How to Prepare Your Case December 2004

Transcription

1 December 2004

2 Overview Using your case statement Contents Pages 1.0 Initial Case Development Introduction 1.1 Organising your ideas 1.2 Sharing Ownership 1.3 Community support 1.4 Critical review 1.5 Project endorsement 2.0 Setting Out Your Case Statement Introduction Outcome focused funders 2.1 Purpose Statement outline of project goals 2.2 The issue opportunity or needs assessment 2.3 Making a difference/the solution objectives and desired outcomes 2.4 Your qualifications presenting a credible profile 2.5 Project methods and design Action Plan 2.6 Project evaluation product and process analysis 2.7 The Future long term project planning 2.8 Financial planning Costs 3.0 Appendices Taking inflation into account Evaluating funding sources Funding requirements 2

3 Overview This template helps you to prepare your case for support a statement designed to attract people to support your project. NB. In preparation for drafting your case statement, you should first work through the vision characteristics of your project; the guidelines How to Develop Your Vision will help you in this task. Your case statement will serve three key functions: to help you work out what your project is going to involve, to show how you are going to plan its development and achieve its successful completion. to answer the principal question in the mind of a would be donor, grantor or volunteer Why should I support this project? In order to achieve these ends your case will articulate: an inspiring vision, a statement of your intended objectives, well argued and measurable outcomes, a carefully thought out business plan. NB. You may need to adapt the case structure (presented below) to fit your project s individual characteristics and needs. Using your case statement Once completed, your case statement will provide the foundation for a range of profile, friend and fund raising documents: campaign or project briefings for your campaign/project leadership (eg. PCC, Fundraising Committee, volunteer network), and for local authorities. Out of this will flow the Campaign Plan, brochures/leaflets to promote your project to your local audience (congregation, parish, deanery), and to a wider audience, letters to potential supporters, proposals to attract funding from individuals and businesses, grant applications to charitable trusts, foundations and other funding bodies. 3

4 Appearance Your case should be well prepared, thoughtfully planned, and concisely packaged so that it reflects the skill, interest, and enthusiasm of the people promoting your project and the importance they attach to its success. 1.0 Initial Case Development Introduction When first developing the ideas to support your case, you should determine that your proposed project has not already been undertaken in your immediate locality or further afield. Or if it has, that there is scope for another similar project. For instance, if you are planning to (re)build your church hall, check to see if your community is planning to (re)build their village/community hall. Potential funders will be critical of such lack of joined up thinking. This kind of scrutiny can bring the following benefits: avoiding your project duplicating the work of a similar project already resourced locally, and so enabling you to revise your project s focus, avoiding approaching the same funding sources who have already supported a project of this kind, identifying funders who are supportive of a project like yours, learning valuable lessons from those who planned and undertook a similar project to steer yours in fruitful directions and away from potential pitfalls. You might consult one or several of the following: deanery officers, diocesan advisers including the Christian Giving and Funding Adviser, members of the diocesan Fundraising Network, your local parish, district and county councillors, (if relevant) representatives in local government departments, representatives of local/national voluntary organisations. 4

5 1.1 Organising your ideas During this preparatory stage write down any and all ideas in a notebook. Some people will find this is best achieved by using a mind map or by SWOT analysis (identifying strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats). Others keep their ideas in a file marked Ideas. Parallel to this process you should compile a file of any supporting documents for instance, local and national press articles that address the central concerns of your project. Choosing key words from your ideas try using the Google (or similar) search engines to locate websites of similar or related projects or of funding bodies that support similar projects. 1.2 Sharing ownership Once you have developed your first coherent draft, it is essential that you begin the process of sharing ownership with others in your congregation and community. Without such ownership your project has the potential to fail, to miss the mark or to appear partisan or introspective in focus. You can begin by sharing your initial ideas with the body whose guidance and leadership will drive your project forward, eg, the PCC, PCC Standing Committee or the Fundraising Committee (whichever is relevant). If appropriate get together a large cross section of your congregation to brainstorm all possible ideas. This process itself will foster a sense of shared ownership during the discussion. NB. The most important element of brainstorming is for you or an external facilitator to capture all and any ideas that surface. Once captured these should be written up with a coherent structure and tabled at the next PCC (or other relevant committee) meeting. 1.3 Community support If your proposed project is seeking to benefit the local community, you should share your initial ideas with local community leaders (eg. parish and district councillors and others), and seek feedback from them. It may be appropriate to invite community members to attend the brainstorming session (above). 5

6 1.4 Critical review Once the first or second draft has been completed, you should find someone who can read the case document with a fresh eye: ask them to look out for: continuity, clarity, reasoning. Constructive criticism at this stage is crucial in identifying three things that can hamper your case: poorly reasoned arguments, unsupported assumptions, technical and other jargon. 1.5 Project endorsement Once the case is developed, look for individuals or groups representing political, professional, lay and voluntary organisations who may be willing to endorse your proposal. If you are building on previous work carried out by your church, deanery or diocese, seek commendations from those who supported, funded or benefited from this earlier stage of development work. 6

