StorytellingNonprofit

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Nonprofit Storytelling eBooknce upon a time there was a development officer. She was a hard-working employee with much to offer. She toiled each day–sometimes working into the night. To help those in need was her greatest delight. She wanted to achieve the mission of her charity, but

donations came in with too much irregularity. She sent out letters, emails, and texts. She asked online, and on video, but was equally vexed. For her requests went unanswered by townsfolk and royals, and she had very little to show for all of her toils.

So she asked for advice from a nonprofit advisor, and the advisor enlightened her and made her much wiser. They looked at her asks with a big red pen, identified issues and told her to try again.

They said, “Tell your readers a story, don’t just ask for gold. Good donors need reasons to do as they’re told. Make them the solution to your charity troubles and see how your gift number doubles and doubles!”

Armed with writing skills to give readers the feels, the development officer rewrote her appeals. She told a tear-jerker and asked for a gift after to ensure a happy ending with much joy and laughter.

Her readers responded with a resounding “Yay!” and many donations came the major gift officer’s way. More people were helped, and the charity basked in the glory of a development officer who wrote a great story.

All rhyming aside, the ability to tell stories can make all the difference for your organization and those you serve. Successful fundraising relies heavily on your ability to convince your audience to donate to solve a problem. One of the most effective ways of showing the need for gifts and sharing positive outcomes of receiving support is through well-told stories.

This eBook will teach you why storytelling is so important for nonprofits, how to tell great stories visually and with words, as well as offer practical advice and resources to get you thinking about what stories your organization needs to tell.

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Table of ContentsStart With a Good Story

Visual Storytelling with Images and Videos

Storytelling via Direct Mail Appeals

Storytelling via Email

Storytelling on Social Media

Storytelling on Nonprofit Websites and Online Donation Forms

Conclusion

Nonprofit Story-Building Worksheet

Step-by-Step Guide to Choosing the Best Images for Your Story

Three Types of Videos You Should be Using

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Start with a good story. Then tell it well.

torytelling is hard work, but it’s crucially important to our everyday lives. This is especially true for nonprofits who use storytelling to help raise critical funds for your cause. A powerful story is one of the most powerful tools in a fundraiser’s arsenal.

If you’re new to writing fundraising appeals, don’t worry. In this section we’ll share our tips on how to write a compelling story that inspires your donors to give.

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The 4 steps to writing a compelling storyThe best stories can be written in four steps.

Introduce the character.

Tell readers about the problem impacting the character. When did the problem start? How is it affecting them? What will happen if the problem isn’t addressed?

Describe the action needed to address the problem. Nonprofit storytelling would treat this third step as the opportune time to write a call to action.

Describe the positive outcome that occurred or is expected.

I’m Steve. My family’s home burned down last month. If we can’t find an a�ordable place to stay, I’m worried my kids will start to fall behind in school because of the stress of staying in a shelter. Your donation can help us put down a deposit on a new apartment so our family can start rebuilding a normal life.

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Pick the perspective that best appeals to your audience

Your appeals shouldn’t all use the same perspective This gets boring. Instead, try different perspectives. For instance, instead of an animal shelter’s POV, make a dog the narrator. This approach lets you explore different voices and determine which convert readers to donors best. First-person narration makes the problem real and relatable to readers, too. Want more advice for writing a great story? Check out the Nonprofit Story-Building Worksheet at the end of this eBook.

Write, Workshop, Revise and Repeat

Some advice I’ve taken to heart is, “you can’t write in a vacuum.” Writers need the input of others to tell stories that are universally understood by readers. Ask your coworkers to identify parts of your story that don’t make sense, seem incomplete, or leave them wanting more. Having nonwriters read your work is important; their opinion is most like your audience’s. Then, ask a writer for feedback. Getting feedback from a writer is important for identifying misspellings, grammar issues, or unclear copy. Ask this person to look for and remove industry-specific jargon, too. Once you’ve collected feedback, make a final round of revisions. Then, ask someone with design experience to help you with the story’s layout.

Are you your own editor?

If no one can help you with revisions, use these tips to make self-editing easier.

Catch typos by reading your letter from the bottom up. This way, you’re reading each word without context. Reading from top to bottom is ineffective for catching typos because our minds gloss over typos when they anticipate the next word in a sentence.

