Nonprofit Storytelling In A Digital World

Julia Campbell
Digital Marketing Strategist for Nonprofits
http://www.jcsocialmarketing.com
Cape Code Philanthropy Day
November 12, 2014
#capecodgiving @JuliaCSocial

Takeaways
Why storytelling is so vital to
your nonprofit fundraising &
marketing strategy
 The types of stories you need
to be telling on social media
 Examples from nonprofits
who are doing storytelling
right

Why Storytelling?
 People don’t
remember bullet
points.
 People respond to
emotion.
 Feelings, not
analytical thinking,
drive actions.

What Storytelling Will Not Do
Fix bad management.
Fix a lousy product or service.
Replace other fundraising &
marketing strategies.
Replace tried-and-true
fundraising tactics.
BUT if done well, it will
augment all other
communication efforts!

How To “Do” Storytelling?
 Think of your audience
FIRST and ALWAYS.
How can you tell a story in
a way that will resonate
with them?
 What is important to
them?
 What will inspire them to
action?

The Bad News…
 Donor retention is at an ALL TIME low.
 70% of all donors that nonprofits recruit into
giving a gift never donate again to that
organization! (AFP)

MYTH: Older Donors Aren’t Online
 Boomers spend 19 hours a
week online.
 71% use a social
networking site daily with
Facebook being the most
popular.
 36% of boomers ages 50
and over own a
smartphone, and 32%
own a tablet.
73% of online adults
use at least one social
networking site daily!

Your donors ages 74+ are
the fastest-growing
demographic on social
networks.

The Good News…
 More than 7 in 10 US
charity and nonprofit social
media administrators found
the channels useful for
raising money!
 1/3 of charities said it was
VERY USEFUL for
fundraising!
 Just 11% said it wasn’t useful
for fundraising.

Requires A Change In Mindset
 Become a storytelling
organization.
 Most nonprofit
communications are
boring and org-centric.
 Focus on BENEFITS, not
features.

Types of Stories
 Creation Stories
 Continuous Improvement
Stories
 Behind-The-Scenes Stories
 User-Generated Stories
 Impact Stories

Creation Stories
 What was the need?
 What is the need now?
 Story of the founders
 The real WHY you exist
Reference: http://www.thegoodmancenter.com

Creation Stories
 Example –Environmental
Defense Fund
 Started by a small group of
passionate conservationists in
Long Island.
 They wanted to save the osprey, bald
eagle and peregrine falcon.
 Went to court, got a ban on DDT in
1966. In 1972, they played a large role
on a nationwide ban.
 They play up the “strong foundation”
and grassroots approach which
informs their work today.

Continuous Improvement
 Express resiliency
 Show that your org is
always trying to improve
 Mistakes, lessons learned
 Helps other organizations

Continuous Improvement
Example – The Denver Foundation
 10 Years 10 Stories – Celebrating 10 years of
inclusiveness
 Stories from the Journey – stories told by the
nonprofits awarded grants
 Nonprofits discussed what they learned and
what they still have to work on.
 Focused on their target audience and thought
about what would resonate with them.

Behind-The-
Scenes Stories
 Feature donors
 Feature Board members
 Feature staff
 Feature volunteers

Behind-The-Scenes
Carolyn Miles of Save the
Children
Pinterest Board:
http://www.pinterest.com
/savethechildren/carolyn-s-
corner/

Behind-The-Scenes Stories

User-Generated Stories
#capecodgiving @JuliaCSocial http://www.care.org/get-involved/international-womens-day/iamcourage

#capecodgiving @JuliaCSocial http://share.marchofdimes.org/

“Why Didn’t You Just Leave?”
Writer Beverly Gooden shared her
own reasons for staying in an
abusive relationship on Twitter,
using the hashtag #WhyIStayed.
Within hours, hundreds of
survivors were tweeting their
own reasons for doing the same.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/12/why-didnt-you-just-leave_
n_5805134.html

Impact Stories
 Showcase the
difference you are
making
 Showcase the lives
changed
 Doesn’t have to be
sugary sweet

Impact Stories
There was a point in time when Eddie didn't
want to live. "I was standing on the verge of
death," he says.
http://www.denverrescuemission.
org/drm/stories/stories-eddie-
2014

Impact Stories
Greater Twin Cities United
Way
Success Stories section on
their website
Start with the impact they
had on the nonprofit, then
a recipient of services
Miguel’s story

Impact Stories
Always show donors where
their money is going.
Make them smile when they
see the results their gift
helped achieve.
https://www.facebook.com/
BostonChildrensHospital

Where To Find Stories?
 Everywhere!
 Everyone is responsible!
 Requires a big change of
culture.
 No silos!
 Get on the front lines.
 Talk with people.

Everyone Has A Story
Everyone has a
story – it
might not be
one that you
can use, but it
might lead
you to an idea
or person who
can help.

YOUR TURN!
Creation Stories
Continuous Improvement Stories
Behind-The-Scenes Stories
Impact Stories

How To Get Good Stories
 Look over all of those thank you notes!
 Ask clients – include a “share your story” page
on your website, conduct surveys, ask at live
events.
 Be enthusiastic.
 Explain the purpose.
 Keep it varied. Make A Wish Foundation
doesn’t just tell about the people that benefit,
they also tell the stories of the wish-granter, the
volunteers and their sponsors.

Have A System
 Collect stories & all story ideas. Keep these
confidential for now.
 Nothing is too small to collect.
 Save your stories & ideas in a virtual Story Bank.
 Use Dropbox or Google Drive.
 Form a Storytelling Committee.
 Start thinking like a reporter.
 Use your smart phone, tablet, GoPro, flip camera.

Mine The Gold
“Think of the story itself as gold. You mine the
gold, capture the story.
Then you bring it back to your office and you need to
pound that gold into different shapes and sizes
depending on whom you’re talking to, or also
where you’re telling it.” ~ Andy Goodman

Promote Your Stories
If you tell it, they will hear it!
Right??
Putting the stories on the
right channels and then
promoting them is HALF
the battle!

Channels for Storytelling
Website – HOME BASE
 Blogs
 Email newsletters
 Publications
 Social media
 Public speaking, community education
 User-generated –encourage your online
community to share their stories

Go Multichannel
Print, electronic, mobile and everything in between.
Be where your donors are, not where you want them
to be.

St. Louis Children’s Hospital
Foundation
Direct mail, email,
social media
Missives from Josh, a 16-
year-old patient at the
hospital
Use humor, insider info,
his genuine voice and
personality

The Children’s Center, Detroit

“Here’s how to know if you’re
on the right track: if you
stop (your) story in the
middle, the audience will
insist you finish it. Isn’t
that what you want?”
~Seth Godin
http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2013/09/words-sentences-paragraphs-
stories.html

My Two Cents
We all need to change
nonprofit culture.
We need to start
thinking visually
and start thinking in
“micro-content”
terms.
Stop with the
excuses.

My Two Cents
Think of using social
media as showing
the world what you
do and why you do
it, in a compelling,
interesting and easy-to-
share way!

Resources
JCSocialMarketing.com
JohnHaydon.com
BethKanter.org
NPTechForGood.com
TheGoodmanCenter.com

Questions?
Twitter: @JuliaCSocial
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/
jcsocialmarketing
Email: julia@
jcsocialmarketing.com

Nonprofit Storytelling In A Digital World

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