Case in Point: Great Writing Wins Donors

An effective case statement grabs a person and never lets go. It inspires and motivates the reader to go from her mind to her heart to her purse, writes Jerold Panas, fundraising veteran and author of the new book, Making the Case: The No-Nonsense Guide to Writing the Perfect Case Statement.

Although Panas claims not to be a writer in his opening passage, he has penned eight books on fundraising, the most popular being Mega Gifts and ASKING. His latest offering includes anecdotes and step-by-step tips for crafting a case study to jolt donors into action.

Panas writes: “You’re not just a writer. You transform dreams into deeds. You search for every felicitous possibility that will make the project more expansive and worthy than the organization itself. … You gather all of the information, you interview the key players, you begin developing your strategy for the writing. You may even be thinking of a possible title. It’s your job to put all of this into a package and develop an undeniable, irresistible and urgent case for support.”

He reminds readers, though, that people don’t go to a hardware store to buy a drill because they need a drill. They go to a hardware store to buy a drill because they need a hole. (Institution Press, $29.95.)