Read the story aloud slowly. This identifies sentences that are confusing or hard to read. It may also help you notice when incorrect words are used. Repeat this process. If you’ve stumbled over a sentence more than once, rewrite that sentence. A bonus effect of this strategy is you’ll know right away if the story is too dry or lacks personality.

Come back to your copy with a fresh perspective. After you’ve finished writing, put the story away and come back to it when you’re no longer in the writer mindset. When the copy isn’t so fresh in your mind you can be more critical of your own work and you’ll recognize any gaps or shortcomings more easily.

WriteWorkshopReviseRepeat

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Tips for Visual Storytelling with Images and Videos

ou may be surprised to learn that telling stories with images predates storytelling using words. Early cave paintings depicted animal hunts and other stories from early civilizations. As written languages developed, stories could be told in words without a visual element,

yet visual storytelling still endures today. This is because our brains process visual information much easier than other types of data.

Industry giant 3M even states, “Visuals are processed 60,000 times faster than text by the human brain and 90% of information transmitted to the brain is visual.” Not only are we great at processing visual cues, our brains are geared to prioritize visual information. How can you use visual storytelling to sell your mission and get your audience to react? You can use it in conjunction with your text-based story or choose images and videos that can stand alone.

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How to: Photo Storytelling

Images should be used to make your message clearer rather than cloudier. If you’re using photos to complement a written story, make sure they match the subject matter.

Don’t make things look better or worse for the sake of the story. Doctoring images (aside from minor color corrections) comes off as disingenuous and inauthentic.

Make sure your images look consistent throughout the story. If most of your images are in color, don’t add a random black and white image. This creates a disconnect from the rest of your story.

Gently lead readers to valuable information through subtle use of images. If you’re using pictures of people, the direction they’re looking or the way their bodies are turned can lead readers to look in those directions. Be strategic with the placement of these images to guide your readers to the most important messages you’re conveying with your story.

For more info on choosing great photos for your visual storytelling, be sure to read the step-by-step guide to choosing the best images for your story at the end of this eBook.

Your donation provides bottle feeding for our foster pups like Daisy!

Thanks for helping Brian straighten his smile.

Beach cleanup efforts were successful!

Your gifts provided meals and household items for over 500

seniors in our community!

Do This Not This

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How to: Video Storytelling

Your videos should truthfully talk about the problem you’re addressing, show your solution in action, and show how donations helped. Use the following tips to ensure your videos are effective.

Prep before shooting. Plan the shoot, storyboard ideas, and seek feedback.

Arrange shoot days for those on camera or behind it. Work with your crew to tell the story you intended. Make sure everyone’s on the same page and conveying a consistent message.

Consider the equipment you’ll use.

a. If shooting on a smartphone or handheld camcorder, you’re likely going to struggle to get clear audio. Your picture, while impressive for a handheld, won’t hold up to a pro camera.

b. A professional camera is great for high-definition, cinematic shooting. But, a professional camera often isn’t accessible and has a bigger learning curve.

If getting quality audio is a challenge, consider shooting video of action scenes where dialogue isn’t important. Then, a narrator can tell the story alongside the scenes you shot.

For more info on creating video stories, check out our webinar with Rich Tolsma. We’ve also created a handy guide, the “3 Types of Videos” resource, at the end of this eBook.

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Storytelling via Direct Mail Appeals

irect mail is a tried and true method of sending fundraising appeals. Nonprofits have been sending donation requests via mail for about as long as nonprofits have been in existence and it’s still a vital part of most nonprofits’ fundraising strategies today. But despite

nonprofits having decades of experience writing direct mail appeals, many nonprofits fall victim to myths about direct mail that hold their storytelling back and limit their appeals’ profitability. This section will dispel common myths surrounding writing effective direct mail appeals and give you actionable tips to tell your best direct mail story.

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Myth #1: Your Appeal Has To Be Short

Newer appeal writers are surprised to learn keeping your story short isn’t always the best approach, but appeals come in many lengths. One surprising find is 4-page appeal letters can outperform shorter ones. Tom Ahern, a renowned nonprofit fundraising consultant, provides reasoning for why a longer letter is sometimes better.

The writer has given themselves plenty of space to effectively write the story.

