It’s hard to find a fundraising blog or website that doesn’t tout the benefits of storytelling when it comes to fundraising efforts, and with good reason—humans love stories. 

 

Storytelling, in the context of fundraising, refers to the strategic practice of using narratives to communicate the mission, impact, and needs of a cause to donors and supporters. It goes beyond simply presenting facts or statistics; it humanises the cause through stories that connect with the audience on an emotional level, making it more relatable and tangible.

 

This connection also makes the cause more memorable, sticking in the viewers’ minds for much longer than statistics or numbers alone. It’s also a great tool for clarifying the organisers’ purpose, building connections between the donors and the individuals benefiting from their support, and enhancing transparency by showing how funds are used. Collectively, all of these benefits inspire action, leading to increased donor activity and long-term support for the cause.

 

Crafting effective and impactful stories can be a bit of a challenge; however, by following this guide, you too should be able to craft stories that inspire your audience to support your cause.

 

Key elements of effective fundraising narratives

Crafting an effective fundraising narrative relies on being able to incorporate the following elements in a manner that feels organic and genuine. Key components to consider include:

 

  • Emotional appeal: this is central to a powerful fundraising story and is achieved through narratives that highlight personal experiences of challenges that need to be overcome and the tangible impact of your work. This resonates on an emotional level, encouraging empathy and action.
  • Clarity of purpose: your story should have a clear message, answering “What am I trying to achieve?” and “How will your support make a difference?”. A clear message simplifies complex issues, making it easier for donors to understand how their contributions will help solve important issues. 
  • Authenticity: Authentic stories build trust. Genuine and verifiable accounts of those who’ve benefited from your actions ensure that your message is credible and fosters long-term support for your cause.
  • Visual elements: Incorporating visual elements such as photos, videos, and infographics into your storytelling makes them more engaging than simply a person talking at a camera.
  • Urgency and call to action: an urgent appeal for donations that doesn’t rely on shock value or alarmism, one that explains the need for immediate action, along with calls to action and the tools that facilitate quick and easy donations, all motivate potential donors to act promptly. 

 

By integrating all of these elements, your fundraising efforts not only capture attention but also inspire action that supports your cause. 

 

Tools and techniques for effective storytelling

The digital age has brought with it a myriad of tools that make it easier to craft effective stories and share them with your target audience. By using the right tools, even simple videos captured on a smartphone can become immersive and compelling journeys that reach millions.

 

Creation tools

Up until only a few years ago, video creation software was generally highly complex and tricky to use, requiring lots of practice to get the best out of them. These days, even free-to-use or low-subscription-rate platforms such as Canva Video Editor provide the means for the technically challenged among us to create beautiful, engaging, and interactive videos with a simple drag-and-drop interface. Their library of audio and video clips, built-in animations, and real-time collaborative tools allow anyone to upload prerecorded clips and turn them into fundraising masterpieces with nothing more than a few YouTube tutorial videos.

 

While Canva offers all-in-one solutions for millions of amateur designers around the world, other online tools such as Piktochart make generating professional-looking infographics a breeze. Another exceptionally useful site is Pixabay, an extensive library that includes millions of high-quality stock images, videos, audio clips, and music to enhance your stories’ production value.

 

It’s impossible to ignore the impact that AI models such as ChatGPT can have on the overall quality of a video. AI writing assistants can help craft compelling narratives and generate content ideas; however, be wary of simply using their generated output as is. AI-generated text often sounds robotic, and in addition to this, subtracting from your message’s authenticity could impact how search engines rank your site in search results. Use AI for ideas, but make the message YOURS!

 

Sharing your story

Even the most well-crafted video with the most urgent message won’t have an impact if it doesn’t reach the right audience. An effective social media push and uploading your creation to a crowdfunding campaign can ensure that it appears in front of the right sets of eyes, along with the tools needed to take action. 

 

One extremely useful tip when sharing your story on social media is to break it down into several ‘episodes’ realised over a period of time. While a single, extensive story will definitely aid your cause, breaking it down into smaller, more digestible chunks over time can be a powerful tool in building interest in your cause, motivating the audience to share it with others as the story unfolds.

 

Be sure to check out our articles on ‘maximising social media impact for fundraising’ and ‘utilising technology for greater fundraising impact’ for more information on this topic. 

 

Examples of effective storytelling in fundraising

If a picture speaks a thousand words, how many does a video? Watching and learning from effective fundraising stories is arguably the best way to ensure that yours reaches its goals. 

 

Some examples of successful charity campaigns that incorporated effective storytelling include:

  • Charity Water is an internationally operating charity that focuses on bringing clean and safe water solutions to communities around the world. You can view their excellently produced video on their home page. 
  • The Malala Fund advocates for girls’ education in third-world countries around the world. Their Girl’s Stories series of videos includes powerful first-hand accounts of the organisation’s impact as well as strong emotional appeals for support. 
  • Storytelling in fundraising doesn’t necessarily have to include a video component. Well-written accounts and appeals can also be effective, as evidenced by the EB Foundation, an organisation raising funds to cure epidermolysis bullosa. Clara’s story, as told by her mom, is a powerful example of how the right words can stir emotions and motivate action.

 

Skyline Skydiving wishes you the best of luck in your future fundraising efforts, and we hope that this guide, to some degree, helps you craft and share stories worthy of attention.