Part II: #1 Fundraising Tool: Your Professional Case Statement

Writing Your Mission, Vision and Unique Approach

In my previous post, How to Build the 10 Sections of Your Case Statement, I discussed with you why it is so important for your story to be clearly articulated by as many people as possible in order to cultivate the relationships you need in order to attract resources.  With a compelling and concise case statement to put in the hands of as many people as possible, you will be on the path of attracting resources in places you might never even expect.  So many of my clients have been surprised by the resources they have attracted once they learned to tell their story.  If you haven’t already, check out my blog, Making Relationship Fundraising Work for your Non-Profit or School, for more inspiration!

I also discussed the keys to grabbing your reader’s attention in the beginning of your document with a “Did you know?” section that also emphasizes the need for the work your school or organization does.  Now it is time to discuss the next 3 sections of your case statement:

1. Your mission and how you achieve your mission  
2. Your vision for the future 
3. Your unique approach

Let’s get started!

Section #2 – Mission and how you achieve your mission

Your mission should be short and sweet and clearly describe why your nonprofit exists.  It is extremely important though that your mission statement never says you do more than three things. As much as we would like, people will never be able to remember more.  You should also use language that everyone can understand.  The language we use within our field could sound completely foreign to someone outside of it. 

Next, following your mission statement should be no more than three bullets that describe how you achieve your mission.  Here are some examples from our clients’ case statements to give you a better idea.

Example – Wisconsin Child Care Administrators Association www.wccaa.org     

The Wisconsin Child Care Administrators Association (WCCAA) collaborates with government, individuals, agencies and companies to increase access to quality early care and education for all families.  We achieve our mission in three ways:

• WCCAA influences public policy to increase standards, quality and access to early care and education for all families.
• WCCAA provides professional development on early care and education to strengthen best practices and increase quality.
• WCCAA supports its members via access to a network of center administrators.

Example – Center for Teaching Entrepreneurship  www.ceoofme.biz

The Center for Teaching Entrepreneurship (CTE) empowers young people ages 9-24 to see themselves as the CEO of Me as they experience personal and professional growth through programs and coaching related to financial literacy and entrepreneurship.

We accomplish our mission through:

•  Personal and professional enrichment experiences that allow young people to see themselves in a variety of roles and build personal character traits like self-discipline, business etiquette and perseverance.
• Entrepreneurship and financial literacy programs that teach young people how to launch small businesses, manage and invest money and develop critical thinking skills.
• Individualized coaching to prepare young people for success as entrepreneurs and professionals in contemporary business settings. 

Example – BHK Child Development Board – www.bhkfirst.org

BHK Child Development Board serves children and families through innovation, collaboration and comprehensive services that set high standards of excellence.

We accomplish our mission through:

• Bay

  Child Development and Education Programs for Children that are research-based best practices taking place in a caring and nurturing environment in order to build a solid foundation for each child's success. 

• Programs for Families that transform ordinary interactions with their child into extraordinary learning experiences!

• Health and Wellness Programs that  help families, staff and health professionals overcome barriers that prevent families and children from receiving needed health services.

Example – Red Cedar Environmental Institute 

Through a hands-on learning community focused on understanding the Earth’s systems, Red Cedar Environmental Institute provides middle school students with an academic experience tailored to inspire and challenge every single student.

How we achieve our mission:

• Engaged students – We tailor our curriculum to students who learn better through hands-on projects and scientific inquiry.  No matter a student’s starting point, they will be challenged accordingly and be free to maximize their progress according to their ability.

• Project-based learning – Projects related to natural resources in the Chetek area will act as the vehicle to learn core subjects like math, reading and language arts as well as 21^st Century skills of collaboration, problem solving and communication.

• Earth’s systems – Focusing on the natural resources of the Chetek area inspires projects that will benefit our local community and allowing students to deeply research projects empowers them to make their own conclusion. 

Section #3 – Vision for the Future

People are much more inspired by your vision for what the world looks like because of your nonprofit that what you actually do.  Your work is important, but often nonprofits lose sight of what their ultimate goal is.  Your vision for the future should paint a colorful picture of the impact you hope your organization will have.  Ideally, your stakeholders (people and organizations that are impacted by your organization) should contribute to this vision.  If they do, they will feel like they have ownership of helping make it happen. 

Here are some examples of compelling vision statements:

Example – Wisconsin Child Care Administrators Association  www.wccaa.org

All children are prepared for personal and educational success

• WCCAA is a global model for collaboration to influence public policy and professional development to impact best practices for early care and education.

• WCCAA inspires a family-friendly philosophy empowering early care and education centers to care for children and assist businesses to achieve goals through secure and productive employees.

Example – St. Marcus Lutheran School & Church www.stmarcus.org

St. Marcus is a nationally recognized leader in urban educational reform and a welcoming and inviting force of transformation for the Milwaukee Community.

Example – CAPITA Productions, Inc.  www.capitalproductions.org

Through world-wide support of its endowment and scholarship fund, CAPITA offers unlimited opportunities for people seeking to grow as performers and as members of diverse communities.  