Longer letters intentionally composed of shorter sentences and pictures are written for skimming and donors can read through them quickly.

Because so much effort is put into writing the story, these letters are more entertaining, engaging, and are built to hook your donors and inspire them to give.

Regardless of length, your in-house appeal writer should make appeals story-driven and entertaining.

Myth #2: You Should Focus On Your Nonprofit In Your Appeal Letter

It sounds reasonable to explain what your nonprofit intends to do with donations in order to save the day. From a transparency standpoint it’s an imperative. But there’s a way to write about your intentions without making your organization the focus. Your focus should be the problem you’re addressing. Most of your letter should revolve around the story you’re telling. The rest should be about how your readers can help by donating to solve the problem. Only a couple sentences need to be devoted to your organization. It’s also important to note that “You” language works better than “Us” and “We” language because you’re letting the donor take charge and be the solution.

Myth #3: Direct Mail Appeals Should Be Formal

If your nonprofit’s style and branding are friendly and fun, why aren’t your appeals? Choose a voice and tone that resonate with your audience. You can be more formal if your audience wants that, but your audience is most likely looking for a light-hearted appeal that tugs at their heartstrings. Aim for a 6th to 8th grade reading level. To paraphrase Guide Star, sixth-grade level copy isn’t just for sixth graders. It’s easier for everyone to read, no matter how well educated.

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Myth #4: An Executive Should Always Write Your Appeal

Your donors don’t care if an appeal was written by your CEO (a thank-you is a different story). They just want a good story that makes the problem clear and compels them to act. Calling this a myth doesn’t mean executives should never write appeals. If they’ve been personally affected they may have a powerful story to tell. But without a good personal story, the name on the appeal won’t matter to donors. Try a firsthand account from someone impacted by the work you do. Another strategy is to write from the service provider’s perspective. Your employees see the impact of donations daily. They likely have countless stories to tell.

Myth #5: Talking about everyone you serve is better than focusing on one subject

You’d think talking about helping many people rather than one person would make a stronger case, right? It turns out the opposite is true. Compassion fatigue is real. The larger the problem appears the more discouraged donors become. If the problem seems insurmountable, people tend to give up rather than step up.

Narrow your focus!

Your organization can focus on the big picture and tackle the overall problem—that is your mission after all! Your appeal’s focus should be one problem. It sounds way easier to help one adoptable animal. When you talk about helping hundreds of animals, donors start to doubt they can make a difference. Don’t let the scope of the problem scare donors away. Show them they can make a difference by purchasing a hot meal at $1.25 rather than telling them 3,762 meals are needed to feed people in your community.

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Tips for great direct mail storytellingNow that you know the myths, here are tips to enhance your direct mail storytelling!

Tell an emotional story

Your data may point to a financial need, but these aren’t compelling stories that inspire donors to give. Donors care more about those you serve. Instead of data, focus on the problem and how your readers can help. Write the story in a way that appeals to the softer sides of donors. Yes, financial transparency is important. But an itemized list of needed items isn’t as impactful as talking about someone in need. Data should add flavor to your story rather than be the focus.

You don’t always have to tell the whole story at once

Before novels were printed in their entirety, stories were released in parts called serials. Serials are the birthplace of the cliffhanger. Its purpose? Leave readers in suspense until the next issue. Your appeal can have a cliffhanger, too. It’s a great way to tell a story that’s still in progress. Plus, it lets the reader influence the outcome (like a choose your own adventure tale for donations!). Your first appeal asks readers to help. Your follow-up should be in response to their choice. Did they give or not? If yes, send a thank-you and share the happy ending. Let them know it was their help that made this possible. If they didn’t give, let them know there’s still time and ask again. Or, share the happy ending others made possible and let readers know more help is needed.

Show and tell

Just because you’re writing a letter doesn’t mean you should shy away from using visuals. Enhance the story by showing donors the individual you’re helping. If you go the route of breaking up your appeal into two letters, the first should show the struggle of the subject. The follow-up letter can show the solution in progress or share a happy ending with happy pictures. Don’t have photos of your subject? Take the best quality photos you can. Even if it may be tempting, try to avoid stock photos. They’re usually easy to identify and lack the credibility of a photo your organization has taken.

Direct mail appeal writing in six steps

Identify the most powerful story in your arsenal.