7 2.0 Setting Out Your Case Statement Introduction Your statement should cover most if not all of the following components: Purpose Statement outline of project and goals The issue opportunity or needs assessment Making a difference/the solution objectives and desired outcomes Your qualifications presenting a credible profile Project methods and design Action Plan Project evaluation The Future long term project planning Financial planning Appendices NB. Individual projects will not necessarily need to elaborate all these components. However, it is as well to be aware of them. Whatever structure you do adopt, remember that the effort put into your case must reflect the level of funding you are requesting. Outcome focused funders Since 2003 many of the larger funding organisations have begun to focus on outcome funding where they support explicitly the outcomes of an organisation's work rather than just the activities by which these results are achieved. They monitor indicators that show that these outcomes are being achieved rather than simply that the proposed activities have taken place. Originally from the USA this funding development is being led in the UK by the National Lottery and leading UK trusts and foundations. For such funders there will be an increased emphasis on: the measurable difference a project will make, tracking project progress against outcomes, identifying the likely long term difference to people's lives. In putting your case to outcome focused funders you will need to describe: 7

8 Inputs Outputs Outcomes and impacts Interim indicators Long term change what you and other partners are putting into your project new activities that you are generating effect of activities on target group the things you will use to measure the short term progress lasting impacts 2.1 Purpose statement (outline of project goals) NB. It is usually more productive to write this one page summary after you have prepared the following sections of the case statement. Key questions Q Why should a donor or grantor support your project? Q What innovative features will differentiate your project from others under consideration by a donor? This one page summary will be the first part of your project read by potential donors; very possibly this page could be the only part of the package that is carefully reviewed before a decision is made to consider the project any further. In essence you are telling funders: what? why? who? how? where? when? how much? You should succinctly encapsulate: the opportunity/issue to be addressed, key project goals and objectives what difference the project will make, the effect of funding on the project, projected outcomes. 8

9 2.2 The issue opportunity or needs assessment Key questions Q What opportunity / problem is your project seeking to exploit / address / solve? The issue you are seeking to address may be rooted in a broader social or national area or endeavour or problem manifesting itself in your parish/district. You should tie your local opportunity/need to this broader problem and then describe the opportunity more specifically. NB. Don t mention the solution here. This opportunity/needs assessment underpins your case statement: it makes a clear, concise, and well supported statement of the opportunity to be grasped or the problem to be addressed. The best way to gain an understanding of the issue is to gather, document and assess information on the opportunity/need for this kind of project in your parish or district. This can be achieved by a questionnaire or survey, canvassing ideas, focus groups, workshops or public meetings. The data this process provides should be both factual and directly related to the issue addressed by your case. You should document: the nature of the opportunity/problem (provide as much hard evidence as possible), who are experiencing difficulty and what needs they might have, how you came to realize the problem exists, and what is currently being done about the problem, the remaining alternatives available if funding for the project is not forthcoming. Most importantly, the specific manner through which problems might be solved. Review the resources needed, considering how they might be used and to what end. 9

10 2.3 Making a difference/the solution objectives and desired outcomes Key questions Q Who will benefit? Q How will they benefit? Q How are you are going to spend someone else s money? (mention the key items of expenditure.) Q Why are you are going to spend someone else s money? (mention any alternative solutions and why you rejected them.) Q Why should a donor/grantor care about the project? (Highlight the innovative features of the project that will differentiate your project from others under consideration by a donor/funder.) Objectives refer to specific activities in your statement. It is necessary to identify all objectives related to the goals to be reached, and the methods to be employed to achieve the stated objectives. Consider quantities or things measurable and refer to a problem statement and the outcome of proposed activities when developing a well stated objective. The figures used should be verifiable. 2.4 Your qualifications presenting a credible profile Key questions Q Who are we? Q Why are we qualified to undertake this project? These qualifications flow from the solution. Point out your church s and/or your community s special strengths that will help to solve the problem. However, don t get carried away: focus on relevant strengths and achievements. Tone is important, as is a controlled use of (superlative) adjectives. Stick to specific facts. The key is to focus the case statement on the opportunities, problems and how your church (and its partners) are going to address the situation. 10

11 You should describe briefly your church s: recent past and present history of the church in the community, any successes and achievements either in terms of community action or ministry and outreach, track record with other grantors. NB. Include only information that is relevant to the interests of donors and funding bodies. 2.5 Project methods and design Action Plan Key questions Q How are we going to achieve our objectives? Q What resources are we going to use? Q What resources are we going to need? Depending on your project this is the opportunity to go into a little more detail about the project itself. For instance: the design of a building, the activities of staff and volunteers, the timetable for the project. For instance, for a programme based project you might consider: Inputs project development activities, organizational elements of the project, types of facilities, equipment and transport required, staff needed to run the project, funding provided by your church, funds already raised in your community, funds already raised from external sources. 11

