From cave drawings of mud, to woeful tales of bloody battles around the campfires of Agincourt, to the ancient rituals within red women tents, storytelling has long been a bedrock of community and progress.

Generations of our ancestors have passed knowledge, wisdom and entertainment for the next.

Today, blockbuster movies, bed time stories and west end productions prove that still, we treasure and enjoy a good tale as much as ever.

In fact, according to one study, 65% of our verbal communication revolves around telling our stories. We love to share experiences with our friendship groups, teaching our children and even use stories as legacies at funerals.  That’s why sharing your story is important - it connects and nurtures our relationships with each other.

So it’s easy to see why story telling when raising money for charity works so well!

Fundraising jobs rely upon the important tool of story telling to help potential donors not just understand charities messages, but to trigger and empathetic and emotional response. It’s here the power of stories works best as the driver of donations. 

The best storytellers are the ones who know how to capture the imagination and use words to paint a vivid picture.

The journey of a story will introduce characters to feel for and root for with your heart. They set a scene where struggles can be described and solutions suggested and acted upon.  

But akin to any performance, good storytelling isn’t a given. Those who can engage a person to listen and feel have the power to make things happen.

Even without a natural ability to effortlessly weave a tale, it’s not to say you can’t continue to use stories in fundraising. Developing your own unique style can successfully delivers your charitable message with impact. And like with anything, with practice, the better you’ll get.

And the even better news for fundraisers is that charitable causes always have stories at the very heart of their mission, so you’ll always have great material to share.

What is it about stories that is so special?

We can receive stories by listening or by seeing. We’ve all seen a beautiful dance or listened to a piece of music that tells us a story without the need for words. 

But regardless of the method, all stories share the same power – they can make you feel almost any emotion.

When we connect to a good story our entire body responds.

Our nervous system communicates with our brain to create chemical releases of happy hormones dopamine and serotonin.

Cortisol (the stress hormone) too can cause us to feel anxiety and worry about what we’re being told.

When we hear about things going well or a happy ending, we’ll get a rush of oxytocin, helping bond us to the event or character and reconfirming the desire to act.

These hormonal reactions are enablers for emotional response. And emotional responses are the trigger for action.

Empathy is where we can literally feel another person’s pain and is fundamental to how our communities and our society overall functions.

Specifically when we feel empathy and can imagine what it must feel like to be in that situation ourselves, we’re already committing ourselves to do something about it if we’re able. When empathy is lacking, less action is taken to help others.

Does the story have to be true to get that reaction?

Interestingly, it appears that fiction can be even more powerful than truth.

In 2013 a social experiment set out to prove whether fiction or nonfiction evoked a more empathetic response.

The results showed that indeed, reader’s empathy levels increased whilst reading fiction.

It was thought this was because whilst non-fiction literature tends to stick to facts and figures, fiction is able to use language to add detail and a more emotional angle, which ultimately heightens feelings.

As an article in the BBCs future series explains

“We can empathise with people we see in news stories too, and hopefully we often do. But fiction has at least three advantages.

We have access to the character’s interior world in a way we normally do not with journalism, and we are more likely to willingly suspend disbelief without questioning the veracity of what people are saying.

Finally, novels allow us to do something that is hard to do in our own lives, which is to view a character’s life over many years.”

Other studies have shown that people who are regular recipients of stories are generally more empathetic and have improved social cognition.

The fact is, stories can be relatable to almost anyone with an imagination.

But how do you tell the story well?

Obviously it depends what the objective is and who you’re telling the story to.

Reading a small child a bedtime story is going to need very different things than say a soldier coming back from the war to tell of his experiences.

Body language, gestures, eye contact, facial expressions, tone and volume of voice and energy are contribute to the power of telling your story. With the right ingredients you can literally help carve out the pictures you want to embed in the minds eye.

Showing passion breathes life into a story too, which requires some feeling about the topic from the teller as well.

And as we’ve learned, the most important part of a great story is that is has to have an emotional tie in, because this is what ultimately motivates action.

So whatever details are woven in to any story, should be designed to evoke empathy; making it rich in impact.

What about charity storytelling for face to face fundraising?

