Four things you need to know to transform your charity’s Case for Support
When you have so much information – an overwhelming amount in fact - where do you start with writing your own Case for Support? And how do you make sure your Case for Support is so good that it becomes transformational to everything you do?
Charities need a strong Case for Support for so many good reasons - to underpin funding bids, to be clear in communications about the work the charity does and inspire people get involved, to clearly describe the charity’s strategy to internal and external stakeholders, and to tell people about the unique gap that the charity fills in sector and service provision.
Here are 4 things you need to know to create a robust and impactful Case for Support for your organisation.
1. Gather your strongest evidence of impact
We like to do this in a table to start with. You want to find the top 10 or 12 things that evidence why your charity is so vital. These should be the really impressive things about your organisation - the big hitters. To work out which facts should be in your top 10, put yourself in a funder’s shoes – remembering that they may know nothing about your cause or charity:
What can you say about the number of people you have reached? How about the areas where they live, their circumstances, and their needs - what story does this tell?
Think about the best way to demonstrate your organisation’s credibility - it could be an award, the fact you’ve been supported by major funders, or for arts charities it could be having NPO status. Does your charity have a patron or trustees who are very influential in their sector? Could it be that the work you’ve already been commissioned to deliver shows you’re known for taking an innovative or best-in-class approach? How long has your organisation existed and what story does that tell?
What can you say about the research you have undertaken to define the direction of the charity’s programmes? What can you tell funders about the bigger picture of need and where your charity fits in this? What’s unique about what you do, and how can you evidence that your approach is the right one to take - have you consulted with people and asked their opinion? Have any of the people on your programmes helped inform the charity’s strategy or programme design?
What about the story of the people, communities, or cause you work with? Do you have any facts or quotes about the impact your work has had – perhaps on people’s ability to find employment or opportunities, across health and wellbeing, or it could be to transform communities and the places where people live?
When it comes to describing financial need, this is obviously going to look very different for every organisation, but think about how you can package up costs in a way that tells a story - maybe this is about how much it costs to run each programme, or to support one person. Or it might be that you need to convey that there has been a significant change that means you need to raise more funds, such as the Cost of Living crisis.
It’s not a comprehensive list, but this will provide a good starting point for thinking about the questions to ask, and the information you want to gather.
2. Keep it focused, short, and use plain language
Your Case for Support should be a set of the most compelling things you want to tell people, but that means being brutal with information, and with language – you won’t be able to include everything.
Start by asking yourself “If we can only tell people three things, what would they be?” This will give you direction for the most important things to make sure are front and centre in your Case for Support. Think about what you want to say about your heritage, current work, and future plans. It might be that you need to mention a change that’s sector-wide – for example, something that is impacting the entire health and social care sector, or for environmental causes – and how the wider situation has informed your plans as a charity.
Leave the jargon out and use plain language. Short sentences. 2 pages of A4 max. Ask someone to read it who knows nothing about your charity. Do they fully understand what you’re saying? Think about the structure, and check it flows.
A quick rule of thumb is if it doesn’t make people want to immediately get up off their sofa and do something – anything - to be part of the change you’re describing, then your Case for Support probably needs more work to have the right impact.
3. Are you sitting comfortably? Then we’ll begin
Your Case for Support should tell a fantastic story.
If your cause is a very difficult one, then your Case for Support should tell an inspiring story of how your work will help change the situation.
If your cause is inherently positive, then your Case for Support should compel people to want to find out more and get involved.
If your organisation is well known, then your Case for Support should be the thing that makes people relieved your charity exists – because it tells the story of your impact so compellingly.
Describe the very real difference you make to people’s lives and the places they live - how you’re changing things across the entire sector, or even the world, for future generations.
And make sure to leave people in no doubt of what the situation would look like if your charity didn’t exist – remind them why you are the right organisation to tackle this vital challenge.
4. It’s finished, congratulations! What’s next?
It’s time to get creative in how you use your Case for Support.
Yes, it should be the rule book that underpins your trusts and grant applications – and that’s what a lot of charities will have in mind while writing their Case for Support - but it can (and should) also be so much more.
You can use it as the narrative you tell corporates, to underpin the copy on your website homepage, to create a set of key messages for social media graphics, and even to attract the best talent to work for your charity.
And, most crucially, your Case for Support should be the thing that informs your overall organisational brand and communications strategy - the big messages you put out to the world, through what you say, how you look, and even where you see the charity appear. But that’s a topic for a future blog post…
Because when your Case for Support is that good, why wouldn’t you want to put it on your next t-shirt print run?
Really Good Things is an insights, strategy and communications consultancy.
If you would like help to define your charity’s Case for Support then we’d love to help. We’ve done just this for causes including Alopecia UK, many NHS charities, and incredible arts organisations including Theatre Porto. To name just a few.