Interview the subject or service provider (if possible) and write from their perspective.

Segment your mailing list by donor type and add content differentiating your appeals. For instance, when sending appeals to non-donors, send the story, but include info about what your donors have accomplished previously. For current donors, you may choose to tell a story from start to finish and focus on the impact of donors. This works if a solution was found. For unresolved stories, send a follow-up when the story ends.

For new donors, break the story into two parts. The first appeal introduces the problem the subject faces. The last paragraph of that letter encourages the reader to help. Their action or inaction influences the outcome. The second letter is the outcome. Talk about how donors helped the subject. Toward the end of the letter, encourage your donors to get more involved. Invite them to volunteer, sign up for your newsletter, or become a recurring donor. If they didn’t give, let them know the outcome anyway and ask them to help others get a similar outcome.

Incorporate images to help set the story’s tone and connect with readers.

Include a P.S. at the end of your letters. This is one of the first elements that’ll be read. Tell your donors what you want them to do and why.

If you use these steps, you’ll set yourself up for greater success. Your letter writing will be focused on the story you’re telling and using donor-centric language. You’re not trying to inspire readers to help you reach your fiscal goals. Your appeal is the vessel through which readers become a hero.

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Storytelling via Emailgiv and Campaign Monitor conducted a study on donor communication preferences. We interviewed 500 nonprofits and 1,000 donors to determine how donors want to hear from and engage with nonprofits. Email was the preferred method donors wanted to use. If you haven’t sent appeals via email, you’re likely leaving money on the table. However,

just requesting donations via email isn’t enough. Your case is largely dependent on telling a great story via email. This section explores tips for writing stories for email that adhere to email best practices.

On the next pages, you’ll see a great example of storytelling in an appeal letter from Mercy Ships!

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The dos and don’ts of effective email appeals

Do keep it briefUnlike direct mail appeals, the maximum recommended email length is only two hundred words.

Don’t neglect the storyIf you’re new to writing email appeals, write a digest version of the story with a link inviting readers to read more. Brother Wolf Animal Rescue does a great job writing stories on their blog then sending a teaser email. That’s how I first learned about Hope the Puppy and the campaign they ran to fund her medical care (which you can read about here).

Do write an effective subject lineOne advantage email has over direct mail is a subject line, which acts as a teaser. They’re expected to be descriptive and include personalization but also be short enough that they can be read on cell phones. Try to keep your subject line to around 6-10 words. Here’s an example of a good subject line: “Shay, can you help Sparkles find her fur-ever home?” The subject line refers to the reader by name, makes it clear what the problem is, and suggests the reader can do something to help Sparkles get out of the shelter – in only nine words! Phrases like “Act Now! [Organization Name] Needs You!” seem pushy without describing the problem. The sense of urgency is there, but nothing else is.

Don’t waste space introducing your organization Chances are, unless you bought your email list (which is kind of a big no-no), your email recipients know the email is from you. Instead go right into the story.

Do include your logo and branding Use an email header that complements the story and contains your logo. If the email’s coming from a specific person, make sure their email signature contains your nonprofit name. When making your ask, include the name of your nonprofit to help readers understand where funds are being directed. For example, “Make a gift today to help [Animal Shelter Name] rescue Sparkles and find her a home.” This ask references the shelter by name, connects to the story, and makes it clear why the gift is needed.

Do make the ask easy to spot Emails are brief and email previews reveal even less. In a long email that requires readers to scroll down, you want the ask to be highly visible on the page before they’ve started scrolling. Ideally, the higher up the ask the more visible it is. You can bold the ask or put it in the email header.

Do link to the longer version of your story If you can’t tell the story in two hundred words or less, consider linking to a blog post. Want to go the extra mile? Record a video version then embed a screen shot from the video into an email with a link to the video on YouTube or your website. If you’re creating a new campaign, create a unique landing page for it where you can tell the story at length, host a campaign-specific donation form, and support your story with videos and pictures.

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Do include images in your email appeals One of the nice things about email is the ability to use a header image. In fact, newsletters sent via email often include multiple images to support their storytelling. But don’t overuse images. Nothing’s worse than an email with image files that take forever to load. Many recipients won’t take time to download them. Make sure your images are high quality but small enough that they quickly load when opened. Limit your use of images to only what’s necessary to tell the story and add branding.

