STORY TELLING

101

AUGUST 14, 2020

 01 Start with your WHY

AGENDA 02 Compel People to ACT

03 Make the Right ASK

04 Create Consistent Campaigns

2 Story Telling 101

 HOW WE COMMUNICATE

Every organization speaks about

WHAT they do.
Some discuss HOW they do it.
Few explain WHY they do what
they do - outcomes.

The Golden
Circle
We communicate from the outside
by Simon Sinek in.
 IF APPLE COMMUNICATED LIKE WE DO

What
We How
make Beautiful, Why?
great easy to use, Want to
computers. user friendly. buy one?

4 Story Telling 101

 START WITH WHY

You need to speak first about your

WHY - outcomes.
Discuss HOW and WHAT through
the stories you tell.

Communicate from the inside out.

 APPLE STARTS WITH THEIR WHY

Why? How What

In everything we We make sure Want to
do, we believe in our products are buy one?
challenging the beautifully
status quo and designed, simple
thinking differently. to use and user
friendly.

People aren’t interested in WHAT you do.

They want to know WHY you do it!
 START WITH YOUR WHY!

WHY? HOW WHAT

We believe every We help children Will you say yes
child deserves a with learning to making a
quality education. disabilities learn difference in the
to read. life of a child?

Donors aren’t interested in the mechanics - WHAT you do…

They want to know the outcomes you achieve - WHY you do it!
 01 Start with your WHY

AGENDA 02 Compel People to ACT

03 Make the Right ASK

04 Create Consistent Campaigns

8 Story Telling 101

 Vision - the world that needs to exist for
C REAT E you to no longer be necessary.

COM P ELLING Enemy - The entity that prevents the

vision from being achieved.
C ALLS TO AC T ION
Hero - The hero fights the enemy to
IN YOU R achieve the vision. Invite donors to join a
FU NDRAISING fight NOT fight alone.

P ROP OSIT ION Recipient - The individual or group that

will benefit when the hero fights the
enemy to achieve the vision.
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 DEVELOPING YOUR CALL TO ACTION

Vision Enemy Hero Recipient

Every child in Families in low- Compassionate Thousands of

Toledo has income people fighting children (1 in 6
access to a communities do to provide children) with
quality not have access to academic developmental
education. good schools. support so no disabilities.
child is left
behind.

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 YOUR CALL TO ACTION

1 in 6 children in Toledo has a learning

disability. Today, with your help, we can
give them the academic support they
need to read on grade level.

DONATE

I want to help a child learn to read!

11 Story Telling 101

THE LEAKY BUCKET
Increase donor
retention, increase
donations.

10% increase in
retention increases
the lifetime value (in
dollars) of your donors
by 200%

Fundraising School: Create a Fundraising Plan 12

 YOUR TURN

Vision Obstacle Hero Recipient

What would What is preventing Who can help Who will

the world look your vision bring about the benefit from
like if your from becoming changes your efforts to
organization a reality? needed to right this wrong?
no longer make your
needed to vision?
exist?

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 01 Start with your WHY

AGENDA 02 Compel People to ACT

03 Make the Right ASK

04 Create Consistent Campaigns

14 Story Telling 101

 • Segmentation

• Donor interest
MAKING
THE RIGHT ASK • Recurring or one time?

• Gift Arrays

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 01 Start with your WHY

AGENDA 02 Compel People to ACT

03 Make the Right ASK

04 Create Consistent Campaigns

16 Story Telling 101

THE RIGHT STORY

• Emotionally powerful

• Speaks to the
transformative power
of your work.

• Makes readers’
feelings come alive.
TOLD IN THE RIGHT WAY

• Structured, emotional
narrative.
• Begin with a setting Make the reader
• Move on to a crisis the HERO
• Trigger an intervention, & of the story
• Resolve a problem.
• Trigger negative TOLD IN THE RIGHT WAY
emotions in setting and
crisis stages

• Use positive emotions

in the intervention and Anger, fear, sadness, disgust
resolution stages. Hope, pride, fulfillment

• Conversational tone -
as if you’re swapping
stories with a friend
over a cup of coffee.
TOLD TO THE RIGHT PEOPLE

• Donors

• Volunteers
People who share
• Supporters your WHY

• Businesses

• Grantmakers
AT THE RIGHT TIME

1. Convey an urgent need requiring urgent action.

2. Tell readers there’s no time to waste.
3. Real needs presented in real time.
4. Without their help, real people will fall through the cracks.
 The best stories are in the trenches:
Ø Program directors
FINDING Ø Social workers
THE BEST Ø Volunteers
STORIES Ø Clients
Spend time in the trenches where services
are delivered so you can talk with people.

22 Story Telling 101

 FINDING You can also find them here:
THE BEST
STORIES Ø Past client follow up
Ø Case notes
Ø Tell Us Your Story
Ø Clients

23 Story Telling 101

 • Consistent messaging & graphics
• Printed direct mail materials
• Website landing pages mimic
offline appeal
COMPELLING • Facebook posts/landing/images
STORIES • eMail images

• “Snippetize” your stories

Example: Believe You Can Make a Difference

Campaign by Grizzard Communications
I Don’t Know
What We’d Do
Without ASP
“I Don’t Know
What We’d Do
Without ASP”

Same child.

Source: New River Communications

 Start with your WHY

Compel People to ACT

Make the Right ASK

DO YOU WANT TO
TELL COMPELLING
Create Compelling Campaigns STORIES THAT
INSPIRE PEOPLE
30 Story Telling 101
TO GIVE?
QUESTIONS?

Rachel Ramjattan, CFRE

Best-selling author
& National Program Director
www.nomoreducttapefundraising.com
Rachel@nonprofitplusteam.com

Connect on LinkedIN
Find me on Facebook
Tweet @RachelNPP

954.618.8151

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