This is the 191st Fundraising Writing Newsletter. If you find value here, please tell a fundraising friend. (Your fundraising friend can ​subscribe here for free.)​

Wednesday, March 11, 2026

Hi Reader,

Brett here:

There's a 1991 Jim Jarmusch movie Julie and I love called Night on Earth.

It's not well known.

You probably haven't seen it.

But Julie and I quote a certain line from it fairly often.

The movie is split into 5 stories featuring 5 taxis (in LA, NY, Paris, Rome, and Helsinki), their drivers, and their passengers, all happening at the same time one night.

​Winona Ryder plays the part of Corky, the first taxi driver to whom we're introduced. She's 19 at this time, so she looks especially young... as even today she's unusually youthful.

Sitting on a phone book to boost her up, Corky is "discovered" by a Hollywood talent agent as she drives her home from LAX.

The agent more or less says, "I can make you a star."

And Corky more or less replies, "Nah, I'm good."

The agent is astounded. This never happens. All the girls she meets are dying to become a movie star.

So Winona Ryder as Corky clarifies, saying she loves driving her taxi and she's not interested in Hollywood. It's just not her.

Which brings me to the line Julie and I often quote:

"Like Popeye says, I am what I am."

Why do we I bring this up?

Because Tom Ahern is our personal Popeye the Sailor Man.

We often quote Tom.

We say,

"Like Tom says..."

For example,

"Like Tom says, WHY US, WHY NOW, WHY YOU."

He says this when he's explaining how to structure a case for support that will move donors to give — with the organization, the donor, and the urgency in mind.

Julie and I ravenously read Tom's book on the subject. It's called Turning Doubters Into Donors.

And we highlighted just about every page.

Now we've adapted what we've learned from Tom plus what we've learned from working with our own clients into a format you might want to try, because it's pretty simple and pretty straightforward. Rather like Popeye.

Your new 8-page case for support?

You'll notice below that we've taken Tom's proven case for support structure and adapted it for an 8-page case.

Does your case need to be 8 pages?

No, not at all.

It could be any length.

But 8 pages is long enough to be substantive and short enough to be economical. It's worked well for us, in some of the shorter cases for support we've written for our clients.

Also, you could adapt this formula, as currently each number below is meant to be one page long ... but you could make each number two pages long, or whatever.

Each of the following represents what to include on each page, and the red parts represent the headlines.

1. Front Cover with image, title, subtitle, branding
   ​
2. The Stakes: [and whatever the stakes are]
   ​
3. The Problem: [and whatever the problem is]
   ​
4. The Solution: [and whatever your solution is]
   ​
5. Why [your organization]?​
   ​
6. [on the importance of the Donor]​
   e.g., "You are crucial"
   ​
7. [on the importance of Now] ​
   e.g., "The time is now"
   ​
8. Back Cover with image, contact window

Want to see an example?

Julie is currently designing an 8-page case for support in this format.

​Click here if you would like us to send it to you once it's complete (within the next few weeks).

Tom Ahern's case for support webinar, two weeks from tomorrow

For much more on cases for support, including:

• 90 minutes of training by Tom Ahern
• plenty of examples from different kinds of nonprofits
• a fully refreshed slideshow (it's really good)
• our one-of-a-kind all-you-can-eat unlimited Q&A session (keep your questions coming; we won't stop till you do)
• a full recording of everything, no matter how long it lasts, with transcripts and your copy of Tom's slideshow; you don't even have to attend live, if you don't want to

This webby only happens once in 2026. It's a good one. Even if you're a seasoned pro, you will learn a lot and laugh and smile in the process. If you're a beginner, this is an excellent starting point.

When: Thursday, March 26 at 1:00 PM ET

Interested?

Randomly yours

For your brain, heart, and funny bone...

• Fundraisingly Informative — 15 tips for a better donor newsletter by John Lepp (a handy checklist with plenty of donor newsletter examples, some good reminders, and even a few that might make you go hmmm)​
  ​
• Thoughtfully Valued — The Paradox of Effort by Sahil Bloom (a blog post featuring several anecdotes, such as one in which Pablo Picasso takes 30 seconds to make a sketch for a fan in the street and asks for a million dollars in return)
  ​
• Famously Undeniable — EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert - Official Trailer (a 90-second YouTube trailer for the new Baz Luhrmann film which curates footage from Elvis playing Vegas from 1969-1977; expertly edited and highly recommended)

Until next time: May you take inspiration from the "Popeyes" in your life, and lean into your "I am what I am!"

Grateful,

Julie Cooper & Brett Cooper
Fundraising Copywriters​
​FundraisingWriting.com​
​Fundraising Copywriting & Design​​
​100% human, thank you very much.