Don’t send attachmentsMany readers are wary of attachments because they may contain viruses. If you send an attachment you risk it going unclicked and your email being deleted unread.

Email storytelling in three easy steps

Introduce the subject and their problem. In the example given in this section, it’s an adoptable pet named Sparkles who needs a home. Describe your subject and the problem they face.

Explain to the reader how they can help. This is a great place to make the first ask. Say something like, “Sparkles needs a home! To foster Sparkles until she can find a forever home, fill out our foster application form. Can’t foster her? Consider donating to cover her adoption fee!”

Briefly introduce your organization and share your approach to resolving the problem. You can say something like, “Donate to [Shelter Name] to raise Sparkles’ adoption fee and we’ll be able to place her with a family for free!”

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City Team tells a brief story through the words of one of their clients17

Storytelling on Social Media

ocial media has woven itself into the very fabric of modern culture. In our study with Campaign Monitor, Facebook was the second most popular method donors reported for how they want to engage with nonprofits. If you aren’t doing so already, tell your stories

and make asks on your social media accounts. Here are our tips to become a successful social media storyteller.

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Get your story seen on social

Storytelling on social doesn’t mean typing out an appeal in one long Facebook post. In fact, HootSuite, a leader in social media management, studied Facebook posts and determined the ideal length of posts is 80 characters or less. How do you tell a compelling story without writing it out? Use visual storytelling!

Video reigns as the leading type of post on social. According to Social Media Today, “Video posts also generate an average of 59% more engagement than other post types.” This means users are more likely to watch, like, and comment on a video than they are text or still images. Not all videos are created equal. For top engagement, limit your videos to between 15 and 90 seconds in length. “After 90 seconds, your engagement levels take a sharp drop,” according to Joe Forte, author of “Beating the Algorithm: 11 Essential Facebook Video Secrets.” Photos are the second most consumed type of media. Your nonprofit can tell its stories best by posting both videos and photos in order to tell stories and ask for support.

To help ensure your post is seen, ask your followers to like, comment, and share your content. Boost posts to increase your reach.

How to tell your story most effectively

With the brevity of social posts, it’s often easiest to tell the story over multiple posts.

Story update frequency

Updating your audience daily is likely too frequent and can lead to donor fatigue. Fatigued donors won’t be inclined to engage with your posts. Stick to weekly or bi-weekly updates with regular content filling the days between. When the situation is resolved, create a final video thank-you post showing the impact of contributions. If your nonprofit doesn’t use video (you really should), a photo post showing impact is also acceptable.

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Tips for videos on social mediaYour videos don’t have to be blockbusters. Focus on visually identifying the problem, providing a solution, and asking the hero to make your proposed solution possible.

One element of the video people tend to forget about is the call to action. Introducing the problem and proposing a solution without clear instructions to the viewer on how they can help isn’t effective. Instead, visually represent your call to action in the video. Use video editing software like Apple’s iMovie app for iPhone or After Effects/Adobe Premiere for video editing on your computer to create a slide toward the end of your movie with instructions spelled out for viewers.

Your CTA can ask donors to click a link, text your organization’s keyword to make a text fundraising gift, or another action to solve the problem. Verbally provide the directions in the video while the CTA is displayed for those who are more receptive to verbal instructions.

You can shoot your videos via smart phone so long as you’re storytelling in the most effective format. For best results with cell phone video shoots, hold your phone horizontally so your camera captures the entire scene, including background. Filming vertically decreases the visible screen.

Tips for images on social media

Visual storytelling with impact images showing problems and the results of donations can be very effective when posted to your social accounts. To make images work for you, pick a story to tell and then capture the images to tell it. However, you can’t rely on just the image to tell your story. Use software like Photoshop or Canva to add text so you can briefly introduce the problem, propose a solution, and provide the call to action. Be careful not to overload your images with text. Keep it brief. If you don’t want to edit your images, tell the story in the image description or in a post about the image.

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Storytelling on Nonprofit Websites and Online Donation Forms

side from social, your website is one of the first places people visit to learn about your organization. Your website must illustrate the work you do and how donations make a difference for those you serve. Storytelling on your website does more than net you online

donations. Did you know compelling stories can boost your SEO (search engine optimization) rankings? A high ranking for certain keywords makes your webpage appear higher in search results.

