Fundraising Case for Support and Plan Template

Need, response, claim register with evidence, use of funds, ask, goal, gift range chart, prospect pipeline, channels and budget, compliance checks, stewardship

非营利标准Fundraising practice; Charity Commission CC20 (2026); IRS donor acknowledgment rulesfundraising case for support更新于 2026年10月29日

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使用方法: Use it when you prepare a fundraising campaign or a major donor programme. Fill the internal case and the claim register first, then build the gift range chart before announcing a goal. The main pitfall is a case about the organisation's needs instead of the change for beneficiaries.

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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.

Document control

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

[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

[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

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

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

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

A6. The ask

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

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

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

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]

B4. Channels and timeline

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

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

[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

Theory of change for the logic in A2
Impact report for the evidence in A3
Gift acceptance policy for due diligence on prospects
Grant proposal for foundation and government funders
Strategic plan 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.