As we know, the purpose of charities is to help people or animals in need. They rely upon people to want to do good things for others and either volunteer or donate.

For a fundraiser this means one of two things:

• The power of a great story can be used as a core face to face fundraising techniques 

• The story’s ‘objective’ is both to educate and to evoke powerful feelings of empathy

•  There are always many charity stories that are heart wrenching and it’s your job to choose the right ones and relay them well!

It’s important to remember that stories about charity and love go hand in hand which makes it easy to gain an emotive reaction. Of course, in a charity fundraising job you’re not selling a ‘thing’ you’re selling a ‘feeling’.

The donor stands nothing to gain from choosing to help a charity than gaining a feeling or two.

So getting someone to ‘feel’ through what you’re telling them is the important part of our story. It’s basically what’s going to make the difference between them waving you away or being willing to help.

When someone is emotionally invested, they’re far more likely to feel attached to that thing.

And from attachment breeds loyalty. The donor wants to keep connected to the charity over a longer period of time so they watch their progress. They may even become so passionate, they continue your legacy by sharing your story onwards within their own social circles.

That in turn helps create community, giving yet more strength to your support network.

How to weave the five elements of storytelling into your charity story

So now that we’ve understood the importance of stories, how to tell a good story? What’s important with fundraising stories? What about structure?

Every story should have certain elements that provide structure and the ability to follow them. 

Essentially there are five main elements to a complete story.

(That’s not to say the every story must contain all five to have an impact… sometimes we can hook a listener / reader with only one or two, especially when we tell stories about charity! )

Characters

Characters in any story are what gives it a focal point.

The more personality you can relay, the more relatable these characters become. Here’s a fundraising story example of character introduction:

E.g. Jenny is a thirty-something busy mum of two, who loves her garden, yoga and watching the latest Netflix comedy series. She’s often not home until late because she works full time in customer care and regularly visits her elderly parents, who need help to manage their home.

Little details breathe life into your story, helping the listener relate to your character. Try to bring your character to life so that your audience could imagine knowing them.

If you can master that, they’ll also be able to imagine what your characters experiences feel like too.   

Setting the scene

Now you have your character, it’s time to set the scene.

This can be as simple as describing a challenge that arises in your characters life.

E.g. Times had been incredibly tough for Jenny after the sudden death of her father, but especially as her breast cancer diagnosis came just a few short weeks afterwards.

Here you are guiding the listener more deeply into your story. If you can weave in details about your characters feelings, describe their perspective or even mention changes in behaviour e.g. she stopped sleeping well / she didn’t know how to tell her children.

When setting the scene in fundraising, be sure to create a narrative around your charity. Introduce the things they’re doing to help e.g. Breast Cancer Now are ready and waiting for cases just like Jenny’s and provide breast cancer nurses who can help make the whole process more manageable.

The plot

So now we need to develop our plot – this is what happens to our character next in the story.

Thinking about the front line action is most impactful here.

In our example, we can talk about the work that Breast Cancer Now is doing. You might mention their sponsor a nurse campaign, and if the listener wants to know more, talk about research centres who are helping to find new future treatments.

You can use details from the past – how you got here; the present – what’s happening now and the future – giving alternative scenarios of ‘with help’ and ‘without help’. This brings home the relevance and reality to the donor about how their help matters.

Conflict

Of course, there’s always a conflict of some kind in any good story.

Here your conflict is about the ‘enemy’ of the charity. Naturally your charity is the hero, so you should try to highlight the opposing forces which in our example is obviously cancer and (vitally underfunding.

In our story about Jenny, our conflict revolves around her diagnosis

E.g. She didn’t know how she was going to cope with supporting her mum through grief, or how she was going to tell her children. She knew she’d need extra time off work while she received treatment which meant she’d potentially be looking at a reduced income too. There was so much to worry about. 

Here, you’re trying to evoke empathy in your listener. They can relate to Jenny and understand and sympathise with how she feels.

This is where you make it clear that it’s donations that change the destiny of your character and people like her.

Ultimately they have the power to control whether the ending is a happy one.

The resolution

The finale should revolve around what can be done to resolve the problem.

