South Jersey Dream Center
Blackbaud University’s Best Practices workshop helps center craft compelling case for support.
As South Jersey Dream Center answers cascading problems of poverty that impact 1 in 10 people in South Jersey, the center’s executive director boosted the storytelling power of her case statement with guidance from Blackbaud University’s Organizational Best Practices courses.
While it’s typical for a nonprofit organization to develop statements on mission, vision, and values, having an in-depth case statement that fully reveals “Who we are,” “What we do,” and “Why you should support us,” is less common.
Natalie Fortunato thought she had her case statement covered for the South Jersey Dream Center. She founded the nonprofit with her husband in 2010 as an outreach of their church, serves as the center’s executive director, and considers marketing one of her strengths. With online research, she had created what seemed like a “pretty cool” 10-page statement, centered on breaking the cycle of poverty in New Jersey.
But with the benefit of a three-hour Blackbaud University workshop covering best practices in storytelling, writing, and design, she reconsidered the possibilities and reformatted the document into a totally transformed, dynamic case for support.
“Our new case statement is a living, breathing document that helps us communicate the heart of our mission, backs it up with data, and shares our future,” Fortunato said. “It’s like our pulse, and I know that sounds very dramatic, but that’s how I feel about it.”