SEO experts advise building pillar pages around your most important keywords first then adding support pieces that reinforce your pillars. Your stories are great supports. Writing good stories trumps plugging in keywords blindly. To paraphrase Marieke van de Rakt, the CEO of Yoast, storytelling is good for SEO because it makes your content easy to read. Creating content people like is what Google wants and they reward that content for being appealing.

Yoast strives to make SEO accessible for everyone. Check out their guide to content SEO for tips on using stories to increase your visibility.

Now here’s how it’s done!

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Feature your best stories on your home page

According to Hubspot, a software developer for inbound marketing and sales, 55% of visitors leave a website within fifteen seconds. While there’s no guarantee the remaining 45% will stick around longer, those that do are compelled to do so by your content. To share a story on your homepage, tell the story in as few words as possible and link to the full story. This is best accomplished with visual storytelling. For example, Spectrum360 embeds their annual celebration video directly on their homepage.

Consider branding your home page around a compelling story that supports your mission. Consistency with your branding and imagery shows readers what you’re trying to accomplish and how. Consider how many animal shelters brand their webpages with cats and dogs. Most of them do because that’s what they’re passionate about. Ghetto Rescue Foundation has an image of a dog on just about every page. Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Region features adoptable cats and dogs throughout their site, too.

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Your blog is storytelling central

Your blog is where you tell the long version of stories. Blogs are a great place to share info, plus you can incorporate images and videos to reinforce your story. Your goal should be to convert visitors to donors. A tactic that compels visitors to act is writing your story in multiple posts. One post introduces the person who needs help and describes the problem. The end of this post should establish a goal. Then, include a call to action. As updates become available, post them until the positive outcome is achieved. Then, share that positive outcome in a final post. Thank those who made the difference. Then, instead of asking for more donations, encourage them to stay involved.

Here are some nonprofits with great blog content you can emulate:Hope Reins - https://hopereins.org/ranch/blog Leader Dogs for the Blind - https://www.leaderdog.org/blog

Reinforce the story on your donation form

Give visitors a consistent experience from discovering your story to supporting your story. Add imagery or briefly tell your story on the landing page of your donation form to give visitors that consistency and cut down on confusion. Someone wanting to donate in support of one cause shouldn’t find themselves on a donation form for another story. Instead, create unique forms that reflect the stories you’re telling.

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Presented by

Conclusiononprofit storytelling is both an art and a science. You need to be creative to craft a great story, but also must convey it well to get it noticed. By adhering to best practices when it comes to storytelling across different media, you’ll create emotional connections with

your audience and convince them to make a difference by supporting the work you do.

The best stories are told authentically. If you approach telling your story in an honest, unedited way you’re off to a great start. Want more storytelling advice? Check out the Qgiv blog!

Don’t forget the three additional resources included with this eBook! They’re chock full of even more great info on storytelling!

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Nonprofit Story-Building Worksheet

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What do you want to accomplish by telling this story?

Think about what you want your readers to do after they read this story. Do you want them to donate? Do you want them to volunteer? Do you want them to attend an event? Do you want them to feel something specific? Write your story with your answer in mind.

Who’s the main character in your story? Are there other characters?

Donors like to know their gift will make an impact on real people, so telling stories about real people is very compelling! You may want to consider changing names to protect privacy or telling a story that represents clients without naming them (especially if you work with at-risk communities).

What prompted your main character to seek services from your nonprofit?

People who seek services from your nonprofit come to you for a myriad of reasons. What circumstances sparked your main character’s interactions with your nonprofit? What needs did they have? How were they connected with your nonprofit? What were they looking to solve by seeking you out?

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What happened immediately after your main character met you?

Donors want to know that their money is doing real work for real people. Here, show donors how their gifts can make an impact by showing them how a real person’s life changed because of the programs your donors support. In this section, try to talk more about the services rendered, not about your org itself.

How was your main character’s life changed by the services they used?

Running programs is valuable. But donors don’t care about the particulars of each program as much as they care about the effects those programs have on real individuals. Instead of telling your donors about the services you offer, show them the real-life impact they can make by funding those programs.

What do you want them to do after reading your story?