Importantly, try to highlight exactly what happens that changes the course of this person’s story for the better.

Talking about how characters have survived or overcome their problems is also powerful. This can demonstrates that things CAN be done to change a person’s future.

With Jenny’s story, the charitable solution we offer is the arrival of her Breast Cancer Nurse.

E.g. When Jenny was allocated a Breast Cancer Now nurse - Sarah, she felt instantly supported.

Sarah was able to offer calm, practical advice, as well as guide her through the process of treatment. Whenever Jenny’s fear began to overwhelm her, Sarah was there to keep her grounded.

She even introduced her to others going through the same experience.

Jenny’s Breast Cancer nurse was an invaluable lifeline and support through some of the most difficult times of her life. Jenny truly felt like she wasn’t dealing with it alone.

When you’re telling a story about charity, the resolution should really highlight the thing that’s changed the course of this person’s story for the better.

Clearly in this instance, Jenny receiving her care nurse is the turning point.

This is also a great time to relay the overall progress that your charity is making, bringing it from personal to general.

Statistics on progress, or how many people have been helped, details about the services they offer and the research centres that have been built would all be great things to mention here. This re-enforces the message that things that can be done with the right resource.

Read our interview with Breast Cancer Now to learn more about the incredible work they’re doing

In another blog ‘reasons people donate to charity  we explore how one of the nine key drivers that makes people decide to give is ‘impact’. This is when a donor can clearly see how their money will make a difference.

The resolution really is such an important part of the story because it validates again that donors really can make that difference. The potential happy ending really is within the control of the audience.

How long should a story be?

The short answer is; as long as you think it should be!

Of course, with professional fundraising, a story on charity needs to be fairly succinct.

Firstly, because you’re already encroaching on someone else’s precious time so being prompt is important.

Secondly, so fundraisers may preserve their energy - after all, talking to hundreds of people in one day can be exhausting!

Bear in mind, length doesn’t necessary make a story more impactful. Take the shortest story written by Ernest Hemmingway which famously won him a short fiction prize. It consisted of just six words;

"For sale: baby shoes, never worn.” 

It’s a great example of how even stripping things right back to the bare bones can say everything it needs to with careful wording.

Always consider your audience

Choosing the best approach with your story means taking into account who your audience is.

Fundraising storytelling should adapt to suit different ages, genders and locations to be most appealing. If people can relate to a tale they’re more likely to invest.

Look for signs of interest as you’re telling your story, nodding, eye contact and open body language are all good indicators you have their attention.

Ask a few well-placed, simple questions will help guide you in shaping your story to their taste.

For instance, if you’re talking about Breast Cancer, perhaps you could ask if they know anyone that’s been affected by the disease.

Or if you’re soliciting donors for Dogs Trust, ask if they have a dog. From the answers given you immediately have a basic common ground (or not) and know to what depth you’ll need to explain things.

Get the potential donor to talk about their own experiences and be interested in what they’re saying. This not only builds your relationship, it connects and relates the person to your story too.

Conclusion

Not least of all are the stories we tell ourselves. When we believe something has gone one way wholeheartedly, we become blinkered to the exception, the nuances the reality.

Sometimes we literally can’t see the wood for the trees!

The exact same circumstance can be transformed just by a few dark days. On the flipside we have all suddenly had clarity on a new situation that makes everything just feel better. Always make sure you reach out to people that love you and know you well so they can reground you and remind you that your stories can change depending on how you’re feeling and what you’re dealing with.

This is why it’s so important when you are told no, not to tell yourself the story that it’s about you.

Fundraisers are so often working from the heart, much of the reward being about helping others. To be told no again and again can feel like rejection and it’s important to take stock, to watch negative thought spirals and to step away to replenish and recover when you need to.

There is nothing wrong with you. There is nothing wrong with how you’ve done things. You can always reflect upon how you might do things differently, but we are just human and we make mistakes. Sometimes you win; sometimes you learn.

 Most of all be kind to yourself! You’re doing a fantastic (and very difficult) job.

 Are you interested in a career in professional fundraising for charities? We’re always interested to talk to anyone with a passion for making a difference and who is up for challenge and reward in equal measure!