25 August 2020
The Power of Storytelling
Personal stories have always been an important part of communicating and fundraising across the charitable sector. Recent regulations by Charities Services place a greater importance on qualitative results to demonstrate your organisation’s impact. And then there’s the impact of COVID-19 and the effect it’s having on the funding climate. Telling the stories of people you have helped personalises your work, enabling you to show the impact and also encourages others to support the difference you are making.
3 reasons why story telling can’t be ignored
- Stories are the social proof of why you exist.
They show funders, donors, supporters and stakeholders how you’re changing the lives of the people you serve. Accountability reports, annual reports and donor development communications all rely on the success stories of those you’ve helped. - Sharing stories inspires others to use your service and builds awareness of your brand.
The stories of the people you’ve helped are a powerful endorsement of your work and can encourage others to get help too. It’s also a great way to raise awareness of your brand as you generate positive word of mouth – effectively free advertising! - Stories are vital to successful fundraising.
Donors give to people, not to causes. To make your fundraising appeals stand out you need to include powerful personal stories that compel people to give and make a difference to the lives of others.
6 ways to get the most out of your stories
The brilliant thing about storytelling is that one story can go a long way. For example, it can be:
- Shared on social media multiple times, pulling out different quotes and messaging
- Used in your Annual Report to highlight the outcomes you’ve achieved during the year
- Added to your website to tell the story of your work through the people you help
- Used in funding applications to demonstrate the reason/s you need funding
- Used in accountability reports to show the effect of the funding you received
- Combined with other stories to create a new story with a particular angle, for example, the stories of young people
