Designing and Writing the Annual Fund Case Statement
Kristin V. Rehder, Principal, Kristin V. Rehder & Associates
Elizabeth K. Ottley, Director of Annual Giving, The Shipley School
Notes for CASE/NAIS Conference Presentation
January 18, 2004
Washington, D.C.

MAKING THE CASE

Let's focus right in on how to make a case for support the way I might do it.

Our case for support is not about us, it is about the donor and what the donor is trying to achieve. Once we accept that paradigm shift—and some of us struggle to do so—we can make our case and the ideas and language around it be much more compelling.

In thinking about donors, let's use ourselves as models for a moment and let me ask you a question. Consider a charity you have thought about or are supporting recently. What would make you give ten times more than you might have first considered?

Donors in previous generations used to give because they were supposed to—it was the right thing to do. But boomers and gen-Xers and those to follow want more accountability.

Here are some examples of what I mean.

• Donors today give because the charity they support is doing work they believe in, and, more specifically, the work of that charity or cause helps solve a problem they are concerned about in the world.
• They give where they can have greatest impact—a $100 for food and clothing, a gift to their local community, a gift where more than 90% or more of their dollar goes directly to the problem.
• They give because their gifts leverage other support—matches, foundations, class members following suit.
• They give to places that are top-notch and that make them proud.

Now we know all this but we still put our same old messages in front of people about our goals, our participation, our needs. Remember a person gives to a place that meets needs, not a place that has needs. So...with that preamble, let's work to build a stronger case.

1. We are on a roll. How? Let's work on some examples of how you can jump right in to your case for support using a few current facts that demonstrate your institution is in top form. (Enrollment, recent building opening, new faculty recruited, excellent planning process, major grant). We do this one because it touches on people's pride, their need to know that there is forward momentum and energy at your institution, and it is fact-based.
2. We matter. Because? Tell me why what you do as an institution matters.
   • We educate.
   • We do good work in the community.
   • We create new methods of teaching and models for others.
   • We serve a certain segment of the population or certain need of the community.
3. You can feel good about giving. Why?
   • We uphold the values you care about—superb education within the nation and within our community; preparing young people for independence and to adapt to lifelong change; values specific to your school such as spiritual values, leadership qualities, independent study; opportunities for special segments of the population (girls, international students, minorities).
   • We are an antidote to poverty, ignorance, oppression.
   • We put your gift to work immediately and are accountable for our resources.
   • Your gift multiplies because others do this too. The Annual Fund is a collective effort worth hundreds of thousands and even millions for education the way we deliver it when all is said and done.
   • You are helping an institution you want to see go forward gain the financial stability and strength it needs to balance its budget responsibly, plan for the future, and innovate.
   • Real people benefit—we put our money directly toward people: students and faculty and the environment in which they can do their best work.
   • Your help leverages the gifts of others—foundation support, trustees, and lead donors to endowment and other causes look to see how alumni participate.
   • You can help us meet 2 – 3 very specific needs this year. This last part is where you can describe your specific initiatives—not in terms of dollar goals or percentages of participation, but in terms of key initiatives that are important to you in this time frame—increased financial aid, faculty salaries, new equipment, refurbishing a building or a field, increased security, etc.

To this basic case you can attach motivators for action. Examples include:

• Your gift clubs and the desire to move people up in their level of giving and impact of their gifts
• Reunions
• A particular challenge
• Class competitions and other related goals, if you fee you must include them...

Now let's go back and see if the case we built satisfies the needs that donors have in making their gifts. REVIEW THE EXPECTATIONS IN GIVING FOR DONORS TODAY.

APPLYING THE CASE

Once we have a case that we've thought through, written down, and committed ourselves to so that we and others at the institution can make it on the spot, we need to be able to use it adaptively.

Let's think about at least four scenarios where a case can be important and talk about some of the ways we deliver the case successfully in each.

1. Asking for a gift face-to-face (begins with personal connections and experiences between the donor, you, your class, and the institution, then build to the ask).
2. Writing a letter to ask for support of the fund—personal or mass mailing (follows very closely with the case we have developed; language starts by addressing the donor, using "you" more than "we"; must be pithy and energetic; should personalize and ask for a particular amount or participation at the next gift-club level).
3. Developing a series of brochures or mailings to support your solicitations (does not focus on the case or the fund, but develops themes of school characteristics or value statements to make the appeal attention-getting and compelling for the donor; adopts advertising concepts; builds followers over time; makes annual fund goals secondary).
4. Creating an on-line giving site (abandons the tendency to talk about the fund and how it fits into the institution's process and focuses on opportunities for immediate giving; allows the potential donor to "shop" the site for gift possibilities and levels).

The information contained here may not be reproduced without credit to Kristin V. Rehder and/or permission to copy.
Kristin V. Rehder January 18, 2004.