A capital campaign case for support is a document that outlines the needs and benefits of a nonprofit’s capital request. The very best cases for support weave together the image of the nonprofit, its role in the community, and how fulfilling that role benefits its users and the community. Presented below is a notated case for support example from a library foundation capital campaign with suggestions on how to amend it to address COVID-related fundraising impacts.

Use this case for support example to assess your own case. The case for support should focus on a specific capital appeal. It includes the nonprofit’s mission and vision, but also places focus on the quantified and qualified details of a project.

A thorough case for support includes these elements:

1. Overview: A brief historic overview of the nonprofit – when did it open, who does it serve, how does it benefit the community, accolades.

2. Mission and Vision

3. Administration and Board of Directors

4. Challenge/Current Situation: What operating/programmatic/infrastructure shortfall(s) brought about the nonprofit’s desire to seek capital? This is the nonprofit’s “Need.”

5. Opportunity/Solution to Current Situation: Once the capital is raised, how will the nonprofit’s users and the service region benefit? This is the nonprofit’s “Benefit.”

6. Project Budget and Business Plan: The Business Plan is needed if staffing and/or expenses are increasing. This shows financial readiness or break-even point.

7. Project timeline: When will the project begin and end, including time for fundraising.

8. Summary: A blending of overview, challenge and opportunity that summarizes the needs and benefits of reaching the capital goal. Focus more on benefits; donors give more to solutions rather than challenges.

Explore the example below to gain insight and ideas for developing your own case for support or for updating your case for support to address the challenges created for your nonprofit by COVID-19.

Special thanks to Leslie Modrow, director of the Billings Public Library Foundation, and the foundation board for allowing us to use this case for support. From 2009 through 2011, CampaignCounsel.org managed and helped lead the foundation through its first capital campaign, totaling $3 million. This project also included a $16 million city bond. To learn more about this fantastic project, visit https://billingslibrary.org/206/New-Library. Note that this case for support refers to the previous name of the Billings Public Library (“Parmly Billings Library”). This case for support has been amended by CampaignCounsel.org.

Case Statement

Parmly Billings Library
“Our City...Our Future...Your Legacy” Capital Campaign

1. Overview. A brief historic overview of the nonprofit – when did it open, who does it serve, how does it benefit the community, accolades.

Libraries make for great communities. The library of the 21st century is the portal for learning and discovery; education and entertainment; a gathering place that excites curiosity and conversation; and assures comfort and safety. Our Library, as the navigator of new technology, must ever evolve.

We added the following paragraph address to the uncertainty faced in 2020 and how the library is moving forward.

As significant milestones occur in our lives, like a global pandemic or sweeping nationwide protests, we consider even more deeply the impact that libraries have. When we miss our community gathering places for education and connection, we are forced to get creative with our physical space to foster safe learning and exploration places. In these new and uncertain times, the Billings Public Library is pushing forward, meeting our community needs while staying true to our mission: providing access to the world of social and cultural ideas, which is more important now than ever.

Libraries are integral to our American Ideal - the freedom, for all, to learn.

As stewards of our time, the community looks to us for leadership that will build our new library; to build our legacy, just as our forefathers did, one that will serve our children's children.

The benefits are priceless.

Parmly Billings Library’s Past

Parmly Billings Library, Yellowstone County’s first and still largest library, was named after Frederick Billings’ eldest son. Frederick was a former president of the Northern Pacific Railroad and the person for whom the city was named. His son, Parmly, was one of the city’s pioneer citizens, founder of the Yellowstone National Bank, and partner of E.G. Bailey and I.D. O’Donnell in the cattle and horse raising business.

Parmly died in 1888 at the age of 25. His siblings, Frederick Billings, Jr. and Elizabeth, gifted the library to the city in memory of their brother.

The first library was located on Montana Avenue (now the Western Heritage Museum) which, at the time, was the center of town. It was built of locally quarried stone, modeled after the Frederick Billings Library at the University of Vermont, another building donated by this generous family.

The library opened in 1901 and grew steadily for decades. However, what once had been a highly advantageous location in the downtown business district became a deterrent. The original library was built a decade before the automobile age. By the 1950’s, parking became a major obstacle to visiting the library.

Planning for a new library began in 1965 with two alternatives: building a new facility or converting an existing building. Each alternative had both advocates and opponents. Ultimately, library leaders chose an existing building, the Billings Hardware Company on North Broadway, and the new library opened in 1969. (Excerpts taken from “Parmly Billings Library: The First 100 years” by Jim Curry, copyright 2002)

2. Mission and Vision. What is your mission and how do you fulfill it? How will your vision impact the future?

Parmly Billings Library Today

The library’s mission statement is to provide access to the world of social and cultural ideas by offering a wide variety of material in multiple formats, information and programs. Presently, Parmly Billings Library has the largest circulation in the state with over 1 million books, CDs, DVDs and audio books circulating annually. The library offers over 500 events, programs and classes each year to keep up with usage, which has increased six-times faster than the city’s population over the past two decades.

