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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?

Why Does Your Work Matter? Tell the Story

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Once upon a time“I never really understood what our nonprofit did until I heard what we did for my friend.”

That was a Board member speaking.

The nonprofit the Board member (let’s call him Paul) served was trying to end poverty in the local community. Preventing evictions, and keeping people in their homes, was a key to keeping families from sliding into poverty.

Paul had joined three years earlier. He had faithfully attended Board meetings every month. Then, somebody he knew personally lost his job and couldn’t pay the rent. The friend and his family were threatened with eviction. Desperate, they called Paul. He called the program staff.

Paul followed the case over the weeks and months. He heard how the staff helped his friend go to court and get more time. Then, they helped the friend apply for help paying the rent…and the heat, gas, and electric bills.

Still, without enough income, the friend could not afford to stay in that apartment. If he did nothing, he and his family would end up on the street. Paul watched in amazement as the organization where he served on the Board found his friend a new place with a lower rent and helped move his family in.

Attending Board meetings had not shown Paul the real reason the organization needs to exist. He found that out from his friend’s story.

Tell the Story First

Why do people need your services? What are you trying to do? This is what Andy Goodman calls the “Nature of Our Challenge Story.” Do you really want to show why your work matters? Don’t give me facts and figures. First, tell me a story.

This is hard advice for nonprofits to take! We are so used to being told we are “soft-headed idealists” and challenged to produce data. The truth is that funders who demand measurable outcomes are pushing us in the wrong direction. Even they need to understand why our work matters before they can tell how much. The why is a story.

What’s important when we talk with funders is crucial when we reach out to donors. 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.

What Makes a Story a Story?

Not every way of saying what happened is a story. Let’s quote Andy Goodman again: “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)

Let’s try that out! In the Comments section, take a stab at telling the “Nature of Our Challenge” story for your nonprofit. More than 1100 readers of this blog can give you advice on how to make your storytelling better…and I will chip in, too.

Why does your work matter? Tell us the story!

 

Six Stories Your Nonprofit Should Tell

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Andy Goodman believes there are six stories every organization should be ready to tell.

  1. The nature of our challenge story: This story describes the problem that you are trying to address with your programs/services. “Too often, we express this as a number,” warns Goodman.
  2. The creation story: This is the “how we started” story. “It’s primarily for internal use,” Goodman says, “but I think everybody who works in an organization should know it.”
  3. The emblematic success story: This story shares your unique approach and why it works.
  4. The values story: These are the stories through which your organization shows how it lives out its core values
  5. The striving to improve story: This story is for internal use and says “sometimes we fall short, sometimes we outright fail, but we always learn from our mistakes and do better next time,” Goodman says.
  6. The where we are going story: This is a story that says if your organization does its job right, this is what it will look like in five to 10 years.

 

Some of these stories are for your stakeholders.  Some are for your Board, staff, and volunteers.  All of them say more about your organization than any mission statement or set of numbers can do alone.

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