I’m an advocate for proactive, intentional storytelling because the (very common) last-minute story scramble causes problems. Rushing not only makes things unnecessarily difficult, but reactive storytelling can also create a bigger problem: narrowing audiences’ understanding of your nonprofit organization.
In a scramble, your nonprofit’s best stories can slip through the cracks. But when you take a proactive approach using a nonprofit storytelling framework, you can convey your organization’s full narrative.
Scrambling for stories narrows your nonprofit’s narrative
When you’re constantly scrambling to meet urgent requests, it’s hard to develop the most strategic story. When speed drives your storytelling decisions, certain types of stories tend to be prioritized, while others never get developed. For example, you may end up telling:
- Many impact stories
- Very few stories about who the organization is
- Some stories about your approach
- Almost no stories about your nonprofit’s core cause
Impact stories can rise to the top because they’re closely tied to fundraising, reporting, and campaign needs. You share some program stories, but favour those best suited to quickly filling story holes. These stories are important, but your nonprofit’s other stories never seem to get prioritized. Over time, your choices narrow your narrative — and your audiences’ perception and understanding of your organization.
Shift to story readiness using a nonprofit storytelling framework
To deliver a complete narrative, you need to shift from scramble mode to story readiness. That means being operationally ready, with a proactive practice of identifying, developing, and capturing stories before they’re urgently needed. But it also means being narratively ready, with the right mix of stories to communicate who you are, why you exist, how you work, and your impact.
To ensure you’re not repeating the same or similar stories too often, lean on your brand narrative as your nonprofit’s storytelling framework:
- Share IDENTITY stories to reveal the core of who your organization is and how it’s positioned to pursue your mission.
- Use WHY stories to showcase your cause or issue, and the gaps and needs your organization addresses.
- Illuminate your nonprofit’s approach to solving challenges through HOW stories.
- Demonstrate the difference your organization is making through IMPACT stories.
Follow this framework to ensure each story contributes to the larger narrative that people come to understand about your organization. Creativity thrives within structure, so you may be pleasantly surprised by the number of story ideas and approaches it can unlock.
(For a full list of nonprofit-specific ideas for each part of this framework, read How to communicate your nonprofit’s brand narrative through storytelling.)
Take a proactive approach to protecting your nonprofit’s narrative
Are you stuck in a cycle of scrambling that’s keeping your storytelling overly repetitive or reliant on a single story type? (You can assess your nonprofit’s story balance by answering my five reflection questions.) If the answer is yes, shift to a proactive approach with a structured plan to convey your nonprofit’s complete narrative.
If you need help, check out my storytelling strategy service. It’s designed to help nonprofits clarify their organization-wide storytelling priorities and develop an intentional, proactive approach. Then, get in touch if you’d like to talk about doing this work with my support.
