words
• Results come from our own records, stated honestly
• Gift amounts come from our real costs
• "Why now" is true
• We have a full version and a one-page version
• Sources are listed and the case has a date
• Stories are used with permission

If you'd like someone to read your draft with fresh eyes, ask a member charity for help through the Exchange.