12 Outputs activities to be undertaken, how these activities and elements are connected, where staff are expected to focus their work, Outcomes Some funding bodies will require you to measure your project s performance against your stated objectives. You might find it useful to include a project design as follows: Project element inputs outputs outcomes a b c d This will help you to explain the scope and detail of the project. You should justify the actions you intend to take in the narrative, explaining how much time and funding is required to complete each stage. NB. It is critical when an external donor/funder in considering your project that you are able to demonstrate the funding commitment of your congregation/membership as well as that of the local community. 2.6 Project evaluation Where your project is a programme of activities rather than a capital building project you should include some form of evaluation in your implementation plan. There are three stages when you should consider evaluating programme performance: during the early stages of the project (the first three to six months, on an annual basis, at the project s conclusion. The first stage is the most critical: if you encounter a weakness you then have an opportunity to make changes that will improve the project s overall effectiveness. The same goes for the annual evaluation. 12

13 By exploring your proposed programme s requirements carefully, you should identify: which elements of the programme you intend to evaluate, what evaluation criteria you will adopt, eg. how will you know when you have satisfied an objective or desired outcome? how you will gather feedback and record evaluation data, when you will gather the data, who will gather the data, how and to whom you will feed back the information gained. You should distinguish between the efficiency with which the programme is being carried out and the effectiveness of its proposed activities. 2.7 The Future long term project planning Alongside evaluation plans (above) a section on your future plans can demonstrate the thoroughness with which you have planned your project. Describe a plan for continuation beyond the grant period, and/or the availability of other resources necessary to implement the project or programme. Discuss future maintenance and funding if your activity is a construction project. If relevant, you may need to account for future spending on eg. upgrading equipment or renewing software licenses. 2.8 Financial planning Key questions Q How much will the project cost? Q What size of gift/grant are you requesting? Q How much money have you already raised and from whom? Q What percentage came from the congregation, the local community and external sources? Q How do you plan to raise the shortfall? Q How will you meet the running costs? 13

14 Your budget should be: carefully thought out, well presented, justifiable, consistent with your overall case statement. Costs Break down costs by expenditure type, eg. staff, non staff, equipment etc. set up costs: o purchase/rental of building/accommodation/office, o staff recruitment, o purchase of equipment, o design and production of stationery/promotional literature, running costs: o known/actual costs, o estimated costs, o staff (salary, pension) time frame (costs phased by year where appropriate), project completion costs (involved in running down the project at its conclusion). NB. Do not give details of individual costs in the main case statement but in an appendix. Taking inflation into account Your budget estimates over the duration of the project should broadly anticipate the effects of inflation by extrapolating the current year s inflation for the three, four or five years of your project. Once the project has begun you should track changes in inflation annually. Budget areas subject to inflationary pressure can be (where relevant): rental of offices, buildings and equipment, services (electricity, water, gas), 14

15 telephones, and internet/broadband charges, salary increases, food, insurance, transport. NB. Only very rarely do donor or trusts adjust their gift/grant instalments once a funding stream has been agreed. You should therefore identify and estimate the project s real time costs before submitting the application. Evaluating funding sources Levels of funding available from trusts, local authorities and other funding bodies change from year to year. To ensure that you sensibly estimate project funding streams you should investigate: what level of funding donors or trusts have provided for similar projects over the last 2 3 years, what levels of potential funding they will have available: o during this year, o for the duration of the project. NB. You should not plan your budget on the expectation that you will secure funding from a single source or from a small number of sources but demonstrate that you have identified a range of appropriate funding sources to which you intend to apply. Funding requirements You should inform a potential donor/grantor: what level of funding/size of gift you are seeking from them, over what time frame you are seeking their support. For instance, are you seeking a single gift or grant of 10,000 or 2,000 per annum for five years? Are you seeking to fund elements of your project that must be in place before you begin (the single gift of 10,000) 15

16 or are you seeking funding that can come in smaller instalments over time (the 2,000 pa gift stream)? This should be in line with their known level of recent giving for similar projects (see above) and demonstrates that you have undertaken an appropriate evaluation of their potential willingness and likelihood of supporting your project. This kind of information is best sought from the donor or a contact close to them, or if a trust, from their Administrator, Secretary or Correspondent during your research phase. 3.0 Appendices To keep your case statement to a readable size, you should place any detailed material that supports your case, or illustrates the opportunity/ problem you are seeking to address, in the Appendices. Such material might include: detailed timetables and action plans, maps and photographs, legal contracts and papers, curriculum vitae of staff (if relevant), letter of support and endorsements, simple design plans, detailed explanation of running costs. Acknowledgements This document was first prepared by the author in February 1992, and revised in June 1996 and January With acknowledgements and thanks to I Curtis and J Walton (Sep91), The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance, USA [ writing.htm) ] (Aug03) and M Steel (Oct03). 16