Best of CASE District VI Award
 

Institution: Washington University in St. Louis

Title of entry: Proposal

About this entry: With this proposal, we appealed to the donor’s passion for entrepreneurship and used the theme of “disruption” to articulate the ways in which a potential gift could “disrupt” common barriers to student access and success. We paired a step-by-step argument of these different forms of “disruption” (e.g., disrupting student loans, the barbell effect) with personal profiles of specific student “disruptors” and abstract red graphics to convey the theme of catalyzing change and dismantling obstacles. Our graphic designer used AI to generate a statement cover image that depicted a man, representing the donor, climbing a set of stairs toward a cloud of innovation and activity. This was meant to further drive home the idea of philanthropy as a form of action on the cutting edge of social change, with an inspiring power to address formidable challenges and chart a promising future. Meanwhile, the writer did a deep dive into WashU’s endowment data to craft a one-pager with targeted information about the endowment to offset anticipated questions. This single page of content involved hours of research into impact reports and other documents, as well as information gathering from many colleagues. We know that this proposal helped our frontline gift officer navigate a tricky initial conversation with the donor in which he tossed a lot of questions her way. It currently is under consideration and “very much on the table,” she says. She and the donor are working to negotiate the terms of the gift amid his busy travel schedule.