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Debbie Salat 12 min read

The Art of Storytelling in Fundraising: Captivating Donors

Think of your favorite movie or TV show. While you might not remember every character arc and plot point, you remember how that movie or show made you feel.

The best forms of media elicit emotions: joy, sadness, anger, fear, anxiety, or a combination of them. Studies show that we’re more likely to remember emotional stimuli, in part due to connections between the amygdala—a brain area related to emotional processes—and the hippocampus—a brain area related to memory processes.

If you want to make your fundraising campaigns more impactful, you have to pull on donors’ heartstrings. Just as movies and TV shows draw on our emotions through empowering monologues, plot twists, and sad montages, your appeals can tell engaging, interactive stories that encourage donors to contribute and keep your organization top of mind. We’ll walk through how to craft a compelling story that forges genuine connections with your audience.

1. Define your target audience.

While you may have many different beneficiary stories you can tell to demonstrate the ways your nonprofit changes lives, the most impactful stories will align with your audience’s interests and motivations. Clearly define your target audience so you can select the appropriate stories to appeal to them.

For example, an animal shelter may prepare different stories to touch on the different areas donors are passionate about, like animal rescue, fostering, and adoption, and sprinkle these stories throughout their fundraising materials. Or, you may have a more well-defined audience that you can cater your story to. For instance, a cheerleading team fundraiser may only involve team members’ families and friends, so you can develop your story with this specific audience in mind.

Alternatively, you might work backward, thinking about what draws people to the specific type of fundraiser you’re hosting and tailoring your story from there. Let’s take a look at an example:

ABC Fundraising explains that a discount card fundraiser—which involves selling cards that offer discounts to local businesses—not only supports the organization running it but also the local economy. People interested in a discount card fundraiser likely value giving back to their community, so to promote this type of campaign, you may create a story that centers around the theme of paying it forward.

2. Focus on a central character.

Who exactly does your nonprofit help? Choose an individual beneficiary who donors can sympathize with to be the main character of your story.

While you can create a fictional character to help you portray your organization's work, it’s best to use a real-life example that donors can connect with and potentially even see themselves in. To source these examples, interview several beneficiaries about their experience with your nonprofit. You may ask them questions like:

  • What led you to seek assistance from our nonprofit?
  • How did you hear about our organization?
  • How have our services impacted your life?
  • Are there any skills or lessons you learned as a result of our programs?
  • How do you feel about your experience with our organization?
  • Is there anything you’d like to say to the donors who made this possible?

Then, synthesize their responses into a cohesive story. When creating this type of content, remember to get their permission before sharing any details of their story publicly. If they wish to remain anonymous, remove any personally identifiable information and opt for pseudonyms instead.

3. Use a problem-solution approach.

Construct your story using a problem-solution approach. This type of structure clarifies what life was like for the main character before seeking help and after receiving support from your nonprofit. It’s especially helpful to implement a problem-solution approach when your fundraiser involves kids so they can easily understand what your organization does and why their support matters.

For example, an appeal that uses this strategy may look something like this:

After Hurricane Milton swept through western and central Florida, the aftermath was devastating. Many homes were flooded and destroyed, leaving the families who owned them with nothing—including the Stern family.

“We evacuated to a friend’s house in Georgia before the storm hit,” Jen Stern explained. “When we returned, our entire house was just gone.”

Left without shelter and most of her family’s possessions, Jen didn’t know where to turn. After doing some quick research, she found Repair with Care.

“Within minutes, I was talking to a live person, and they were helping me find temporary shelter for my family,” she said. “I talked to Marcy on the phone, and she assured me that everything would be okay. I can’t describe how it felt to hear those words.”

With the help of Repair with Care, the Stern family found a safe place to stay and is now working to rebuild their home. Donate today to help families like the Sterns find shelter in the aftermath of a natural disaster and repair their homes with care.

To cater to different marketing platforms, consider creating a condensed version of your story for social media, text messaging, and email. Then, you can link to the full version on your website or blog, where potential donors can learn more.

4. Accompany your story with data.

While stories go for the heart, data goes for the mind. A powerful statistic can back up the importance of your story and demonstrate the breadth of your impact in a concrete way.

Continuing with our earlier example, you may add that Repair with Care has already helped 3,000 families bounce back from natural disasters, and with donors’ help, they can expand their impact even further. This type of data adds credibility to your story and demonstrates your organization’s legitimacy, encouraging people to contribute.

Review your constituent relationship management platform (CRM) or database for relevant data points to include in your story. Identifying your standout statistics can also help you when it’s time to create your annual report so you can easily pull this impact data later on.

5. End with a strong call to action.

Bring your story home with a clear call to action (CTA) that drives people to make a donation. Kanopi’s healthcare content marketing guide recommends creating CTAs that:

  • Tell people why they should do something. Why do you need donors’ support? Instead of simply saying, “Donate now,” specify the importance of contributing by saying something like, “Donate now to change the lives of hurricane victims.”
  • Make it clear what people will see once they click. While you want to convince people to donate, you also don’t want to trick them. Donors should expect the page that pops up once they click on your CTA. For example, if you’re directing people to a peer-to-peer fundraising campaign page, you may say something like, “Click here to create your own fundraising page and gather contributions from your family and friends on our behalf.”
  • Are accessible. Your CTAs should be easy for everyone to read and comprehend. If you’re creating an image or button CTA, use bold fonts and contrasting colors that make your CTA pop and add alternative text for any images.

Additionally, your CTAs should induce a sense of urgency. Why must donors contribute now? Persuade donors to donate right then and there to hold their attention and encourage them to follow through.

 


 

When you take advantage of storytelling, you can create emotionally charged appeals that transform your fundraising efforts. To determine which storytelling techniques or specific stories are most effective for your organization, consider implementing A/B testing and analyzing the results.

 

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Debbie Salat

Debbie Salat is the director of fundraising activities and product development at ABC Fundraising®. Debbie joined ABC Fundraising® in 2010 and has helped launch over 6,500 fundraising campaigns for schools, churches, youth sports teams, and nonprofit organizations all across the USA. With over 20 years of fundraising experience, Debbie knows the path to success for fundraisers, which she shares with groups on a daily basis so they can achieve their fundraising goals.

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