Contents

Creating Your Nonprofit’s Case for Support

How do you write a Case for Support?

The Case for Support is a document that tells your organization’s story, unifies your team, and explains why donors should give to your organization. This week on The Responsive Weekly, Diana Hoyt of Formula for Fundraising joined us to talk about creating your Case.

The Quick Summary

Watch the Full Recording Here

Top Takeaways

  • Your Case should be 3-5 pages long and is usually written by the Chief Development Officer.
  • Diana recommends a four-part structure for the Case:
    • Part 1: Intro to the organization, its history, mission, accolades, impact.
    • Part 2: What are you doing NOW? What are you current programs, who do you serve, where do you work?
    • Part 3: Your vision. Explain the problem you’re trying to solve, and how you’re trying to solve it.
    • Part 4: Action plan. What does it take to solve the problem? What do you need?
  • Use storytelling to connect donors immediately to the Case.
  • Test your Case out on existing and potential donors. Ask for feedback on the document to see what resonates.
author avatar
Megan Donahue
Megan Donahue is a writer specializing in all things nonprofit, content strategy, and the intersection of nonprofits and technology.

What you should do now

Below are three ways we can help you begin your journey to building more personalized fundraising with responsive technology.

See the Virtuous platform in action.  Schedule a call with our team for personalized answers and expert advice on transforming your nonprofit with donor management software.

Download our free Responsive Maturity Model and learn the 5 steps to more personalized donor experiences.

If you know another nonprofit pro who’d enjoy reading this page, share it with them via Email, Linkedin, Twitter, or Facebook.

The Responsive Maturity Model
5 Steps to More Personalized Donor Experiences
Get Responsive Fundraising Tips
Get updates delivered directly to your inbox.

Summarize with AI

Giving USA 2026: How to Turn the Data Into Your Next Move

Giving USA 2026: How to Turn the Data Into Your Next Move

There’s a story in every study, data set, and list of numbers. And as a former fundraiser and the current Fundraiser in Residence at Virtuous, one of my favorite pastimes…
5 Top Themes From the 2026 Rescue Mission Benchmark Report

5 Top Themes From the 2026 Rescue Mission Benchmark Report

TL;DR Revenue has grown to ~117% of 2021 levels. Donor files haven’t. The sector is generating more from fewer donors, which creates fragility underneath stable revenue. Second-gift conversion and second-year…
How to Use The 2026 Virtuous Benchmark Report for Human Services Nonprofits

How to Use The 2026 Virtuous Benchmark Report for Human Services Nonprofits

TL;DR Human Services had a quietly strong year. Several metrics moved in the right direction at once, with median gift, average gift, gift frequency, and donor expansion all improving year…

Grow generosity with Virtuous

Virtuous is the responsive fundraising software platform proven to help nonprofit organizations increase generosity by serving all donors personally, no matter their gift size.

“Virtuous truly understands nonprofits and the importance of our mission. And their open access to data and built-in custom reports gave us access to the data we need.”
Todd Shinabarger​
Chief Information Officer