Take a listen to my recent conversation with Stephen Halasnik about why talking about money is scary for fundraisers.  We had a candid conversation about why it’s so uncomfortable and what we can do to shift our discomfort.

Stephen shared his own fundraising story. He talks openly about what happened when he invited friends and colleagues to make financial contributions to support organizations that were important to him after his wife passed away.

Follow along with our discussion to reduce your own discomfort:

5:07 – It’s scary for people to talk about money.
11:17 – The missing thing for people when they’re uncomfortable talking about money.
20:21 – Why is asking for money uncomfortable and how do you get past it?
31:00 – What goes into a good ask?
39:05 – What can happen when you share your money story

If you’d rather read view a written overview of the conversation here.

For more details download a press release about this episode

Stephen Halasnik is the host of the popular Nonprofit MBA Podcast. The Nonprofit MBA podcast aims to help nonprofit leaders and their teams. Stephen is the Co-founder and Managing Partner of Financing Solutions, a leading provider of loans for nonprofits in the form of a Line of Credit. Stephen is a best-selling Amazon author and a leading authority on building great, purpose-driven businesses.

Stephen lives in New Jersey, and his top life mission is to raise his two sons, Michael and Maxwell, to be good men.

Research tells us stories are more memorable than just statistics. And, science tells us everything we believe comes from stories we’ve been told by others OR we tell ourselves.

As we vie for attention in the smartphone scrolling frenzy, what makes a story, especially a story told virtually, effective? 

Here’s my list of 5, feel free to add yours:

1. One person

Don’t yammer on about yourself, the years in existence, number of staff, or programs. Make your story about a single person. A volunteer, your founder, a client, a rescue pet adopter, a recipient of clean water, a student, staff, or board member. The list is endless. This leads me to #2 — keep it short.

2. SHORT snippets 

Share very short snippets about the person. A photo of receiving a diploma or the face on a homebound elderly person receiving a warm meal, or a hug or the arc of the basketball as it swooshes through the basket

Image credit: Ecumen.org Facebook

The emphasis here is to keep your share SHORT. This can be done with a powerful photo, quote, video, or six-word story.

3. Share your story more than once

It’s rare that your community sees ALL of your social media and email postings. If you have a powerful, engaging story to share don’t just use it one time. Repost the image or the written or video version of the story in multiple places throughout the year. 

An excellent practice is to provide quick updates about the person in your story throughout the year. Allow your community to get to know the hero in your story over time. Now you’re building engagement at a much deeper level and allowing your community to feel like an insider. 

4. Multiple formats

Tell the story multiple ways: video, photo, quote, six-word story. Cause people to want to know more AND feel something. More on the feeling thing in #5.

Pictures don’t have to include faces. They can be an image of the back of someone or hands holding or a tiny hand holding a glass of dirty water or playing with other hands on the playground. I’m big on using images of hands. Aging hands look different than the hands of a 6-year-old. What story could a simple image tell?

By sharing in multiple formats and sharing your story more than once you are creating a familiarity with the impact of your mission.

5. FEEL something

 This is THE most important component for effective virtual storytelling. If your reader or listener doesn’t feel something within a second or two they will move on. No surprise, attention spans have shortened in the past couple of years.

Think about what you want me to feel and keep your story simple so that’s exactly what your audience feels: hope, excitement, concern, curiosity, frustration, joy, entertained, you decide.

Ethical storytelling doesn’t cause anyone to feel sorry for another person. Sympathy is a distancing, judging emotion. Empathy IS what you want to cause. Empathy allows a deeper connection to another person AND your important work. 

NOTE: This post is a recap of the recent web session Lori delivered at the AMAZING Nonprofit Marketing Summit 2023: The Big Innovation. The Summit is over, but all videos and slides from the more than 60 sessions are available for purchase. And no, I don’t receive any financial compensation for the sales. I just want you to know you can have access to some of the best content and speakers collected in a single place. 

This isn’t a topic for a single blog post. So, expect more from me in the weeks and months ahead.

First, let’s define some terminology.

Storytelling
/ˈstôrēˌteliNG/
the activity of writing, telling, or reading stories

Ethical
/ˈeTHəkəl/
relating to beliefs about what is morally right and wrong

As a self-titled master storyteller, I’ve lightly touched on this topic for years. But it’s no longer a topic to skirt around. As a speaker, trainer, and coach, with a focus on storytelling, I need to be deep IN the conversation about how to tell stories in a dignifying way.

Today my question for both you and me is: What does it mean to be making ethical choices as we share stories in the social sector?

To gather and share ethical stories there are a number of important questions to ask. Here are a few:

• Do we have permission to share the story we are telling?
• For how long and in what formats do we have permission to share the story?
• Is the story being told representing diverse perspectives? Should it?
• As we share stories about people from vulnerable communities are we jeopardizing the dignity of the person in the story?
• Who and what are the benefits of telling this story?
• Does the subject of this story lose anything by having the story told?

Building on those questions let’s define two more words: empathy vs. sympathy.