This section provides an example of how to demonstrate the impact of your organization in fulfilling its mission. These facts were current at the time the library foundation created its case for support and conducted its capital campaign but are now outdated.

Additional library facts include:

• 50,000 internet sessions last year helped residents apply for jobs, finish homework, keep up with international news, or search licensed databases.

• Library staff receives approximately 150 reference questions, in person or over the internet, every day.

• Friends of the Library hold bi-annual book sales to help fund library services, programs and collections.

• The Community Library is located in the MSU-B College of Technology and there are future plans to build another branch in the Heights.

• “Food for Thought” and “Illustrate a Story” are special events sponsored by the Foundation that help fund the Teen Pit, the Express Internet Station, the wireless connectivity throughout the library, the digital media center and numerous additional services, programs and technology which otherwise would not be available.

• The Bookmobile and Senior/Homebound Outreach programs deliver library materials to 50 service sites throughout Billings and Yellowstone County.

• Last year over 1,100 people visited the library everyday and 7,800 children attended Story Times (Books & Babies, Tales & Tots, Carina’s Stories).

• Since 1990 the library’s service population (136,000) has grown by 26% while its circulation has increased by 157%;

In addition to your general facts, add data points that relate to how your nonprofit was positively and negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

• COVID-19 impact facts:

  • Provided XX number of virtual programs.

  • XX children attended a virtual storytime through Facebook Live.

  • XX children of essential workers received childcare at the Library, with the help of Billings Clinic.

  • We added XX number of digital books to the Freading and Libby apps, allowing people to access even more content while we were closed.

  • Beginning in Phase 2, XX number of books were picked up curbside in a socially distant manner.

  • Beyond the library, our 3D printer has been “printing” masks for hospital employees that are then retrofitted as R94 masks.

Also consider adding fundraising related facts, too. Did you have to cancel your fundraising events? What was the associated revenue loss there? Or, did you host an alternative virtual event that was just as lucrative? What are your immediate fundraising needs, and what does your community need to know about them?

In order to continue meeting the needs of Yellowstone County residents, the library undertook a FY2010 strategic planning process that outlined six service priorities. They include:

1. Connect to the Online World with Public Internet Access

2. Engage with the Community through Community Resources and Services

3. Strengthen Adult, Teen, and Family Literacy Programs

4. Satisfy Curiosity with Lifelong Learning Opportunities

5. Stimulate Imagination with Pleasurable Reading, Viewing and Listening Opportunities

6. Provide Comfort with Numerous Physical and Virtual Spaces

7. Address aspects of the proposed project that may need to be altered due to COVID-19 or lessons learned during the pandemic shutdowns. Are there other components to your capital campaign that you should consider adding now? Do you need spaces that can be flexible for larger, socially distanced events? What about additional stations at your Makers Spaces? Consider these when updating your Case for Support.

3. Administration and Board of Directors. This case does not include a list but mentions them here.

Parmly Billings Library has a deservedly strong image in the community. Businesses, schools and individuals take advantage of the library’s offerings and appreciate the staff’s high level of customer service and knowledge. Likewise, Parmly Billings Library’s executive team and Board of Trustees are continually improving the depth and breadth of items for checkout. Today’s library offers more than books and CD’s; it incorporates modern technology so users have access to people, places, education and training throughout the world.

4. Challenge/Current Situation: What operating/programmatic/infrastructure shortfall(s) brought about the nonprofit’s desire to seek capital? This is the nonprofit’s “Need.”

Parmly Billings Library’s service and selection are exceptional. Unfortunately, the building itself is severely limiting staff’s ability to maintain the status quo. The library is significantly behind Montana’s larger communities in terms of per capita funding, staffing, collection size, number of facilities, square footage, seating, and internet stations. In fact, many of the challenges facing today’s Parmly Billings Library parallel challenges the first library faced: parking is limited, the building layout cannot adequately accommodate modern library standards, and a considerable investment ($12-$15 million) is necessary to repair or replace its aging infrastructure.

5. Opportunity/Solution to Current Situation: Once the capital is raised, how will the nonprofit’s users and the service region benefit? This is the nonprofit’s “Benefit.”

Parmly Billings Library’s Future
During 2009, Billings residents made it clear that, while they wanted to have library branches, they wanted a better library building downtown even more; this was expressed at both City Council-sponsored Community Conversations and Library Strategic Planning Focus Groups. Throughout 2010, the Library Board and City Council began a systematic process of developing plans to improve the downtown library, beginning with a Site Selection Committee, which determined that the current location is best.

A second study focused on the availability of private capital to help pay for the project. Study participants were community leaders likely to contribute to a private fund raising campaign. The study found that people were evenly split between the idea of remodeling the existing library and building new. Upon completion of the study, a community champion emerged and donated money to build a new building. This generous act has since launched Parmly Billings Library into an exciting journey that can invigorate the community.

