Second stages

Making the case

Assess the impact of the cut

• Who will suffer most as a result of the cut?
• What services will have to be withdrawn and what might be the consequences to users and/or member organisations?

Valuing the service

• What impact does your organisation make with the funding it receives?
• Pull together a campaign portfolio of easily digestible facts and figures. Your data should broadly answer three questions:
  • How much service you provide (e.g. number of people served, number of activities delivered)
  • How well do you provide it? (e.g. user survey results, quality marks)
  • Who is better off as a result of your service (i.e. service user outcomes)
• Evidence of how service users are better off as a result of your service and how this contributes towards your funder’s strategic objectives make the most compelling arguments.
• Charts and graphs say infinitely more than lists of figures.
• Personal, individually written testimonials from service users are particularly powerful outcome indicators.
• Use other material including independent evaluation reports and press cuttings.

Partnership factors

• What are the funding organisation’s main strategic priorities? 
• How does your organisation contribute to the funding organisation’s strategic priorities?
• Open up a dialogue with the funding organisation at as senior a level as possible and put the case.

• First stages: unpicking the decision
• Second stages: making the case
• Third stages: building the campaign