Stories are a powerful way to engage people in what your nonprofit does and help them understand the meaning of your work. Stories help people gain perspective on an organization’s work and impact. Below are three tips to help you tell your nonprofit’s story successfully.
Stories should be a powerful component of any nonprofit marketing and fundraising effort. Stories move us into the action. They allow us to experience the challenges and heartaches, as well as the love and hopes of the people involved. They are the inspiration for organizers to organize and donors to donate. Whether knocking door-to-door or using social media tools to raise funds, keep in mind that research shows that people are moved not by statistics but by tears.
Everyone is familiar with charities that present us with a story of a child in an underdeveloped country for whom only a few cents a day could bring food, shelter and clean water. Stark photographs are shown in order to add vividness to the story. This strategy emphasizes desperate circumstances and gives a glimmer of hope by showing that a different story — a better story — can be written, if only more volunteers and donors would join the cause. This is the combination typically used, but it may not be right for your nonprofit branding or fundraising efforts.
I tend to lean towards positive stories, those of success and transformation. They provide a sunnier side and are filled with hope and vision for the future. Positive stories lift people’s spirits and move them to wonder what they can do to help. An example of this comes from the world of guerrilla marketing, where the Dubai Autism Center created a shopping bag featuring an image of a happy child reaching up with her little hand towards the handle of the bag so that, when the bag is carried, it appears as though the girl is holding the shopper’s hand. This story telling strategy stands a good chance of attracting more donors because it ignites people’s curiosity and moves them from knowing about problems to addressing them.
New York Times columnist and author Kristof Nicholas says, “Good people engaging in good causes sometimes feel too pure and sanctified to sink to something as manipulative as marketing, but the result has been that women have been raped when it could have been avoided and children have died of pneumonia unnecessarily—because those stories haven’t resonated with the public. So for God’s sake, let’s learn how we can connect people to important causes and galvanize a robust public reaction.”
So, what does it take to tell your stories successfully? Kristoff offers the following insights:
- Look for heroes, not victims
Search for positive, heartwarming accounts of triumph. Kristoff writes “we wanted to call attention to sex trafficking, acid attacks, maternal mortality, yet we knew a focus on such a litany of horrors would go unread. The solution we came up with was to find stories of women who had overcome adversity rather than succumbed to it. We explored sex trafficking through the story of a teenage Cambodian girl who was imprisoned in a Malaysian brothel—but who, after escaping, became a very successful businesswoman with the help of an aid group, American Assistance for Cambodia.”
- Focus on an individual, not a group
Kristoff tells us of an experiment in which they asked people to donate to help hungry children in West Africa. “One group was asked to help a seven-year-old girl named Rokia, from Mali. A second was asked to donate to help millions of hungry children. A third was asked to help Rokia but was provided with statistical information that gave them a larger context for her hunger. Not surprisingly, people donated more than twice as much to help Rokia as to help millions of children. But it turned out that even providing background information on African hunger diminished empathy, so people were much less willing to help Rokia when she represented a broader problem.” Thus, you should try to build your story around one particular person. People want to help particular individuals, not causes. Give people a “face” they can relate to. As Mother Teresa said, “If I look at the mass, I will never act. If I look at the one, I will.”
- Make donors feel good
The secret to successful fundraising is securing gifts that donors enjoy making. So stop sending those “guilt” letters. While raising money to accomplish your mission is part of the job, you should do everything possible to make sure your donors also come out feeling like winners. Make people feel lucky that they have an opportunity to help others. Donors want “an emotional ROI.” Tell them how they can help not how dire your circumstances are. Make it about them.
Stories are a powerful way to engage people in what you nonprofit does and help them understand the meaning of your work. Stories help people gain perspective on an organization’s work and impact. What is your story?
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2 Responses
It was great reading the insights of how to fund raise successfully. Thanks for starting this topic. I’ll be looking forward to reading more of your posts.
I like the looking for heroes angle. If they only see victims, then they might think the situation is hopeless. If they see heroes who have overcome their circumstances, then they see hope, and hope is what gets people to donate. I look forward to using the “focus on individuals” tip since I haven’t yet gotten the chance to do that at my organization.
Thanks, and great post!