STORYTELLING FOR FUNDRAISING

Have you ever had an acquaintance who was always so intent on telling you about themselves and never asked about you?  Typically, those people stay acquaintances and never become true friends.  They are too self-interested and certainly not interested in a relationship—one where you each learn and care about each other.

Fundraising, as we all know, is predicated on building relationships.  That means that when you meet someone, you do not want to go into a long description of your organization, telling them what you do, who you serve, how long you’ve been around, and what programs you have.  And you certainly do not want to pitch them about a project they should support, a program they should care about.  When you pitch to them, you are not engaging them.  You are talking at them, trying to convince them that what you are saying is important.

There is a better way.

That way is real conversations, where you listen more than you talk, and where you make your organization as real as it can be.

That’s where storytelling comes in.

I’m not talking about long, convoluted stories.  No.  Your story—yes, like your pitch—should be no longer than 1 minute.  But the story must be tailored to fit the conversation you were having before you launched into your story.

The template to use for developing your story is easy.  It is also not written in stone.  Again, listen to your donor.  Find out what matters to them.  And then craft a story that fits what they—not you!—care about.

That template:  it’s a four part story.

You start by describing a situation or a problem that must be solved. For example:

Too many students in our high schools still struggle to read or do basic math.  OR

In our community, many working people are struggling to buy food.  OR

In our dental clinic, the dental chairs are old, uncomfortable, and becoming unsafe.

It is a clear description of what needs to be fixed, resolved, taken care of.

Then, you say what your organization is doing about this:

  We are working with those high school students, providing them with the skills to improve their reading and to.learn the foundations of math.

Our food pantry provides these families with nutritional food to ensure that the family is well fed

We want our dental clinic to not only provide the best dental care at no cost to our patients, but also for them to have a state-of-the-art experience.

And then you make an invitation.  That might be to ask them to make a gift.  Often it will be to learn more, come for a tour to see what you are doing, volunteer with us (you are such a math whiz…..).

What story to tell, of course, depends on what you heard from your donor.  Don’t tell a cat lover about how your shelter deals with dogs.  But first you need to know that your donor or prospective donor is a cat person!  Something that happens long before you tell your story—while you are getting to know each other and what matters to yes, your organization and your donor.