Sympathy is a distancing emotion. Sympathy, while possibly sounding noble, puts the person who might be struggling in a place of being judged. We may even have a feeling of relief that we aren’t in the position of the person in the story.

In my humble opinion, sympathy-evoking stories are usually disrespectful and may even be harmful.

Empathy is connecting emotion. When we have empathy we experience a feeling of understanding. It’s when we choose to look at things from someone else’s perspective while attempting to understand why they feel or act the way they do.

Here’s what I know for sure: Ethical storytelling is an incredibly important and nuanced topic. It requires discussion, disagreements, and active listening to understand and wade through its complexity.

If you’re like me, you need to give this some thought and determine how best to incorporate best practices for ethical storytelling into your communications. Here are a few resources to get us started as we take this journey together:

Ethicalstorytelling.com has many resources for us.

Take a look at their ethical storytelling pledge by clicking on the image at the right or visiting their website.

Free ethical storytelling webinars can be found here.

Community-Centric Fundraising is changing the conversation about how fundraising is done in the nonprofit sector.

A thought-provoking read:
7 Ways to tell Stories Ethically: The Journey from Exploited Program Participant to Empowered Storyteller.

Caliopy Glaros, founder of Philanthropy without Borders, has created evaluations, workshops, training and coaching about ethical storytelling.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts, feedback, and any links to other helpful resources.

Some of what we discussed during the panel:

• Ways to effectively evaluate the success of your year-end giving
• How to take lessons from this year to strengthen your year-end giving for next year
• Best fundraising strategies to put in place coming out of year-end giving

Richard Tollefson, from The Phoenix Philanthropy Group, shared how confidence, persistence, vision, and humility are tools for a successful fundraising program.

Regina Alhassan, from ResearchPRO, LLC, talked about the importance of donor data tracking.

Julia Beltran, Partnership Manager at Double The Donation, reminded us of the power of corporate matching gifts.

I talked about getting your community ready to give ALL year long and the power of thanking creatively. I also shared a reminder that hope is NOT a fundraising strategy.

Watch the replay with some of your staff and board members to set yourselves up for a powerful year ahead. Enjoy!

Or click the image below to visit the NXUnite replay page where you’ll log in to view the on-demand recording.

NXUnite connects leaders in the mission-driven space with the resources and people they need for their organization to thrive. From hosting panels with industry experts to providing curated listings of nonprofit learning opportunities, NXUnite helps organizations get their important questions answered. Gain insight, share knowledge, and connect with the people you need to accomplish your mission. NXUnite brings nonprofit leaders together in an unstoppable community that facilitates valuable connections.

The wise, fun, brilliant, Jason Ellinger, founder of Beard and Bowler, a nonprofit storytelling and video production company, generously spent time with me this week.

[To learn more about his founding story watch this video or scroll down on this page on his website for a deeper look into the roots of the company.]

Jason put words to something I’ve been teaching nonprofit staff for years. It’s a simple storytelling tactic that will either keep your listener or reader on the edge of their seat waiting for the end OR cause them to lose interest and move on.

KEY storytelling fact: Conflict is the oxygen of your story. It’s why we watch ALL those episodes of a Netflix series or stay until the end of that 3-hour and 12-minute movie.

Take your listeners or readers or viewers of your video on a journey when you craft a story. Help them feel some of what it’s like to walk alongside courageous people; live in a community with contaminated water; deal with an aging body; or _____ fill the blank with your mission.

Take us on a journey. But don’t end our journey too quickly.

The fastest way to lose your audience when sharing a story is to bring in the resolution too soon.

Jason has done an unscientific study of the Disney Pixar movies he’s watched with his 3-year-old son. He began noting how long from the resolution to the ending credits. Because who pays attention to anything after the resolution? The range he’s noted is 1 to 2 minutes.

Do YOU remember what happened in Toy Story 1 after Woody and Buzz fly into Andy’s car and land safely? I don’t. No one much cares about what happens after the resolution of the conflict in the movie or the story you’re telling.

Science tells us the primary driver of human behavior is EMOTION. So, when you craft messages this year, I invite you to take your community on a journey to feel something. Pride. Irritation. Frustration. Hope. Inspiration. DO share the conflict and nuggets of the story that shines a spotlight on the courage of the hero of your story.

Please don’t resolve the conflict too soon.

You’ll lose your audience.

And raise less money.

Many posts and emails simply reminded me that it was Giving Tuesday with what felt like an expectation to give money.

What was missing?

• Who would my contribution help?
• How much money would make a difference?
• What was the financial gap between where the organization is today and where it must be by end of the day or end of December to fully fund their mission?
• A sense of urgency: Why give now?

We compete for attention every moment of the day. Great storytelling is more than an essential skill, it’s your superpower to get people to pay attention to your message.

TRUE STORY

A few years ago I worked with a small nonprofit in preparation for Give to the Max day (GTMD) – the annual 24-hour giving day in Minnesota.

In previous years the tiny but mighty team had a small fundraising goal, raising just over $10,000 during the 24-hour day of giving. The year we worked together their fundraising revenue for the 24-hour campaign was just over $78,000!