You’ve showed your donors a real person who’s experienced positive changes in their life because of your donors’ generosity. Now that your donors can visualize the impact they can make with a gift, what do you want them to do? Ask them explicitly to donate, volunteer, etc. Then tell them how to do it.

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What do you want to accomplish by telling this story?

Think about what you want your readers to do after they read this story. Do you want them to donate? Do you want them to volunteer? Do you want them to attend an event? Do you want them to feel something specific? Write your story with your answer in mind.

Who’s the main character in your story? Are there other characters?

Donors like to know their gift will make an impact on real people, so telling stories about real people is very compelling! You may want to consider changing names to protect privacy or telling a story that represents clients without naming them (especially if you work with at-risk communities).

What prompted your main character to seek services from your nonprofit?

People who seek services from your nonprofit come to you for a myriad of reasons. What circumstances sparked your main character’s interactions with your nonprofit? What needs did they have? How were they connected with your nonprofit? What were they looking to solve by seeking you out?

We want donors to give to our upcoming campaign to raise money for our annual fund.

The money we raise in this fund goes directly to offering clinical care to the under-insured in our area. We rely on donations to run the clinic and offer that care to the people in the community.

Our main character is Carrie, a local single mother who has severe asthma. Carrie works, but she can’t afford health insurance. Her asthma makes it hard for her to breathe, and she’s been relying on a family member’s spare inhalers to treat asthma attacks. Not being able to breathe properly is making it hard for her to work.

Secondary characters who might appear are Carrie’s daughter and her grandmother.

When Carrie learned about our clinic, she came in looking for help controlling her asthma. She knew she couldn’t afford to go to the emergency room or urgent care, but she had heard she could count on us to diagnose her asthma and help her get the prescriptions she needed to manage it.

Here’s an example of how to use this storytelling worksheet!

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What happened immediately after your main character met you?

Donors want to know that their money is doing real work for real people. Here, show donors how their gifts can make an impact by showing them how a real person’s life changed because of the programs your donors support. In this section, try to talk more about the services rendered, not about your org itself.

How was your main character’s life changed by the services they used?

Running programs is valuable. But donors don’t care about the particulars of each program as much as they care about the effects those programs have on real individuals. Instead of telling your donors about the services you offer, show them the real-life impact they can make by funding those programs.

What do you want them to do after reading your story?

You’ve showed your donors a real person who’s experienced positive changes in their life because of your donors’ generosity. Now that your donors can visualize the impact they can make with a gift, what do you want them to do? Ask them explicitly to donate, volunteer, etc. Then tell them how to do it.

When Carrie walked into the clinic, she sat down with one of our doctors and reviewed her history with asthma. Together, they came up with a plan to manage her asthma, and she left the clinic with medicine that could ease her symptoms and a rescue inhaler that would help her in the event of an asthma attack.

Weeks later, Carrie’s asthma is more under control. She’s not missing work anymore, and she’s even able to run around and play with her daughter without stopping to catch her breath.

She has follow-up appointments scheduled with the doctors to make sure her symptoms remain under control, and her anxiety around her work, finances, and health is no longer a burden.

We want donors to fund the same kind of clinical services that helped Carrie with her asthma. Donors’ dollars make a difference for hundreds of people like Carrie every week, and we want them to give so people can continue to access our services.

At the end of the story, we’ll ask donors for a $40 gift, which will pay for health screenings and help with prescription costs for two people.

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The Step-by-Step Guide to Choosing the Best Images for Your Story

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Decide what story you’re telling

You’ll want to choose a photo that complements the story you’re going to tell. If you’re telling a story about a young boy, don’t use a picture of someone’s nana!

Choose a picture of one person (or a small group)

When choosing a photo, remember that you’re helping donors visualize how their gifts make a real impact on someone’s life. It’s easier to connect to one person or a small group of people than it is to connect with large groups! This can also include animals.

Find a photo where your subject is making eye contact

Eye contact is a form of non-verbal communication, and making eye contact with individuals can actually influence our behavior! Use a photo of someone (or an animal) making eye contact with the camera to connect donors to the subject on a deep emotional level.

Choose a photo where the subject looks happy

When you’re working to solve the world’s problems, it’s common to want to appeal to donors by showing them sad pictures of people, neglected animals, or other negatively-toned pictures. Remarkably, donors tend to be more inspired by more positive photos!

