Case Development
No one in the world has done more Case Development for more organizational clients than FutureU's co-founder Gail Terry Grimes.
By the time Gail launched FutureU with Claude Whitmyer in 1997,
she had developed the case for hundreds of not-for-profit organizations, schools, hospitals and
initiatives large and small, around topics ranging from AIDS to the San
Francisco Zoo to capital campaigns for new campus buildings. She may have written more case statements than anyone else on the planet; she stopped counting after several hundred. A sampling of clients that FutureU CEO Gail Terry Grimes has helped with case development...
Today Gail continues to consult with client organizations on their case development. Occasionally, when the subject excites her, she takes the job from start to finish herself. She did this in 2008, for example, for a $25 million capital campaign for Chinese Hospital of San Francisco. More frequently, she reviews and "tweaks" existing case statements drafted by others, to help the organization make the very most of its investment in fund development. For more information, contact Gail directly.
What's a case statement? First, what a case statement is NOT: It is not a campaign brochure. In the end, a campaign brochure may use some or all of the same language as the case statement on which it is based, but the case itself comes first. Its purpose is to clarify the story and align the organization's own "family" around the story. Then, and only then, should the story be disseminated outside the organization.
Here's Gail's definition:
A case statement is:
... a written document developed by an organization
... at a particular point in time
... in order to clarify and articulate
... the rationale for support
... of the organization itself
... and/or some particular objective or objectives
... in a dramatic and compelling way
... that delineates all possible connections
... between the organization (and/or its objectives)
... and the reader's best inclinations.
Just as a lawyer builds a case for a client before going into court,...
... any not-for-profit organization should build its case for support—
before beginning a fund development drive...
... and any for-profit company should build its case for support of its products or services overall, and for any specific initiative it undertakes, whether internal or external—before marketing begins.
This process needs to happen first—before developing a marketing or fund development plan. After all, what's the plan for? And why should anyone support it? Those are the questions answered by the case development process in the document known as the case statement.
Case development is not a job for a writer. It's a job for a thinker who also writes well.
Case development involves:
- Listening—through interviews, surveys and a thorough review of background materials.
- Studying—everything that is known and knowable about the organization and/or the initiative on the table.
- Organizing—information, ideas and opinions about the organization or initiative in such a way that strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats are all addressed in a way that makes sense and inspires action.
- Motivating—Case development is about more than collecting and laying out information. It's about identifying and conveying a sense of urgency and importance.
- Drawing people in—What good is a case statement if nobody reads it? Even a captive audience will tune out your story if it's hidden under jargon, cliches, puffery (what writing teachers call "elegant variation") and muddled presentation.
Your organization should create a case statement whenever...
... you want to remind yourselves why you're here and doing what you're doing
... you want others to know why you're here as well
... you need to get clear on your direction
... you want others to see that you have that clarity
... you have a problem to solve
... you want others to see the value of solving that problem and want to help
... you want some language everyone involved can agree on to tell your story
Depending on the organization's unique needs, a case statement may be...
- One page or a hundred pages
- Based on interviews with one person or a hundred
- Seen by many people or just a handful
- Made into a handsome printed brochure or remain a plain word-processed document
- Straight forward and business-like or deeply personal and emotionally compelling
The actual process of case development is as unique as your organization. This is custom work, not off the shelf. And it may be the most important investment you ever make in your organization's future.
A sampling of clients that FutureU CEO Gail Terry Grimes has helped with case development...