In a recent Newsweek article, Ann Banks wrote that storytelling is a powerful force. “It got folks through the Depression. It can work now, too.” Sharing our stories of who we are, where we’ve been and what we’re doing is more than just a way for us to relate and communicate with each other.Storytelling is a way to establish meaning. People can endure just about any hardship if they understand that there’s a purpose behind it. Telling someone a story about you, your company, your product or service supplies a direct route to connection, understanding, and empathy. Daniel Pink is another write who, years ago in his book A WHOLE NEW MIND, acknowledged the importance that organizational story-telling will have in marketing and advertising. He compared the last 150 years to a 3 Act play: the first act was the Industrial Age; the second was the Information Age; and now we have the Conceptual Age. It’s all high concept and high touch. This is good news if you’re a right brain person. If you see the world as black and white and everything has a balance sheet, then time to look beyond just the practical and utilitarian aspects of your business or organization.
For non-profit organizations, it is important to share the struggles, failures and triumphs of what goes on in a community. Organizations can make a video and place magazine articles about how they came into being or about how they hold themselves accountable for specific results. Even share the failures. If results weren’t reached, why not? Was it because of funding? Lack of community involvement? Unfocused application of resources? Non-profit organizations are increasingly pressured to demonstrate they are achieving results. Successful organizations are willing to make hard trade-offs among competing priorities based on objective information to increase their impact. Don’t keep these things within the four walls of your building. Get them out in the open and invite public scrutiny.
Donors can influence non-profits by imposing their own priorities. When this happens the donors risk compromising the non-profits ability to deliver results. Achieving impact through a non-profit organization demands a shared understanding of priorities between donors and recipients. Such consensus building and understanding takes time and energy. Digital and print storytelling of selected priorities and initiatives can facilitate the whole process in a way that has tremendous impact and enhances the donor-recipient relationship.
A well-crafted digital story, presented with style and sensitivity can do a lot for influencing thinking and behavior both in the minds of donors as well as the community at large.. Philanthropy exists in a world without the pressures of marketplace preferences. Donors don’t actually have to do much good in order to feel good. Nor do foundations really have to hit quarterly projections to stay in business. Donors are quickly adorned with positive feedback. Sharing an organization’s story via a thoughtfully executed digital presentation can inspire excellence and pride and a renewed commitment to achieving targeted results.
