On Fundraising Stories

April 16, 2025

Filed under: Communications,Fundraising,Online Communications — jonathanpoisner @ 12:11 pm

I often talk about the importance of shifting fundraising language from a bullet-point approach to a story approach.

I know that for some nonprofit leaders this is challenging because storytelling isn’t their natural inclination. It’s not mine either.

Yet, by taking into account some basic techniques, virtually anybody can generate effective fundraising stories.

A more complete primer on fundraising stories can be found in my E-Book, the Essential Major Donor Toolkit. 

For those getting started, here’s a handful of important things to bear in mind when trying to craft a fundraising story. 

Include all the Elements of a Story

In crafting fundraising stories, ensure they have all three elements of a story.

  1. An objective.  The objective could be a community need or the need of individuals within it. 

  2. An obstacle.  The obstacle could be bad policy, lack of funding, natural causes, or some other threat or barrier that keeps the community (or individuals within it) from achieving their objective.  

  3. Impact.  There needs to be either harm if the objective isn’t overcome and/or some positive impact if the objective is overcome.  These are the stakes.  They don’t have to be huge stakes, but they must be clearly articulated in a way that the donor will find important.

Every story you’ve ever read – not just fundraising stories –have all these elements.  Don’t just talk about community need.  Don’t just talk about obstacles.  Don’t just talk about impact.  Make sure all three show up. 

Incomplete and Complete Stories

Make sure you are crafting both complete and incomplete stories.

A complete story is backwards looking and shows how you have made an impact in the past.  Complete stories are an important way to demonstrate to donors that their past support has translated into the charitable impact they desire and thus a good bet for future donations.      

An incomplete story is one where the outcome is not yet known and, importantly, one where the donor can make a difference by helping the organization have future impact.  Incomplete stories are essential to create urgency and to ramp up the emotional stakes.

In writing any story, ask yourself: am I writing this to demonstrate past impact or am I writing this to create urgency so donors will want to give right now.

In writing the set of stories that may go into your fundraising, make sure you have some of both type.

Put the Donor in the Stories

Too often I read fundraising appeals that talk about all the great things “we” did as an organization.

As you write/edit your stories, use the word “you” instead of “we” whenever possible.

You want donors to feel like they’re a hero making an impact and that means making them central to the appeal.  “Your support ensures IMPACT.”  “You can help IMPACT.” 

The word “you” should show up in both completed stories where the donor had a role in the organization’s past impact, and incomplete stories where the donor can be the hero.

Where possible with the technology, you can also insert their name into appeals.

* * * * *

Want to run a fundraising letter or email by me for a quick reaction, I offer all nonprofits a free half hour consultation.  Just reach out if interested.

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Why Videos Go Viral

March 15, 2012

Filed under: Fundraising,Online Communications — Tags: , , — jonathanpoisner @ 10:53 am

I recently came across this fascinating short video about why some videos go viral.

The bottom lines: tastemakers, communities of participation, and unexpectedness.

It’s worth a watch.

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Growing your Facebook fan base

April 22, 2011

Filed under: Communications,Online Communications — Tags: — jonathanpoisner @ 11:30 am

Sometimes investing a little bit of dollars has a big impact on your base.

The good folks at Idaho Conservation League did an interesting strategy and let the folks at Groundwire share it with the world.

Bottom line:  Facebook for a very low dollar figure lets you microtarget ads at a very small group of people who’ll be highly likely to become fans.

I’d be interested in seeing how other organizations use this opportunity over the next few years.

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