# Case for Support and Fundraising Plan: [Campaign or organisation name]

> A case for support sets out, for donors, why the need matters, what
> the organisation will do, what it will change and what a gift makes
> possible. The fundraising plan behind it sets the goal, the gift range
> chart, the prospect pipeline, the channels, the budget, the timeline
> and the compliance checks. Based on common fundraising practice, with
> trustee duties from the Charity Commission for England and Wales
> guidance CC20 (updated 2026-02-03) and US IRS donor acknowledgment
> rules. The example, Brackenfold Reading Trust's "Every Child a
> Reader" campaign, is fictional and reports in USD. Replace every
> `[bracketed]` value and every row marked *Example*. This is a
> documentation format, not legal or tax advice.

<!--
Guidance: How to use this template
- Write the internal case (Part A) first: it is the single source of
  facts, figures and stories. Then cut external versions from it for
  each audience (major donor proposal, appeal letter, web page).
- Every claim must be true and supportable: keep the evidence column in
  section A3 filled and dated. Funds raised for a stated purpose must be
  used for that purpose, so word restrictions carefully.
- Build the gift range chart (section B2) before announcing a goal.
  If the top tiers have no named prospects, the goal is a hope.
- Common pitfall: a case about the organisation's needs ("we need a new
  van") instead of the beneficiaries' change ("400 more children read
  every week").
-->

## Document control

<!-- Guidance: Name the campaign, its goal and dates, and who signs off claims (finance for figures, programmes for outcomes). -->

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Document ID | [FR-CASE-YYYY] |
| Campaign | [Name] |
| Goal | [Amount], [start] to [end] |
| Version | [1.0] |
| Status | [Draft / Approved for use] |
| Owner | [@head-of-fundraising] |
| Claims checked by | [@finance-lead], [@programme-lead] |
| Approved by | [Chief executive / Board] |
| Last updated | YYYY-MM-DD |
| Classification | [Internal; external versions public] |

### Approvals

| Role | Name | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Chief executive | [Name] | YYYY-MM-DD |
| Chair of fundraising committee | [Name] | YYYY-MM-DD |

### Revision history

| Version | Date | Author | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.0 | YYYY-MM-DD | [@author] | Case and plan approved |
| 1.1 *(Example)* | YYYY-MM-DD | [@head-of-fundraising] | Updated outcome figures from the impact report |

## Part A. Case for support

### A1. The need

<!-- Guidance: Describe the problem from the beneficiaries' side, with its scale and a dated source. One short, consented story makes it human. -->

[Describe the problem, who experiences it, where, and why it persists.]

*Example:* In the three districts Brackenfold serves, about one in three
children leave primary school unable to read with understanding
(district assessment, YYYY). Families report few books at home and
little time for shared reading.

### A2. Our response

<!-- Guidance: Explain what the organisation does and why it works. Link the logic to the theory of change. -->

[What the organisation does, for whom, and the evidence that it works.]

*Example:* Brackenfold trains volunteer reading partners, runs family
reading sessions in libraries, and brings a mobile reading van to
estates with no library. The pathway is set out in the Trust's theory
of change.

### A3. Impact and evidence

<!-- Guidance: Give outcomes, not activities, and the source for each. Mark projections clearly. Keep this table up to date: it is your claim register. -->

| ID | Claim | Evidence | Date checked |
|---|---|---|---|
| [CLM-NNN] | [Claim used in materials] | [Source] | YYYY-MM-DD |
| CLM-001 *(Example)* | 2,150 children took part last year | Programme database, year-end report | YYYY-MM-DD |
| CLM-002 *(Example)* | 68% of children improved by at least one reading level in a year | Pre and post assessment, n = 1,420 | YYYY-MM-DD |
| CLM-003 *(Example)* | The campaign will reach 400 more children a year (projection) | Programme plan, section B1 | YYYY-MM-DD |

### A4. What we will do with the money

<!-- Guidance: Show the campaign budget and what each part delivers. State whether gifts are restricted to the campaign, and what happens to any surplus or shortfall. -->

| Component | Cost | What it delivers |
|---|---|---|
| [Component] | [Amount] | [Output and outcome] |
| *Example:* Second mobile reading van, fitted and run for three years | 420,000 | 12 more estates served weekly |
| *Example:* Volunteer reading partner programme, three years | 510,000 | 300 more trained volunteers |
| *Example:* Family reading sessions, three years | 270,000 | 90 sessions a year in libraries |
| **Total** *(Example)* | **1,200,000** | |

Gifts to the campaign are used for the components above. [If the
campaign raises more than its goal, or a component cannot go ahead,
the funds are used for the Trust's literacy work in the same districts,
and donors are told.]

### A5. Why now and why us

<!-- Guidance: Give the reason for urgency and the organisation's credibility (track record, partners, governance, financial health). -->

[Urgency, track record, partners, governance and financial position.]

### A6. The ask

<!-- Guidance: Make the ask specific and tie amounts to what they achieve. Mark illustrative amounts as illustrative. -->

| Gift | What it makes possible (illustrative) |
|---|---|
| *Example:* 4,000 | Trains and supports about seven volunteer reading partners for a year (510,000 / 300 / 3 = about 570 each a year) |
| *Example:* 25,000 | Funds 25 family reading sessions (270,000 / 270 sessions = 1,000 each) |
| *Example:* 240,000 | Leads the campaign and funds more than half of the second reading van (420,000) |

## Part B. Fundraising plan

### B1. Goal and objectives

<!-- Guidance: State the goal, the dates and any phases (quiet phase with major donors, then public phase). Add non-financial goals such as new donors retained. -->

| Objective | Target | Date |
|---|---|---|
| [Objective] | [Target] | YYYY-MM-DD |
| *Example:* Raise campaign total | 1,200,000 | YYYY-MM-DD |
| *Example:* Secure 60% in quiet phase before public launch | 720,000 | YYYY-MM-DD |
| *Example:* Retain first-time campaign donors into year two | 50% | YYYY-MM-DD |