Consider before and after photos

It won’t work for everyone, but before and after photos can be a powerful way to show donors their impact! Remember, though, that positive feelings are more likely to inspire donors to give. If you decide to use before and after photos, make sure the emphasis is on the after.

Make it count

Your images are going to play a huge role in inspiring your donors to give. Make sure your images are high-quality enough to really make an impression on your donors! Your photos don’t necessarily need to be studio-quality (although there’s nothing wrong with getting some professional photos taken). Just make sure your photos are clear, not too light or dark, and are the appropriate size for your media.

Image Evaluation Checklist

☐ This photo is a good fit for the story we’re trying to tell ☐ This photo highlights one individual OR a small group of people ☐ The subject(s) of the photo is making eye contact with the viewer ☐ The overall tone of the photo evokes positive feelings, not feelings of sadness, anger, or helplessness ☐ The photo translates well to each channel we’re using (direct mail, email, social media, etc.) ☐ The photo is easy to look at, isn’t too light or too dark, isn’t blurry, and is scaled appropriately

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Three Types of Videos You Should be Using

(and When to Use Them)

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Video is one of the most powerful fundraising tools a nonprofit has at its disposal. As a matter of fact, a whopping 57% of people who watch a nonprofit video go on to make a donation!

But there’s more to video than highly polished, professionally produced videos designed to tug on heartstrings and inspire donations. Today, more and more nonprofits are turning to video to communicate, raise awareness, and catch the attention of their audiences on social media and beyond.

Here are three types of videos you should consider using, when you should use them, and some things to consider as you plan your videos.

Basic Video Best PracticesBefore you start filming, keep these best practices in mind. They’ll help you create high-quality videos that will appeal to your audience.

Make it visually interesting! If someone is scrolling through their news feed, you only have a split second to catch their attention and inspire them to watch. Visual interest and a strong opener will perform better than slower ones.

Use close captioning! Many videos are watched on social media, and sound doesn’t automatically play in peoples’ feeds. Using close captioning ensures everyone will understand the point of your video even if they aren’t using sound. It also ensures that your video is more widely accessible.

Have a script! The length and complexity of your script will vary based on the type of video you’re creating and its purpose. But having at minimum a basic grasp on what you’re talking about, who you’re talking to, and what you want your audience to do at the end of the video is important. It will help your video seem more cohesive, prevent stuttering or rambling, and give donors a sense of what to do after watching.

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Style When to use it Things to consider

Professionally produced videos don’t come cheap, but they’re a valuable investment. Think carefully about the message you want to convey! Unless you’re working with a very large budget, you probably don’t want to pay to produce a professional video for one-off campaigns or events. Instead, use your video to showcase your overall mission and the people you serve, recurring campaigns, or stories you can share in multiple places for months (or even years) to come.

• As a general awareness-raising asset

• In major campaigns• On thank-you pages and in

receipts• In social media posts• In commercials• In onboarding communications

to new donors• In online ads• At events

Professionally Shot Videos

In the days of smartphones and easily accessible video-editing programs, creating a high-quality video in-house is easier than ever. Producing your own video, while somewhat time-consuming, is notably less expensive than having one made. That means you can be a little more specific in your content! Instead of trying to make videos that will be used in many places over a long period of time, feel free to make videos for unique campaigns, upcoming events, and other goings-on that you want to highlight.

• For individual programs or campaigns

• As updates on important milestones or achievements

• To showcase volunteers and stories

• In appeals and event promotions

• On thank-you pages and in receipts

• At events

In-House Videos

We all love a good, high-quality, polished video. They look so professional! But there is a time and a place for unedited “raw” videos that are filmed on your smartphone! These impromptu videos add a particularly human touch to your communications! Prepare for your video by having a basic understanding of what you’re communicating to your audience and what you want them to do (this helps prevent “ahs” and “ums” and rambling), but don’t worry about writing a full script. Let your humanity shine through—your supporters will love you for it!

• In event sneak peeks• In short updates about

campaigns or events• In behind-the-scenes glimpses

into nonprofit programs or processes

• In personalized thank-you videos sent to donors

• As updates during regional or national giving days (think #GivingTuesday and Colorado Gives)

• As Facebook or Instagram stories

In-House Videos

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