Storytelling is a major part of how brands connect with their audiences, but nonprofit storytelling is unique. It can be a major challenge to do it well so that you do more than just grow your donor base. We spoke with Beth Guckenberger who has been using storytelling to build relationships with her donors in order to connect them to the work of her nonprofit.
Beth is co-executive director at Back2Back Ministries. Along with her husband, Todd, they have been focused on international orphan care since 1997. They have been able to grow their reach by mastering how to use storytelling for fundraising.
The Guckenbergers have found that it often feels like the nonprofit is the medium between the donor, who funds the cause, and the cause itself. Despite the organization’s best intentions, it can actually widen the space between the donor and the work they wish to fund. At Back2Back, they want to shorten the distance between what’s happening in the field and the donor. Great storytelling shortens that distance, makes the donor feel caught up in the story and part of it.
Their goal is to build relationships between the donors, the nonprofit, and the cause. That’s why the most important thing is to use stories to build those relationships.
In this episode, Beth has much to say about her good work at Back2Back Ministries with adoption and foster care.
Don’t have time to listen to the whole podcast? Here’s the TLDR:
Nonprofit storytelling best practices: Key Takeaway
When we interact with someone who has some of the basic facts about our mission, our goal should be to entice them with our stories so that they would want to be educated on what we’re doing.
After they’ve been educated, then it’s time for advocacy-level asks, like sponsor a kid, and go on a trip, and give to this campaign, or whatever.
We found that when we jump to an ask—some kind of advocacy ask, etc.—on the first interaction, our audience responds with, “Well, I don’t even know who you are, why would I … ” That’s not how relationships work, and it makes for ineffective storytelling.
The most powerful storytelling is active. There’s back and forth: you learn about them, and they learn about you. They get to ask questions, and then you get to a place where you have earned the right to say, “Would you like to be involved with something like this?”
Why would we be put out social media posts, or email campaigns, or stand on the stage, or put out magazine articles that right off the bat assume an audience is ready to put some skin in the game? It doesn’t make sense.
So we now have targeted communication for each of those four categories, and a whole communication strategy that makes sure that we don’t just err on advocacy because that’s where we want to land, and we’re kind of short of that process.”
Want to learn more about how Virtuous can help you create more targeted communication and help you become a better nonprofit storyteller? Have a look at our nonprofit marketing automation.