Tonight, I made BBQ Chicken Pizza for dinner.
You might be surprised to know that made me think about cases for support.
You see, when I bought this particular BBQ sauce several weeks ago, I didn’t need it. In fact, I had just been to one of the big, bulk-buying club stores and bought more BBQ sauce than I will likely use in a year.
I bought this bottle anyway.
I bought it because when I was in the grocery store, I not only tasted the sauce, but met a member of the family that owns the company and heard her story. The BBQ sauce I bought is the recipe created by her grandfather in the 1950s. He brought the recipe with him to Chicago and with his brothers opened rib joints across the city and into Indiana. He worked hard, raised a family, and now that family is working to preserve his recipe and his legacy by bottling and selling his sauces. That sauce represents family, hard work, and entrepreneurship. That sauce is making a difference.
The woman I met was passionate. She shared the story with energy and pride and joy.
Yes, her job is to sell sauce, but what she really wanted was to share the family legacy: one of faith, integrity, and fellowship. I felt her passion and knew that if I bought sauce, I was contributing to those values. She told me why the sauce mattered.
Not only did I buy the sauce, but I felt really good about that purchase. I feel invested in the family’s legacy.
That simple purchase brought home to me the importance of telling our stories in the form of a case for support.
Every time I have the chance to interact with a donor, I think about what might matter to them. I guarantee it’s about much more than writing a check.
They want to feel invested in the difference they can make.
They want to know how their gift matters.
They want to make a corner of the world a better place.
When we can build interest and understanding through our case for support, a simple interaction can be an introduction to giving or it can deepen the relationship, building affinity and loyalty to our organizations. The story we tell is the tool we have for sharing the vital work our donors make possible.
Remember, your case for support is the special sauce that inspires donors. Spend a little time today spicing up yours.