How to gather, write and publish fundraising impact stories
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Stories are an effective way to engage donors and raise funds. This document provides tips for gathering, writing, and publishing compelling stories about a charity's work. It encourages looking for stories from a variety of sources, including beneficiaries, donors, founders, and staff. Effective interviews involve preparing both the interviewee and interviewer, asking open-ended questions, and probing for details that bring the story to life. When writing stories, it is important to include characters, their goals and struggles, and an arc with a beginning, middle, and end. Relatable stories that inspire action are most impactful for fundraising.
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How to gather, write and publish fundraising impact stories
- 1. How to gather, write, and publish your fundraising stories Leah Eustace, CFRE, ACFRE Blue Canoe Philanthropy leah@yourbluecanoe.ca @LeahEustace www.yourbluecanoe.ca
- 2. “The cat sat on the mat is not the beginning of a story. The cat sat on the dog's mat is.” ~ John le Carré
- 4. Why stories are awesome • Keep the reader’s attention • Help you communicate better • Enhance your credibility • Linger longer • Get passed along • Raise more money!
- 6. Look… and listen • Listen to what’s being said around the water cooler • What’s your founder story? • Talk to people on the front lines • Think about your own story… • Attend your charity’s events • Keep an eye on your social media feeds • At the end of every day ask yourself “what happened today that would make a good story?”
- 8. Get out of your storytelling box • Founding story • Donor story • Beneficiary story • Impact story • Vision story • Your story • Get creative
- 10. The art of the interview
- 13. Tips and tricks
- 14. What to ask • Why don't you start by telling me a little bit about yourself • How did you first hear about [charity]? • What prompted your first gift? • Tell me about your history with [breast cancer/being SOS mother…etc]. How did it change your life and the lives of your family members? • What impresses you most about [charity]?
- 15. What to ask • How would (your life /Canada /region / city/world be different if it didn't exist? • Where does your philanthropic spirit come from? What values were you brought up with? • Tell me about a particular person you've met, or a program you've been involved with (or a story you've read) involving [charity’s] work that has stood out for you
- 16. Probe • Walk me through… • Paint a picture of… • How old are…? • What is that person’s name? • How did that make you feel? • What’s it like to…? • What went through your mind when…? • How did you react to…? • What hurdles did you face when…?
- 17. The last best question Is there anything else you’d like to add that we haven’t touched on?
- 18. Writing
- 20. Characters Traits Goal Motives Conflicts Risk/ Danger Struggles Details
- 21. In the simplest terms, the narrative arc is shaped by the beginning, middle, and end of a story.
- 22. Boy meets girl, boy fails girl, boy gets girl again
- 23. Adding complexity and detail to a basic story arc is what differentiates one story from another
- 24. “A story does what facts and statistics never can: it inspires and motivates. The audience tunes in because they see themselves woven into the story.” ~ D. Taylor, The Healing Power of Stories
- 25. “If I look at the mass I will never act. If I look at the one, I will.” ~Mother Teresa
- 26. Why, not how
- 28. Think about the end product
- 29. The best stories are relatable
- 30. A thirsty ant went to the river. He was carried away by the rush of the stream and was about to drown. A dove, sitting in a tree overhanging the water, plucked a leaf. The leaf fell into the stream close to the ant, and the ant climbed onto it. The ant floated safely to the bank. Shortly afterward, a bird catcher came and laid a trap in the tree. The ant bit and stung him on the foot. In pain, the bird catcher threw down his trap. The noise made the dove fly away.
- 31. Pete argued that data gathered from a NASA voyage to Venus called into question current theories about the formation of our solar system. Part of his talk emphasized the importance of mass spectrometers. He then discussed the isotopes of argon 36 and argon 38 and noted that they were of higher density than expected. He also cited the high values of neon found in the atmosphere. He has a paper that is already written, but he is aware of the need for further investigation as well.
- 32. “Your $100 donation today will help us double the size of our cancer center.” “Your $100 donation today will give a cancer patient’s mother a home away from home tonight.”
Editor's Notes
- Everyone is talking about storytelling We learn about why stories are important But, what we don’t talk about as much is what goes on in our brains that makes stories work That’s what I want to talk about today
- Keep the reader’s attention Help you communicate better Enhance your credibility Linger longer Get passed along Raise more money!
- Not only that, but people believe information more readily if it’s delivered in story rather than through statistics.
- Most organizations I talk to struggle to find stories. In other words, there isn’t a culture of storytelling Let’s talk about some ways you can create pull.
