Don’t get so caught up in the details of your nonprofit that you forget to convey the human story behind it. While grantmakers and foundations may be more concerned with your business plan, donors give to people with causes, not to credentials and projections.
Studies show that people ultimately make buying decisions based on emotions. Here are four tips to help you appeal to the story behind your work.
One of the biggest dangers when crowdfunding for nonprofits or social good is to generalize the issues you are trying to overcome in order to appeal to the widest audience possible.
But it’s the details that make a story real. Explain what exactly happened that inspired you to start your nonprofit and the circumstances and feelings of those you are helping.
What this looks like is sharing a particular story, and only then expanding to showcase the numbers that you can impact with the donation. For example, in trying to raise money for a solar light enterprise, describe a scene you personally witnessed of a family huddled close around a single kerosene lamp, children leaning close to their books while their mother tries to cook in near pitch dark, everyone coughing occasionally from the constant soot. Once you make your ask, explain exactly how many of these families you will be able to help.
There is a danger of being overly dramatic, but donors need to know they are giving to a real situation, not just an idea or a concept. We remember reality by the little details: the texture of the walls, the slant of the light as the sun goes down, the taste of dust in a worksite. You don’t have to be a bestselling author; just share your memory as it occurs to you.
Some pointers for conveying the reality of your story:
Central to every good story is a powerful ‘why.’ This is the purpose behind your cause. It is not the goals or the ROI sought, but rather the reasons that matter on a human level.
A good ‘why’ might be, “because inadequate light shouldn’t keep a child from an education,” or, “because these children have so much to share with the world, they just need the chance to do it.”
Some questions you can ask yourself to help bring out the story in your cause:
The last question may seem like a no-brainer, but as people try to protect themselves from discomfort, they can sometimes miss the obvious impact of others’ problems until it is spelled out for us.
Answering these questions appeals to the potential donors, but it also helps you tell your story by getting you to focus on the stuff that matters. This is what gets people to care.
Humans are always looking for how others are like us, so highlight the ways your beneficiaries are like people the donor may know.
One way to do this is to appeal to emotions, which are universal. Don’t get sappy, but do use feeling words to describe your previous results or your intended outcomes: relief for oppressions removed, a sense of possibility for opportunities created, pride, joy, feeling listened to.
There is a difference between telling a story to illustrate your cause and deceiving the donor. Stories can get out of hand when dealing with dramatic, emotionally charged issues, so keep the following in mind.
What you are doing matters in a way that goes beyond concrete results. It actually changes lives, and the stories people live out. Make sure your potential donors know that by putting your story front and center.
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