Nonprofit Storytelling

Nonprofit Storytelling:How to tell better stories and raise more money

Elizabeth TurnbullJuly 14, 2010

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Today’s Speaker

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Elizabeth TurnbullTurnbull Marketing Group

Once Upon a Time...

• Who cares?

• What makes a story “good”?

• Where can I find a good story?

• How do I tell a story effectively?

• Where do I tell my story?

Who cares?

• Everyone with money to give. And that means that you care, too.

• Fewer charity dollars going around means that you have to step up your game and make your mission relevant to your donors.

• If you don’t have a story to tell, then what in the world are you doing out there?

What makes a story “good”?

• Characters you can relate to

• A plot you can believe in (and that’s relevant)

• Well-executed

• A call to action that moves you

Characters you can relate to

• Personable

• Sympathetic/Vulnerable

• Have a fulfillable need

• Have a succinct story that relates directly to your mission

• Whenever possible, not you

A plot you can believe in• No conflict, no need

• Clearly expresses the need

• Has a story-like feel (think feature story in your favorite magazine)

• Ties in directly to your mission

• Relevant to your donors

• Succinct

• Invites the reader into the character’s world

Food For The Poor. 2009. The Great Depression Campaign.

Well Executed

• Good writing (or script)

• Descriptive — try to involve all of your readers’ senses

• Clear and easy to read (or watch)

• Professional quality

A call to action that moves you

• Direct—no hemming and hawing

• Repeated

• Urgent—Why me?Why now?

• Doable

• Everywhere! Every single living thing in the world has a story—the hard part is seeing it

• Start at home

• Talk to the people you serve

• Be nosy—ask questions that touch the heart

Where can I find a good story?

Be nosy• What do you hope/pray for?

• What do you want for your future? For your children’s future?

• How has our organization helped you? What was life like before we began to help you?

• What do you want to tell our friends and supporters?

• Why should our friends & supporters help other people like you?

How do I tell a story effectively?

• Focus on the details that pull at the heart strings—make them weep

• Be succinct—leave out the dry information

• Hook your audience from the very beginning

• Use action words, present tense and adjectives

• Don’t just tell a story—show it

• Tie everything back to your mission

Hook, Line...and Wallet

• Imagine...

• Come with me on a journey...

• I want you to...

• I need you to...

• Start with a quote from the main character

• Transport your audience directly to the scene

Mahalia

Climbing the sagging steps leading up to the dilapidated house teetering 6 feet off the ground in Georgetown, Guyana, I keep my eyes on 8-year-old Mahalia, who bounds ahead of me with no apparent fear of falling through the rotted wood. She leads me inside, where missing floorboards, bowing walls and a rusted piece of tin—more a strainer than a roof—form what bit of space she has to call home. I have come to listen, and Mahalia is just about to tell me a secret.

Where do I tell my story?

• Use them everywhere you can—online, brochures, newsletters, fundraising letters, benefits, annual reports

• Illustrate with compelling photos

• Send your audience online for the rest of the story—websites shouldn’t be just content-driven, they need to be story-driven

• Make short videos—feature the people you serve whenever possible

• Tell one good story in each e-Newsletter

• Use your blog to tell stories, not to give status reports

On Your Web Site

On Your Web Site

On Your Web Site

On Facebook

On Facebook

On Facebook

On Twitter

On Twitter

On Twitter

Happily Ever After

• Pull at heart strings

• Be succinct

• Make it personal

• Tie it back to your mission

• Tell stories all the time, everywhere you go

Let’s keep in touch

Elizabeth Turnbull

email: [email protected]

twitter: @ejturnbull

telephone: 919.741.5072

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