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Fundraising Tuesday: So What’s Your Story?

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stoytellingWe’ve already discussed how you’ll raise more money if you stop talking about you and make your donor the hero of your story.

That’s a lot easier to do if you actually tell a story.

Stories Are More Than Just Timelines

Not every way of telling what happened is a story. Just because something has a beginning, a middle, and an end doesn’t mean it’s a tale that will capture the imagination and move people to give.

A story has a narrative structure. That sounds hard, but it’s actually very easy. As Andy Goodman tells us,  “To make sure you cover all of the basics of story structure, here are the beginnings of 7 sentences that can help you with the process.”

  • Once upon a time… (This starts the story off and introduces our protagonist)
  • And every day… (This will set up how life was before the Inciting Incident)
  • Until one day… (This begins the action of the story with the Inciting Incident and the Goal)
  • And because of this… (This introduces the barriers or obstacles the protagonist faces)
  • And because of this… (There could be several barriers)
  • Until finally…(This ends the story with the Resolution)

Is What You Wrote Actually a Story?

You can tell a story without using the exact phrases that Goodman suggests. If you look closely at a story that sticks with you, however, most of these elements will be there.

For instance, last week I told you The Tale of the Rigged Raffle. I could have told it in those exact words.

  • “Once upon a time,” there was a married couple, Dennis and Rona, who were very different from each other.
  • “And every day”–well, every week at least!–they looked for a synagogue they could share.
  • “Until one day,” mutual friends invited them to Temple B’nai Brith.
  • “And because of this,” they met an adorable older couple who really wanted them as members of the shul. But Rona and Dennis weren’t sure yet.
  • “And because of this,” the older members rigged the raffle so that Dennis and Rona won a gigantic bottle of syrupy sweet Manischewitz wine. They didn’t know how to refuse it.
  • “Until finally,” the older couple told them to donate it back to the Temple–as everybody did! Rona and Dennis were charmed, and became members, and renewed their membership happily ever after.

Look at the appeal letter you’ve drafted. Can you find these story elements in it? If not, it’s time to rewrite!

Why Storytelling is Worth It

If you want me to act, you have to touch my heart. Storytelling is the most powerful way to do that. As Network for Good tells us,

Donors tend to give twice as much when presented with a story about an affected individual, as opposed to reading huge abstract numbers of the overall scope of a problem.

Touch my heart AND my wallet. Tell me a tale that shows how I can do something great by donating to your organization.

So, what’s your story?

Is Your Nonprofit Event as Exciting as a Blizzard?

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I live in New England, where people line up for ice cream in the middle of a snowstorm. This year, though, people are snow-shy. Every time the white stuff is in the forecast, people are remembering a month of being snowed in last winter.

The Blizzard of 2015 had great publicity, and it was all free. Can your nonprofit do as well?

A Storm of Free Media

A blizzard has no bank account. It has no marketing budget. Without paying a cent, however, the storm that hit New England on Tuesday had its own hashtag…and hundreds of unpaid photographers.

I went on Facebook one Tuesday morning last January and found this:

Car covered with snow

And this:

Clearing snowy street

And even this:

Dog looking at snow

The Secret of the Storm’s Success

It snows every year. Why do people rush out each time it snows and snap photos?

I think it’s because a storm is a shared event. By taking pictures and posting them, people say, “I was here. I was a part of this.”

Can You Do As Well as a Blizzard?

Are you making people feel that your events are shared events? When they attend your events, do they want to claim them and show they were there? You invite them to show up in person. Are you inviting them to show up online, with their photos?

 

TY Thursday: I Wrote This Poem Just for You

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Poems for donors

Have you heard the advice that you should thank your major donors seven times before you ask them for the next gift?

People dispute it. Pamela Grow says you should ask again during the honeymoon period after the first gift. But there’s no denying that you need to thank your donors early and often–and in many different ways.

Here’s one way you might not have thought of. Send them a poem.

Poems that Say “Thank You”

If you want to find poetry that expresses gratitude, you can find plenty to quote online. Choose the verse that fits your donors the best. If they like inspirational messages, you might try this one:

For what you have done,
for what you have said–
For what you have helped me with,
thanks seem not enough.
I want only to tell you one simple phrase,
Yet I feel the need to ensure
that the emotion is conveyed.
If I could just say it, and ask you, please,
multiply my thanks by infinity.

Perhaps your donor is slightly more literary. You could send her this excerpt from Giving, in Khalil Gibran’s book The Prophet:

And you receivers – and you are all receivers – assume no weight of gratitude, lest you lay a yoke upon yourself and upon him who gives.

Rather rise together with the giver on his gifts as on wings;

For to be overmindful of your debt, is to doubt his generosity who has the free-hearted earth for mother, and God for father.

No matter what kind of poetry you borrow and share, this is vital: add your own thoughts at the end, by hand. (For instance, if I sent the Gibran verse, I might add, “You are exactly the type of generous person that the poet is talking about. Let’s continue to rise together!”)

Writing Your Own

A hand-made gift can be more precious than anything bought in a store. When you write a poem yourself, it says–better than any famous poet can–“I love what happens when we’re together, for a cause.”

You hesitate. You’re not a writer? It doesn’t matter, really. The feeling is more important than the words.

For instance, here are a few words from me to you:

Who says “thanks” to you? You toil all year,
each day (long days) to bring the money in
so people seeking help will find it here
and not be stopped before they can begin.

You meet the donors, send out your newsletter,
Share stories face to face and through email;
write posts and then rewrite them, make them better,
bring them to life: find the vivid detail

to win the memory, photos to catch the eye.
And when the precious gift does finally arrive,
you thank the giver: right away, reply
so the love they’ve shown will be returned, and thrive.

I send my gratitude to you, fundraising pro.
Donors would too, if they knew you as I know.

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