There are several benefits to developing your organisation’s narrative abilities.
Specifically, it achieves;
- Improving Your Brand’s Image
- Moving other people to action
- Getting people interested
- Building a team to back your endeavors
- Identifying problems and offering solutions
- Emails, articles, nonprofit blogs, advertisements, and more can all benefit from a compelling and original nonprofit story
- Connecting with your target market through the use of touching content that they can identify with
- Inspiring community people to give their time and money
Structures of Narration
The hardest part of curating your own story is giving it a coherent structure and flow that the audience can follow. Do not just rely on words; feel free to throw in pictures and other visual aids as well. Use everything at your disposal to tell a compelling tale about your nonprofit. To help you along your way, here are four case studies of effective nonprofit storytelling:
The Origin Story
This is the origin story because it is the story you, the founder, have to tell. Personal experiences might be cited as motivation for starting a charity. The personal and emotional nature of these narratives is what gives them such power.
The Donor Biography
Although this is a common method of telling nonprofit stories, it is also among the most effective. Many people may relate to being able to quantify their influence with the help of donations because they, too, want to know how their efforts are helping others in need.
The Tale of a Helping Hand
Volunteers are vital to the charity sector because they dedicate the time and energy required to make a difference. Volunteer experiences can highlight a person’s consistent participation in organizational activities and their relationships with clients. Since they are the ones performing the labor, volunteers have a lot to say about what happens behind the scenes.
The True Account of Influence
In this type of narrative, you can highlight a specific individual whose life has been impacted by your nonprofit and illustrate how your organization has made a difference in that person’s journey. Personal experience stories are essential to capturing the attention of the audience and drawing them into the plot. This narrative style centers on the recipient and the impact made on their life.
Habitat for Humanity features families like Dina and her girls, for whom they are building a house, in this manner to raise awareness and funds. Using a family with two young children helps the reader visualize the tangible results of their donations and efforts.
Inspire your team to actively seek out stories.
You should take a welcoming approach when telling the tale of your charitable organization. Sometimes the most compelling tales are the ones we tell ourselves. Volunteers, donors, and those you have benefited should all feel comfortable speaking openly about their experiences with your organization. The most interesting stories can be found in the unlikeliest of locations.
You may ask all of the participants and beneficiaries to share their stories by sending out an email.
Use characters to narrate your story.
Whether it is a novel, a film, or the news, every tale has a protagonist who drives the plot and is the main point of view throughout the story. Audiences would rather connect with a single protagonist than a vast ensemble. If your main character is likable and sympathetic, your readers may become invested in his or her happiness and success.
This is an important part of any story. The primary protagonist should be someone the reader can relate to on some level in order for the story to strike a chord with them.
Don’t ever make stuff up!
Stories told for charitable purposes should never be outright fabricated. It is unacceptable to lie or make up stories. Not only are there already so many incredible true tales accessible, but the truth will be uncovered eventually anyway. Highlight your company by creating stories that are morally upstanding. If you can tell a story, someone will listen.
Include a beginning, middle, and end.
To ensure that your audience understands your story, keep it simple. It may seem obvious, but not everyone has a knack for story telling. (trust me, many of us writers have gone through extensive schooling to learn how to do this correctly). There must be a beginning, middle, and end to any good story.
Good luck and enjoy your non-profit story telling!
