Nonprofit Stories - Six Rules For Creating Stories to Increase Funding For Your Nonprofit

There is an adage that reads "a picture is worth asenses as are appropriate to the story. Describe the
thousand words". Many nonprofit newsletters andjoy on the face of a teen who receives your
annual reports use this idea well by including poignantscholarship. Share the excited chatter of the
or inspirational pictures sprinkled throughout their textvolunteers who are constructing a house. Talk about
to tell about the work of the organization. I alwaysthe feel of the baby blanket created by a senior for
appreciate visuals when reading about the work ofa premature baby. Re-create the smells of ocean as
nonprofits, especially when brief, meaningful textyour volunteers cleaned up the beach. Describe the
supports the pictures.taste of the wonderful desserts that you served at
There are times, however, when you want to shareyour recent fundraiser.
the wonderful work of your nonprofit and you don't4. Use your emotions to help your listener relate to
have access to pictures (such as when someonethe work you do. Some stories evoke tears, some
asks you about it over lunch or at a meeting). Canlaughter and others deep concern. Make sure you
you create as meaningful an interaction with potentialreally feel the emotion and then share it with your
supporters without a visual? You can if you use yourlistener.
skills as a storyteller.5. Involve your audience so it becomes a
I have met nonprofit leaders who believe they don'tconversation, not a monologue. For example, if you
have these skills and think they could never be goodare talking about people owning their first home, ask
storytellers. They posit that all they need to do isif your listener remembers how he felt when he
use statistics to demonstrate their success. Recently,moved into his first home (as long as you know he is
while at a networking event, I met an executivea homeowner). When you are sharing the joy of
director of a housing nonprofit. When I asked him tosomeone who received a new lung, ask your listener
tell me about his agency, I nearly drowned in factsif she can imagine how it must feel to be able to
and figures and still didn't get a real feeling about thebreathe deeply for the first time in decades.
work it does. I think they are helping people who are6. Keep it brief. Don't bore your listener with
in foreclosure and also those who need affordableunnecessary details or extraneous description. Some
rental units, but I'm not sure and I certainly wasn'tof the best nonprofit stories I have heard were less
inspired to give a donation. If this director had knownthan two minutes in length.
the six basic rules of storytelling and done someUse these six basic rules and create a story about
practicing, I might have become a supporter of hisyour nonprofit. Practice telling this story to a friend, a
work.colleague or a family member. The more you
What are the six basic rules for good storytelling?practice, the more comfortable you will become. You
1. Be aware of the organizational image you want towill find that, after you practice enough, the words
create. The style of a story about a children's puppetwill just flow. It's your nonprofit, you believe in the
theatre may be very different than that of awork it does, you live the stories every day. As you
nonprofit that provides literacy training to adults.become more experienced, you'll discover that
2. Use interesting and exciting language with whichstorytelling will start to come naturally as you talk to
your audience can relate. You may get really excitedpeople about the work you do. And when people
about the esoteric research your archeological grouphear and are touched by your stories, you will
does but your audience is likely more interested inincrease the number of people who support your
hearing about specific, compelling artifacts you havenonprofit.
unearthed.©2010 Jane B. Ford.
3. Evoke audience interest by using as many of your