The Audit Squad

when your comms don’t make good-to-great money

Do you wonder… ?

“Are these expensive, time-consuming donor communications we pump out really all that good? I know they look okay. But could they maybe make a lot more money ... and inspire donors to care far more?”

Here’s our answer:

A frank, detailed, research-based (and surprisingly delightful) audit by some of the world’s most effective donor comms’ experts: The Case Writers.

In truth...

Many (maybe most) donor communications are built to fail or do the bare minimum ... but not to succeed at record levels.

Even communications produced by seasoned fundraisers, established charities, and well-regarded outside consultants are riddled with hidden and (worse!) unsuspected flaws.

A confidential Case Writers audit measures your donor communications against more than two dozen tested criteria, ranging from ...

the visual (“Is it highly skimmable? Does it pass the ‘first few seconds’ test?”) to the psychological (“Is it happy enough? Sad enough?”)
to applied neuroscience (“Does it flatter the donor sufficiently? Does it take into account a half-dozen crucial identity factors?”)
to approachability/authenticity (“Is it warm or cold? Does it pass the ‘you’ test?”).

Most important...

A Case Writers audit doesn’t just tell you what’s wrong ... since that would be merely half an audit and really not worth your investment. A Case Writers audit tells you EXACTLY how to fix the problems we find.

Cost & testimonials...

Audits generally run in the $3–20K price range. It’s an investment that pays for itself quickly and many times over, clients find.

Below are some recent testimonials about what can happen when you hire members of The Case Writers to audit the effectiveness of your donor communications.

I’M READY. TELL ME MORE ABOUT AUDITS!

What people are saying

“Thank you. How you can make a group of people this excited to read about what they have to work on – I don’t know. But our team couldn’t agree more with your insight in this audit [written by a member of The Case Writers]. Your observations reinforced our suspicions around some of our work and made us look critically at other areas that we’ve never really considered before. We can’t wait to implement all of this amazing feedback into our work.”

Megan Hodges, then at Harlem RBI, now Managing Director of Advancement Strategy at Success Academy (NYC)

“Earlier this year, our team decided to ‘overhaul’ our bi-annual newsletter, making it more donor-centric and visually appealing (more photos, color, etc.) following a ‘newsletter audit’ [by members of The Case Writers].... The results have been incredible ... we exceeded our spring goal for donations from the newsletter by 40%!”

Julie Seymour Edwards, Humane Society of Northeast Georgia

“We got so much out of [this].... It really helped align with my Executive Director, Jane. As I’d said to you, her natural inclination was for us to go straight to the optimistic/solutions content without naming the problems or ‘enemies to defeat’ first, but she has now come around.”

Response to a down-and-dirty audit done by phone in 2019 with a Canadian nonprofit

“Wow! Incredible. Thank you so much for all of the work that you’ve put into this. I so so appreciate it! This audit is immensely beneficial and important to giving the best giving experience to our donors.”

Lindsay Capello, MA, MSc, Director of Annual Giving, Swedish Medical Center Foundation

“Your audit turned our under-performing donor newsletter into a license to print money,” the executive director of a global refugee charity stated in 2017 (her statement included a hug). This same international charity now conducts a fresh donor communications audit every 18 months or so, to keep staff and vendors pointed in the right direction re: donor-centricity. On receipt of the third audit in 2019, she responded: “Damn you are good!”

Recent audit clients

Children’s Health Foundation
Cleveland Symphony Orchestra
Cochrane Polar Bear Habitat
House of Friendship
Junior Achievement*
Literacy Volunteers of Greater Hartford
Lollypop Farm
Mennonite Central Committee
Merry-go-Round Children’s Charity
Niagara Health Foundation

National Council of Canadian Muslims
Native Plant Trust
Outcare Foundation
Swedish Medical Center Foundation
University of South Australia
UMASS Memorial Medical Center
USA for UNHCR
Volunteers of America*
William Osler Health System Foundation
World Hope

*including training