When to abandon your appeal case study and find Plan B

The success of a fundraising campaign very often relies on the individual stories or ‘case studies’ that charities share with donors. 

It’s not always easy finding the right story, seeking permission, getting imagery, organising interviews. That’s why fundraisers are reluctant to abandon a case study story when they’ve nabbed one. 

But there are times when that’s exactly what should happen. 

I’ve got a great story – it’s just not that connected to what we are raising money for.Hmm. This is dangerous. Your case study story should show specific need or impact, and ideally it should be obviously connected to your appeal topic. 

If you’re raising funds for lung cancer research, the story should be about someone who has lung cancer. If you’re raising funds for a youth shelter, your story should be about a young person who is homeless, or who has been helped by a youth shelter. 

Specific and direct connections are best, but a good writer can help make connections when they are less obvious. For example, you could find an older person who is homeless and ask them how a youth shelter might have helped change the course of their life. 

If the links are too tenuous, change your appeal topic or find another case study (save your original case study for another appeal, a more general appeal, a newsletter, an impact report or other).

My case study passed away

This is awful at several levels. The priority here is looking after the family and loved ones of the person who has died. If you are in contact with them, it is worth asking (with great care and respect) if they are happy for their loved one’s story to still be used. I’ve had instances where the family agreed, and where raising funds for a charity helped them deal with their loss and honour their loved one. 

The family might not be ready to make a decision. They might say no. In these instances, you need to find another story fast (if you have the time), or re-use a previous story (if you don’t have time to find a new one).

The story is not very emotional or dramatic. 

This has happened to me plenty of times. It’s a big problem. You interview the person who’s been in a really heavy accident and needed the services of <insert emergency response/hospital/other charity here>. They don’t remember much because they were unconscious then in an induced coma. Once they woke up their recovery was fast. They don’t have any ongoing issues. They’re a no-fuss person who gave you short, factual answers in the interview. 

OK your options here are to dial up the drama of the incident with description, but you won’t get little details like “I hadn’t told my wife I loved her that day and I didn’t want to die without her knowing it” or “when I heard the <helicopter/siren> I started to cry with relief”. You won’t get the human, vulnerable, relatable, grateful content that could make your appeal more powerful. 

Their problem is solved. 

The child is no longer blind. The Government stepped in to protect the forest. The child with cerebral palsy is enjoying her excellent new custom-built wheelchair. 

Should you use this case study for your appeal? 

If you have time to find an alternative case study that demonstrated un-met need and an un-solved problem, please do. (Use your resolved problem story in donor care/newsletters/thank you comms/impact updates etc.)

If you can’t, you just have to work harder to find the need and the urgency. And yes, you do have to tell the donor that the case study’s problem is resolved (don’t make out that it’s not).

Use a lot of real estate to talk about what it was like before the problem was solved. Talk about what could have happened – the worst-case scenario – if the problem hadn’t been solved. 

Use the problem resolution to demonstrate the power of donations or other supporter actions. Credit them with being part of the solution and remind them they have powerful agency to change things.

But bring it back to what remains unsolved. One child has their sight restored – but how many are still waiting for help? Does your organisation need more resources before they can solve the problem for another person/area of need? The forest might be protected, but can the decision be overturned? Does it need a lot of work before ecosystems can be restored and healthy again? Is protecting one forest enough to solve the bigger issue of ……?