Great libraries do not merely appear. They are built by committed residents in the public and private sectors who share an enduring vision of what their community might become. Billings has a long history of leadership. Frederick Billings, his family, and four generations of subsequent leaders have continually worked towards making Billings and Yellowstone County a wonderful place to live. The parks, universities, hospitals, arts and entertainment venues, and downtown are all reflections of the determined leadership within the community. Everyone has united to make Billings a hub for Montana shopping, health care, and finance. Now, after twenty years of hoping and planning, Billings and Yellowstone County are on the verge of building a great library that will foster the search for knowledge, stimulate community pride and beautify downtown.

Thanks to a $2 million anonymous pledge from the championing donor, the Library and the Parmly Billings Library Foundation are working on a plan to build a new library. The targeted land is adjacent to the existing library. The new building will be architecturally significant with an exterior that embodies Billings’ proud heritage and an interior that unifies efficiency with utility. Once complete, the new library will benefit library users, downtown businesses and civic groups by:

• becoming a focus of community life for people to gather and connect with each other to build a strong, sustainable and livable community;

• providing skills, information, services and programs that residents need to succeed at school at work and in their personal lives;

• expanding virtual and physical reading, viewing and listening materials and programs that stimulate thinking, enhance knowledge and enrich leisure time;

• reinforcing lifelong habits of learning, self-improvement and self-expression;

• bridging the digital divide for those lacking access to technology; and

• developing the love and habit of reading in children from the earliest age possible.

The new Parmly Billings Library intends to provide valued services that result in library use and involvement from throughout the community with:

• Outstanding reference, readers advisory and borrower services

• Barrier free services accessible to all, regardless of background, education level, or

  economic status

• Valuable collections that are current, relevant and readily accessible from every service

  point

• Facilities that are inviting, safe and well maintained

• Careful stewardship of the public trust, making the efficient use of public and private

  funding

• Collaboration and cooperation with other agencies and building public/private partnerships

  that enhance services

Consider adding additional information that addresses how your nonprofit has met unfulfilled community needs during the COVID-19 crisis

6. Project Budget and Business Plan: The Business Plan is needed if staffing and/or expenses are increasing. This shows financial readiness or break-even point. This case for support does not present a detailed plan.

The foundation will conduct a community-wide $5 million capital campaign to supplement the $10-$13 million municipal bond to pay for the project, once again unifying private and public funds to improve the community.

7. Project timeline: When will the project begin/end, including time for fundraising? This case for support does not include a timeline.

8. Summary: A blending of overview, challenge and opportunity that summarizes the needs and benefits of reaching the capital goal. Focus more on benefits; donors give more to solutions rather than challenges.

Billings and Yellowstone County are beginning a project that requires grit and vision. Building a new library may not seem necessary to everyone. However, upon deeper reflection there is true merit to this project. A new library will have the following benefits:

• Economic Impact: new libraries generally attract 2-3 times more visitors. Currently, Parmly Billings Library brings over 350,000 people downtown annually. Furthermore, a new library will improve the city’s ability to recruit high-wage earners to the area.

• Career Assistance: the new library will house additional computers so more people can access career seeking tools.

• Small Business Support: the library will expand its free-help services for people interested in creating or growing their small business.

• Expanded Space: more space means more access virtual and physical books, audio books, and DVDs with the ability to expedite checkouts on and off-site.

• Additional Meeting Rooms: the new library can accommodate more meetings and seminars, including distance learning.

• Safety Issues: open space will provide librarians and parents with clear, open sight lines to observe children and collections.

• Comfort: the new library will have better seating and tables, including a comfortable, exciting space designed just for children.

• Sunlight: current library windows are small and limited to one side of building. A new library will have more natural light for patrons to sit and enjoy the pleasure of reading.

• Coffee Shop: the new library design will include a place to sit and visit with friends over a warm cup of coffee.

• Flexibility: unlike the existing library, the new building will give the library the ability to adapt to new technologies.

Think here about how to update your current case with the COVID-context. As you envision the future of your nonprofit, consider additional components and benefits that you may be able to add or adjust to make your space more adaptable during potential future outbreaks. Addressing each of these bullets in two contexts – the “everyday” context and the “COVID” context will drive your case home and show how vital you are. For instance here, consider the ways workforce is changing with more work-from-home opportunities; will your library be able to help people get training to do more remote work? Will your expanded spaces/meeting rooms provide the necessary places to have social distanced events during future outbreaks, therefore allowing you to stay open or open sooner? Safety issues are already being improved; use this space to address how you’ll continue to do so going forward.

In short, the new Parmly Billings Library will be a safe, convenient gathering point in downtown Billings where every man, woman and child are welcome to come and engage in the joy of learning, the adventure of discovery and the comfort of community.

"An investment in knowledge pays the best interest" - Benjamin Franklin

To see a health care capital campaign case for support, click here. For more information on cases for support and capital campaigns, contact us!

Kevin Wallace is president of CampaignCounsel.org.