Blog

Do you have a hard time finding your organization’s stories?

A couple of weeks ago, I put out a call for story-finding tips, and today I’m following up with the responses I received. And further below, I’ve included a list of 14 actionable takeaways I’ve pulled from their submissions. Thank you, Katherine, Blair, Fiona, Anthony and Yasmine!

You know storytelling is useful, effective and an essential part of your nonprofit’s communications mix. But if making the case for storytelling based on intuition and experience isn’t enough, perhaps you’d like to add evidence from research.

A few months ago, I read the Storytelling Edge: How to Transform Your Business, Stop Screaming into the Void and Make People Love You by Joe Lazaukus and Shane Snow – which I recommend. The book is full of useful content for nonprofit communicators, but I was particularly excited by the references to original research supporting the value and importance of storytelling.

One of the core areas of focus in my business is story writing. I enjoy the work, and I learn something from every story I write. I also just like helping nonprofit communicators get their stories written – something I’ve been doing for one of my long-term clients, Sarah McPherson at The Oakville Community Foundation.

This case study is a behind-the-scenes look at my work with this community foundation, including Sarah’s insights into the benefits and challenges of telling stories about an organization’s financial supporters.