CAPITA’s unique inclusive approach to uniting communities through meaningful theatre experiences is a model adopted by communities around the world.

Through its quality productions, mentoring and touring opportunities, CAPITA is a pipeline of talented performers for professional performing arts companies around the world.  

Section #4 – Unique Approach

Funders don’t like duplication.  If your nonprofit is addressing a similar issue as others, it will be very important to distinguish your organization from others.  What is special about your approach to the same issue?  For example, St. Marcus Lutheran School emphasizes a “no-excuses” philosophy, and if a child is not succeeding it means that St. Marcus is not succeeding.  They don’t care what the background of the child is, and once that student enters the building their focus is on educating that child.  Bottom line, they focus on the students inside the building.  Mt. Lebanon Lutheran School requires that its teachers and staff appreciate how poverty impacts the students they service, and offers programs to families in order to increase the likelihood that students receive support at home.  They focus on students inside the school but also try to impact the support they receive at home for their education. 

Here are some other examples of how our clients describe their unique approach.

Example – Shiocton International Learning Academy www.silacharter.com

Our learning model takes personalized learning to a whole new level.  There are three key components of our model that ensure students are maximizing their learning: 

• Project-based learning allows students to explore areas of personal interest deeply and use a variety of learning styles to master core subjects key abilities.  Community partnerships provide mentors and opportunities to take learning out of the classroom to engages students and offer opportunities to apply knowledge to real-life scenarios.
• Additional support is offered immediately when it becomes apparent that students lack a particular skill.  For example, a short-term seminar may be used to teach a specific skill.  Or a web-based computer program, partnered with standardized testing, will identify remaining knowledge gaps to be used to further tailor learning for that student.
•  Accountability:  Five-year student achievement goals are included on our website.  Progress toward achievement goals will be published on the website and updated annually. 

Example – House of Love  www.house-of-love.org

Loving Family Environment + Personal Development Plans = Successful Independent Living:

• A safe and loving family environment full of positive encouragement, clear expectations and immediate feedback allow our youth to gain confidence and preparation for adulthood.
• Self sufficiency is achieved through individual personal development plans and rigorous support services in the areas of

o   life skills

o   education

o   holistic health

Take some time to review your Mission, Vision and Unique Approach to make sure they fit within these guidelines and are agreed upon with your board.   Once again, all sections should be compelling, concise and communicate the essence of your organization.  Please feel free to contact me for advice or even share your work here!  I’d love to learn more about your organization!

In my next post I will be discussing the final sections of your case statement.  You are well on your way to begin relationship fundraising!

Does Cutting the Budget for Education Create Opportunity?

Like many people, I was initially shocked, disappointed and even angered at the news that almost $1 billion was going to be cut from Wisconsin's education system. Isn't it hypocritical to argue that investing in our future is important, and then turn around and drastically reduce resources for schools?

As a school leader, aren't you sick of somebody offering you a budget only then to find you must cut good teachers, services for children with special needs, professional development for your staff and even the light bulb needed for your Interactive Smartboard to engage your students in the classroom? No wonder schools feel helpless.

After my initial reaction to the news about the budget, I realized that this in fact is a real opportunity to foster a new mindset about how WE can build the BEST education system in the world. When our politicians have failed at providing any leadership on budget policy we can kiss goodbye any notion of obtaining government funding for our schools. If we want better schools and a better education system for our children, we must attract the funding from somewhere else.

So who is responsible?

There's a realignment going on right now, and it's time we embrace it. Schools are now responsible for their own long-term sustainability. While this may seem like a steep expectation for an already stressed system, it is necessary if you don't want others dictating your school's budget. When schools are 100% dependent on government dollars for their existence, they are in a very vulnerable position. They're not in control of their future.

Do you believe me when I say there's plenty of money out there? The solution to this predicament is not a question of money. Schools need to know how to attract resources.

Attracting resources does not mean fund-raising though.

My team at alinea believes that the formula for sustainability for schools comes down to effective community engagement, which in no way means just pushing information and requests for money out into the community. Community engagement really is all about inviting and welcoming the community in, which may seem very scary for some schools. So what's the formula for effective community engagement?

Story + Direction + Relationships

• Story - Your story must inspire people to want to help. It should be compelling and concise so that it is consistently told by lots of people who act as your ambassadors. Your story must also be driven by a vision of what the future looks like because of your school. What will be the future of the child who attends your school's program?

• Direction - You must be able to articulate clear and measurable goals that will drive you to your vision. Your staff, families, board members and volunteers must be able to answer the question, "What does your school need and how can people help?"

• Relationships – The first step to fostering strategic relationships is reaching out and inviting people in to witness your mission. By this, I don't mean taking people on a tour of your school and pointing out the obvious (here's our cafeteria, here's our music room.) You need to develop a compelling tour so people may experience what's unique and special about your school. The next step then is to be strategic about how you develop a relationship with each of these individuals over time.

If you implement this formula you will attract the right resources. Implementing this process will not be easy, but it will enable schools to survive and thrive in the future.

I'd love to know what you think. Do you agree? Do you have a vision for your school? How has the latest budget affected your school and what challenges do you think you will face as you strive to achieve your vision?