Use Word's AI to Draft a Case for Support

What This Does

Copilot in Word drafts your organization's foundational Case for Support document — the persuasive narrative that explains your mission, impact, and funding need to donors and grant funders — from a brief outline you provide, giving you a polished starting point instead of a blank page.

Before You Start

• You have Microsoft Word with Copilot enabled (requires Microsoft 365 Business Standard or higher)
• You have a 3–5 bullet point summary of your organization: mission, programs, population served, key outcomes, funding need
• The Copilot button appears in your Word Home ribbon or you can access it via the Draft with Copilot prompt that appears when you start a new document

Steps

1. Open a new Word document

Open Microsoft Word and create a new blank document.

2. Access Copilot Draft

At the top of the blank document, you'll see a "Draft with Copilot" prompt appear. Click it. Alternatively, click the Copilot button in the Home ribbon and select Draft.

3. Describe what you need

In the Copilot draft prompt, describe your case for support:

"Draft a 2-page Case for Support for a nonprofit organization. Organization: [describe your org in 2-3 sentences]. Programs: [list key programs]. Population served: [describe]. Key outcomes: [list 2-3 impact statistics]. Funding ask: [amount range or general]. Style: compelling, donor-focused, conversational but professional."

Click Generate.

4. Review and expand sections

Copilot will draft a 2-page document. Read through it and use the Refine options to adjust:

• Too formal? Click Refine → "Make it more conversational"
• Missing urgency? Click in the section and ask Copilot: "Add a paragraph about the urgency of this need and what happens without donor support"
• Need a stronger close? Select the final paragraph → "Rewrite this closing with a stronger call to action"

5. Add your organization's specific stories and data

Copilot's draft gives you structure and placeholder language. Now go through and:

• Replace generic statistics with your real program data
• Add a specific beneficiary story or quote
• Insert your organization's actual financials or funding gap
• Adjust the voice to match how your organization actually communicates

What you should see: A formatted 2-page document with an opening narrative, program descriptions, impact section, and a closing ask — ready for editing. Troubleshooting: If the draft sounds too generic, give Copilot more specific details: "Our population served is primarily single mothers in [city] experiencing housing instability — rewrite the needs statement with this specificity."

Real Example

Scenario: Your major gifts prospect asked you to send "something about the organization" before their site visit next week. You don't have an updated case for support — the last one was written 3 years ago.

What you type to Copilot: "Draft a 2-page Case for Support for a workforce development nonprofit serving unemployed adults ages 25-55. Program: 16-week job training in healthcare and construction trades. 2024 outcomes: 120 graduates, 88 placed in jobs, average starting wage $19/hour. Funding need: $350,000 for program expansion to serve 40 additional participants."

What you get: A complete draft case for support in 3 minutes. With 30 minutes of editing to add your real stories and data, you have a polished document to send.

Tips

• Create a "master case for support" document once, then use it as a source document for all grant proposals and major gift solicitations — update it annually
• Ask Copilot to create a shorter "elevator case" version: "Condense this 2-page case to a 200-word executive summary for a donor email"
• Save the resulting document as your organization's case for support template — future updates take 30 minutes instead of 4 hours

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