- Website Reply devices Surveys Information packages Receipt packages Newsletters Facebook Blogs In person or over the phone brainstorm with staff a few times a year -the more you ask, the more you’ll change the culture of your organization
- Set up a time that’s convenient. If they ask for your questions in advance, try to dissuade them Consider sending them a sample of the kind of story you’ll be writing: Ask them for about 45 minutes of their time Let them know how the story will be used Let them know the process… how long before they see a draft, for example. Ask them how much time they have for you… and stick to it! Let them know that they have full approval of the final product Always let the person know you’re using a recorder Offer that if you ask anything that makes them uncomfortable, to just let you know
- Are the right person to do the interview? Find and read everything you can about the person before the interview, but don’t hesitate to ask them to tell the stories again ZAK If they say ‘well you can find all that out on the internet’ respond with how important it is for you to hear it in their own words Always write your questions down in advance Make sure you’re in a place where you won’t be disturbed FOCUS (close your email, mute your phone, close your door)
- Share part of yourself Remind them why your speaking to them… what it’s for and what role you play Be prepared to let the conversation go off on tangents… For complicated topics, … how would you describe that project/your work to your 80-year-old great aunt? What does that lab work mean to the average person? Ask a question, and then pause. Always ask open ended questions Don’t be afraid to confirm: “And how old is your granddaughter? What’s her name? When was that?” Don’t ignore the uncomfortable… but warm the interviewee up before you ask them If the person begins to show vulnerability, don’t back up… go forward Don’t let them get away with generalities… Example “That was a difficult time for me.” respond with “how difficult?” “why was it difficult?” Look for specifics, details and examples
- For most responses, you’ll have to probe a little deeper….
- once that last question has been answered: remind them again about the process, thank them profusely, hang up and make sure your recording worked … if it didn’t write down as much as you can remember right away before you do anything else
- If you can, start writing right away… while you’re emotional. You’ll write your best stuff this way. Don’t worry about typos or finding the perfect sentence to start off with… just write. If you write something that makes you want to hide or erase, keep going straight to that feeling. You’re on to something If you can’t write immediately, take the time to jot down a few thoughts: what part of the story stood out for you the most? Was there a particular quote that spoke to you? Write these down because they’ll be harder to remember later.
- There are good stories and bad stories. Kendall Haven has studied over 1000 research findings, articles and book He then did EEGs to get into the mind of a story receiver and found the 8 essential elements of effective story architecture
- Characters: the characters that populate the essential character positions in the story Traits: selected elements of character description used to control receiver attitude toward, and relationship to, story characters Goal: what a character needs/wants to do/get in a story Motives: the sets of drivers that make a goal important to a character. Goals and motives are the primary source of story suspense Conflicts and problems: the set of obstacles that stand between a character and an established goal and block that character from reaching that goal Risk and danger: the likelihood of failure and the consequences of failure created by problems and conflicts that a character must face. Risk and danger are the primary source of story excitement and excitement and suspense are the primary sources of story tension Struggles: the sequence of events a character undertakes to reach a goal highlighted by the climax scene (confrontation with the last and greatest obstacle) and the resolution scene Details: the character, sensory, scenic and event specific descriptors used to create, direct and control receivers story imagery
- This may sound oversimplied, and it is.
- Focus on inspiring the donor. How do you inspire them? Tell them about the future you believe in. Tell them about your hopes and dreams. Show them what you’ve been able to accomplish, and the amazing things you’ll be able to do in the next 25 or 50 years.
- Creating a culture of philanthropy is very much about moving from the head to the heart Once the cause sits in people’s hearts, they’re all in Best way to make this transition is through storytelling
- Think about how the story will be used and write accordingly Website Letter Newsletter article One good story can be used many ways and many times. Just as you’re getting sick of the story, donors are starting to hear it.
- Which appeal would you respond to….
- LEAH Anyone know what grade level it’s recommended we use in our fundraising writing? Grade 7 I often see staff at charities push back on this. They’ll claim that their donors are more sophisticated and better educated. But it’s not about education, it’s about comprehension No matter what you think of his politics, you have to admit that Obama is a powerful orator Sit and really listen the next time you hear him speak Guess what? He most commonly speaks at a grade eight level … the first president to do so consistently How do you find readability stats in MS word… google it
- LEAH 13 point type Serif vs sans serif Don’t use all caps, italics, script and ornate typefaces. Make line spacing larger than usual Use dark type on a white background. Write short paragraphs. bullets, numbered lists, sidebars, and pull-out quotes older eye develops a yellow cast, and it becomes harder to distinguish between certain colors. blue, purple and green may look alike when used together. Yellow, orange and red are much easier to tell apart. Never use glossy paper. Light reflects from the gloss and makes it very difficult for the reader to see the print.