The Art and Science of Nonprofit Storytelling
Storytelling is more than just a way to share information—it's an art and a science that has the power to inspire, engage, and motivate people to take action. For nonprofit leaders, effective storytelling is a crucial skill that can turn an ordinary fundraising campaign into a compelling call to action. But great storytelling doesn’t happen by accident. Behind every powerful narrative is a structure that helps guide the reader through a journey—one that makes them feel connected to the cause and inspired to make a difference.
Mastering the structure of a good story can breathe life into your mission, turning abstract statistics into real, human experiences. It can elevate a simple fundraising ask into a narrative that resonates deeply with donors, volunteers, and supporters. Whether you’re writing an appeal letter, drafting a social media post, or crafting a speech for an event, understanding how to structure a story is key to making your message stick.
Let’s dive in and discover how storytelling can become your most powerful tool for driving change and getting people engaged in your mission.
Why storytelling is effective for nonprofit marketing and development
Before we had writing, we had stories. Oral storytelling is how we share our history, traditions, practices, and entertained on long, hungry nights. Even though we like to think we've evolved past cave drawings, we haven't lost our love for stories.
Have you ever noticed that people seem to “get” your mission when you tell them about someone you've helped? You secure more donations, go through more tissues, and retain more volunteers when people hear impact stories.
Stories help you:
Connect to emotion
Motivate people (e.g., your ideal customer persona (ICP) of your donors or volunteers)
Relate to others as the listener/reader can picture themselves or someone they know
Reduce prejudice, persuade, and encourage empathy
What's an impact story?
An impact story for a nonprofit is a narrative that illustrates the tangible difference the organization's work has made in the lives of individuals, communities, or the environment.
A narrative that combines anecdotal evidence and data to help readers understand the results of a project or program. Think, annual reports and grant activation reports.
A method to illustrate an organization's mission and connect to supporters on a personal or emotional level.
A way to put a face or place on the mission by sharing an example of a real person, animal, or environment impacted by the work. This is how I most often use the term.
These stories are tools to convey the emotional and real-world outcomes of a nonprofit’s efforts. They can be used in fundraising campaigns, on social media, in grant applications, and in annual reports to inspire support and demonstrate the value of the nonprofit’s mission.
The science of nonprofit storytelling
Let's go way back to middle school. When writing was simple, and you had instructions to get you through your assignments.
Simple is what we're aiming for in our marketing and development storytelling. Simple is digestible, and when you have a captive audience or limited attention, you don't want to confuse anyone.
It's also common when you've interviewed a client or received details from someone on your team to find yourself with way more information than you know what to do with, making your job, well, the opposite of simple.
So how do you cut the fluff and focus on the most important details? Structure.
Enter: Freytag's pyramid.
Freytag's pyramid is wonderful for two reasons: 1) It ensures you capture all of the details and share the complexity of a character's situation, and 2) It's scalable and repeatable. Meaning, you can use it over and over for all story lengths.
But, how? Let me explain.
Exposition: This is when you set the scene and share the character's or situation's background. Who's the client? What are their circumstances? What does their life look like?
Inciting Incident: Here, something changes. Either an event or a breaking point that sets off a chain of events. It's where stuff may hit the fan and there's no way for the client to continue doing what they're doing.
Rising Action: This is when the story builds, and you share how you've intervened amid the crisis. The client encounters your organization, you discover everything that's going on and together make a plan.
Climax: Here, it's do-or-die time for your character. There's a plan or solution, and tension as they use it and decide to change or not.
Falling Action: This is when we see the choice. Your main character (e.g., your client, the animal, your environment) shows how they've been changed, or not, by the events of the story.
Resolution: Ta-da! We're at the end. The character solves the problem or conflict from the inciting incident in some way. Note: This doesn't always have to be a happy ending. So, don't shy away from amazing client stories where the resolution leaves something to be desired. Instead, ask, what did the client learn that they didn't know before? Did they gain new skills or access new resources? Remember that humans aren't always tidy, and neither are their stories.
The art of nonprofit storytelling
In creative writing, there's a common mantra: Show, don't tell.
It's a reminder to paint a picture for the reader and listener rather than explain to death. I liken the approach to dancers or actors. They don't tell you every feeling, dynamic, or character trait, they show you. You can use a similar technique in your writing, albeit with word choice rather than gesture, expression, and movement.
The effect is the difference between reading a play or novel and a how-to guide.
When it comes to your nonprofit's marketing and fundraising, which experience would you rather your audience have?
Exactly.
So, how do you show in your content without going overboard?
These are some favorite tactics:
Describe rather than summarize. A summary presents the information, stating it as fact. A description allows you to engage a reader’s or listener’s empathy and allows them to imagine the information or circumstances.
Engage the five senses. What does the scene or character’s situation look, smell, feel, sound, and taste like?
Use metaphor and simile. Making comparisons, either directly (metaphor) or suggesting likeness (simile) can relate the scene or situation without giving a summary. It also engages the imagination.
Share dialogue. Good dialogue sets the scene and demonstrates tone.
Examples: Tell Versus Show
The cause: Senior housing
Margaret just lost her best friend of 25 years. Her landlord raised her rent. She’s lonely, stressed about the future, and doesn’t have money for food.
It’s 2 P.M. The T.V. casts blue light across the dark room. Laugh tracks cut the silence. Margaret, slumped in her armchair, nibbles dry toast and watches her 6th episode of Golden Girls - one of Ruth’s favorites. The telephone rings. She doesn’t answer.
The cause: Green space conservation
We’re losing open spaces to urbanization.
When I was a girl, I remember skinned knees. I remember, wielding my stick sword as I chased my brother through open fields. We caught bugs in jars and named the birds that flew away when we climbed their trees. Now, those open fields are driveways, and my kids confuse turf for grass at the neighborhood park.
Both of the first examples are not unlike many appeals you might see or write yourself. There's nothing structurally incorrect with them. But unless your audience cares about your cause or is incredibly empathic, they won't feel anything. And remember, emotion and relatable are two reasons why we'd choose to use a story.
The show examples, while may be a bit long, allow the reader to step into the scene and look around. They have an experience with the cause rather than a summary or fact.
Putting it together to tell your story
An effective impact story can't have just “science” or just “art," it needs both.
My typical approach is to start with the structure and come back to add color because it gives me the guardrails to be more creative. But do what works for you!
If you’re ready to transform your mission into a captivating narrative that drives engagement and support, watch a replay of a webinar I hosted for executive directors, development directors, and board members at nonprofits with small teams. You’ll learn the role of storytelling in advancing your cause. Plus, understand the value of storytelling to show, not tell, people about your mission, and gain a basic structure to make basic storytelling easy.
