Case Statement Basics

• Why you? — The “you” here is the donor. Why are donors critical to your vision? Have you made them the heroes? What are your emotional triggers? Some examples of emotional triggers are fear, hope, anger and action.

“Make the donor the real hero of the story and shift the burden for achieving success to their shoulders,” Ahern advised. Use a donor-centric mentality that says, “With your help, all these amazing things happened. And without your help, they won’t.” Come up with a theme for your campaign. It could be simple (e.g., “Campaign Oregon”), forward-looking (e.g., “Extend the View: Shape Tomorrow Today”), highlight giving back (e.g., “Generations Campaign”) or be about the pursuit of excellence (e.g., “A New Vision of Excellence”).