### B2. Gift range chart

<!-- Guidance: Work from the top gift down. Common practice puts the lead gift near 10 to 20% of the goal and plans three to four prospects per gift needed; these are planning assumptions, not rules. Check the cumulative column reaches the goal. -->

| Gifts needed | Gift size | Subtotal | Prospects needed | Cumulative | Cumulative % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 *(Example)* | 240,000 | 240,000 | 4 | 240,000 | 20.0% |
| 2 *(Example)* | 120,000 | 240,000 | 8 | 480,000 | 40.0% |
| 4 *(Example)* | 60,000 | 240,000 | 16 | 720,000 | 60.0% |
| 8 *(Example)* | 25,000 | 200,000 | 24 | 920,000 | 76.7% |
| 16 *(Example)* | 10,000 | 160,000 | 48 | 1,080,000 | 90.0% |
| 30 *(Example)* | 4,000 | 120,000 | 90 | 1,200,000 | 100.0% |
| **61** *(Example)* | | **1,200,000** | **190** | | |

The top three tiers (7 gifts, 720,000) match the quiet phase target in
B1.

### B3. Prospects and pipeline

<!-- Guidance: List named prospects for the top tiers with stage and next step. Record only the personal data you need, with a lawful basis, and tell prospects how their data is used. -->

| ID | Prospect | Tier | Stage | Next step | Owner |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| [PRS-NNN] | [Name or code] | [Gift size] | [Identified / Cultivating / Asked / Pledged] | [Step, date] | [@owner] |
| PRS-001 *(Example)* | Family foundation A (fictional) | 240,000 | Cultivating | Site visit to the reading van, YYYY-MM-DD | [@chief-executive] |
| PRS-002 *(Example)* | Business donor B (fictional) | 120,000 | Identified | Gift acceptance level 3 checks | [@head-of-fundraising] |

```mermaid
flowchart LR
    A["Identify"] --> B["Qualify and gift acceptance checks"]
    B --> C["Cultivate"]
    C --> D["Ask"]
    D --> E["Pledge and gift agreement"]
    E --> F["Thank, receipt and report back"]
    F --> C
```

### B4. Channels and timeline

<!-- Guidance: One row per channel with its target, cost and timing. Keep the quiet phase confidential until the public launch. -->

| Channel | Target | Cost | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| [Channel] | [Amount] | [Amount] | [Quarter] |
| *Example:* Major donors and foundations | 920,000 | 40,000 | Quarters 1 to 4 |
| *Example:* Mid-level donor appeal | 160,000 | 15,000 | Quarters 4 to 5 |
| *Example:* Public appeal and community events | 120,000 | 25,000 | Quarters 5 to 6 |
| **Total** *(Example)* | **1,200,000** | **80,000** | |

*Example:* fundraising cost of 80,000 is 6.7% of the goal
(80,000 / 1,200,000), approved in the budget.

### B5. Risks and compliance

<!-- Guidance: CC20 says trustees must comply with the law, raise funds only for the charity's purposes and use funds for the purposes they were raised for. List the checks you will apply and who owns them. -->

| Check | Owner |
|---|---|
| Claims in A3 checked and dated before each external use | [@head-of-fundraising] |
| Restricted wording reviewed so funds can be used if plans change | [@finance-lead] |
| Gift acceptance policy applied to every offer | [@head-of-fundraising] |
| Donors in vulnerable circumstances: stop and escalate | All fundraisers |
| Data protection notice and consent for contact and profiling | [@data-protection-lead] |
| England and Wales: registered with the Fundraising Regulator and following the Code of Fundraising Practice (current edition) | [@head-of-fundraising] |
| United States: state charitable solicitation registration where required; written acknowledgment for gifts of USD 250 or more; quid pro quo disclosure over USD 75 | [@finance-lead] |

### B6. Stewardship and reporting

<!-- Guidance: Plan how donors will hear what their gift did. Reporting back is also the start of the next gift. -->

[How and when donors are thanked, updated and recognised, and who signs
the reports.] *Example:* thanks within 48 hours, a six-month update and
an annual impact report to all campaign donors.

## Related templates

<!-- Guidance: Link the documents that feed the case and the plan. -->

- [Theory of change](./theory-of-change.md) for the logic in A2
- [Impact report](./impact-report.md) for the evidence in A3
- [Gift acceptance policy](./gift-acceptance-policy.md) for due diligence on prospects
- [Grant proposal](./grant-proposal.md) for foundation and government funders
- [Strategic plan](./strategic-plan.md) for the strategy the campaign serves

## Glossary

- **Case for support:** the argument for giving, written for donors.
- **Gift range chart:** the number and size of gifts needed to reach a goal.
- **Quiet phase:** the period of major gift asks before public launch.
- **Stewardship:** thanking, reporting to and building relationships with donors.
- **Restricted gift:** a gift that must be used for a stated purpose.

## Standard and licence note

Based on common fundraising practice for the case and gift range chart,
which are planning tools, not rules; trustee duties from the Charity
Commission for England and Wales guidance CC20 "Charity fundraising: a
guide to trustee duties" (updated 2026-02-03, Open Government Licence
v3.0, https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/charities-and-fundraising-cc20);
and IRS donor acknowledgment and quid pro quo guidance
(https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/charitable-organizations/charitable-contributions-written-acknowledgments).
The UK Code of Fundraising Practice is named only; check the current
edition at https://www.fundraisingregulator.org.uk/code. The text and
fictional Brackenfold examples are original. Template licence: MIT.