For charities and nonprofits to be effective in sharing about their work and the lives impacted, there are some fundamentals that help shape a worthy and compelling story. Below are seven points that can help you craft your story narrative and building on your compelling mission efforts
1) Humanize the work…
We are all humans in this world having a human experience. We need to make the story relatable to other humans. This means showcasing the subject matter in a way that helps to frame the content around a human life story. Using data is fine but relating that data to a real-world scenario is invaluable and helps unpack the message around a human life changed, helped, or aided in some way. – Remember: it’s called the social sector for a reason!
2) Frame the message…
Nonprofits are often telling many stories. They have many facets and often deal with very complex and complicated issues such as ending homelessness, helping addicts, assisting veterans and the issues to the audience can seem overwhelming. Therefore, it is critical to frame the message in a way that the donor or stakeholder can grasp. For example, asking for a monetary donation to support a homeless person is fine but sharing with a funder that your nonprofit is working in a broad-based coalition with the mayor’s office toward reducing the number of homeless youth over the next two years in the region is more compelling.
3) Use the social ‘math’…
Like many nonprofits, the goal is to quickly share the data and the ‘deficits’ to share a story of what is happening or not happening with the target populations you are serving. For example, for Mothers Against Drunk Driving to say back in 2004 that there were nearly 30,000 fatalities in drunk driving-related crashes that year is an overwhelming number for the audience. This also fails to put this into a perspective the listener can fully appreciate. Another way to make this statement is what I term the ‘social math’ which termed differently, states that there are nearly 30,000 fatalities from drunk driving crashes annually which is equivalent to two full jet liners crashing each week in this nation. The reader can quickly begin to wrap their mind around the storyline and the consequence and start to see the immediate impact and severity of drunk driving behavior.
4) Shape the path…
Begin to help the reader or audience member with the appropriate amount of contextual data, content, or story setting to help them grasp the ‘feel’ or ‘atmosphere’ of the story. Have you ever heard a good storyteller use these tools effectively? If I told you that I work to serve children in an afterschool program, there are certain images that immediately come to mind. These might consist of children getting tutorial assistance or playing on a soccer field. That is fine in and of itself, however, to add some color or context to say that I help ‘magically’ transform children’s lives through art and music after school is a completely different and ‘warmer’ and inviting feeling than simply stating you work with kids in an afterschool program.
5) Reaching the ‘right’ audience…
Often, nonprofits are sharing their story in many venues with many varied and diverse audiences. This is fine if time and
resources were plentiful or infinite. They are not, so stay confined to those audiences who can best relate to or meet your purpose. These can be found through research, doing your proverbial homework, and targeting those locales where your ‘marketplace’ can be found. Most often, creating your own point- of-entry opportunities can help you most. These can be lectures, summits, and conferences that your organization hosts and then you control the invite list and can specifically seek out your desired audience. While this blog is not about where to place ads or “market” your organization’s upcoming event, it is about knowing how and where to find your right-fit audience who can hear the content but also be likely to be moved to action such as donating their time or resources and connecting to your mission- space.
6) Keep your story telling points concise…
Unlike me, many people’s eyes will rapidly glaze over if your message (story) is long and winding on a trail of starts and stops or numerous detours. The goal is to keep your audience enthralled enough to the content and the storyline and syntax concise enough to not lose them. If they are lost, hopefully it is in the creative picture you have painted in their minds and not in their ability to follow your words. Shorter sentences and points in a story can make for a much fuller story.
7) Make your story relevant and memorable…
Connecting an audience to your mission-space is critical. If they walk away from an event or gathering and do not know your mission or ‘purpose’ you have failed to complete a story they will remember. Creating lingering stories that are humanized, contextualized, and impactful is indeed the goal here. Anything more is what my college professors might call superfluous. Creating an lasting picture and image of your organization, its influencers, good works, and populations served is not only the goal but your most compelling storytelling asset. When
leveraging these tips here, hopefully, your nonprofit can begin to frame message that resonates and adheres to the listener’s mind. Using the right ‘social math’ can help aid in this process and help deliver a powerful punch to zing the reader and audience to action and to social change.
Hopefully, these tips can help bolster and supplement your current messaging and storytelling to help make a narrative your organization can use to connect and lead people to act upon.