What will it take for you to exceed YOUR fundraising goals?

You DO NOT have to do this work alone or the hard way. In 4 one-hour sessions, we will quickly transform the way you talk to donors to make an inspiring impact, build long-term relationships, and exceed your 2023 fundraising goals.

If you’re ready to blow past your fundraising goals – I want to show you how!

We have space for only four organizations.

BONUS
When you secure your spot in the Ignite Your Fundraising Results course by December 24, 2022 — I’ll add one extra 1:1 coaching session ($225 value) for your team!

I get it. It’s the unofficial downtime of the fundraising year.

But, IF fully funding your mission requires more money and increased awareness now IS the time to ask yourself: how are we allowing people to get a glimpse of the amazing, life-changing work done here?

And MY question for you is: How are you engaging your supporters. Right now.

No surprise, it’s up to YOU as staff (and board members) to create a glimpse into your organization through the eyes of one person. To inspire people to give at year-end means you must engage your supporters throughout the year — even in the summer.

Don’t roll your eyes because you feel stuck about what to do next. In the archives, I’ve already created a short list for you of 10 actions you can take this summer. 

THE most important thing to be doing right now is to share stories of how lives are changing because your nonprofit exists. And that means sharing powerful stories both now AND in your fall appeal.

It’s ONE person’s experience that creates empathy and understanding. Statistics and generalities can cause disconnect and often sympathy. An important distinction is that sympathy is a distancing emotion. Don’t share stories that make anyone feel sorry for someone else.

Okay. Share more stories. Got it?

If you’re doing that eye roll again because these and other questions are swirling through your head:

• What stories to highlight?
• What to do once you’ve chosen the story?
• How to write a compelling story

Not to worry. Here’s your fall fundraising appeal story checklist. You’ll find you can use it for any story you craft to engage your supporters.

It’s simple really. Share more stories of staff, volunteers, and yes, client stories – if possible. Then watch connections and understanding deepen.

It can be that simple.

Success in life comes down to one thing: communication. What we say. Where we say it. How and when we say it.

For me, helping fundraising professionals understand how to tell better stories to raise more money is my passion, calling, and life work. Fortunately, Erin Shipps, the host of the Auction Advocate podcast for the National Auctioneer Association (NAA) invited me to have a conversation about my storytelling passion.

We’ve mentioned Erin before in our blog posts when we referenced the article she wrote about a training I delivered for auctioneers last year: Powerful Storytelling in Fundraising.

I have to say, I loved talking with Erin. She is smart, fun, and easy to talk with. She even got me to take a quiz at the end of the podcast to learn what kind of storyteller I am.

You’ll learn what drew me to this work, how it became a career, and you’ll hear about some of my favorite soapbox topics. There were some tears, a lot of laughter, and I had the opportunity to share my “secret sauce” for telling better stories.

Some of what you’ll learn:

• Why we can’t make a decision without feeling something.
• How much more memorable stories are than facts.
• That knowledge alone does not cause people to take action.
• The most important way to change human behavior.

Listen to the full episode on the Auction Advocate podcast page or click play below.

I love this Bluefrog Fundraising graphic. It was updated during the pandemic and is based on research gathered in December 2020 when we were still at the beginning of the pandemic.

Notice what you may currently be sharing with your stakeholders. Next, take a look at what your donors actually WANT to know. The good news is your goal and your donors’ goal are the same: how do we solve a problem? – in this example how do we beat the coronavirus.

My recommendation when crafting your communication: think carefully about what you’re saying and whether or not it’s what donors want to hear.

Speak to your supporters in a conversational, engaging way. As if they are family. Because they are.

Whether it’s an annual fundraising appeal, a monthly newsletter, or a social media post, focus on what your donors want to hear. It takes a little more time to do, but it IS simple.

1. Show your donors what you are doing to help real people. This isn’t a time to just show need. Show relevance too.

2. Show your donors how you are innovating. Demonstrate how you have adapted your approach to the current situation and how you are delivering services from a physical distance. Show how you are protecting front-line staff and beneficiaries.

3. Show your donors they are valued. It’s important donors know you value their support and it is getting through to those people (or animals) that need it. Ask. Thank. And Report. And make it specific to the value of the gifts donors are giving.

Notice these steps follow the old writing adage “show don’t tell.” The very best way to “show” is to share a powerful mission moment story.

Sharing a powerful mission moment will make the difference in telling people about and engaging in your mission. The more you engage and focus on what donors want to hear — the more they’ll give.

1. Make it Visual

As with most stories, adding visuals brings your money story to life. Infographics make it simple to specifically highlight the impact of annual gifts, to show your donors how far their dollar goes. An image is especially helpful when staff and board members feel uncomfortable talking about money. Your image can do the talking for them.

2. Tell the Truth

Don’t be afraid to tell your supporters about the exact dollar amount you are raising and why. You have a specific amount of money you’re looking to raise each year, don’t be afraid to talk about the specifics! Share “what it takes” to do your important work. Invite them to ask questions about your costs so they become a larger part of the conversation.

3. Share Funding Updates Regularly

If there’s been a change in funding streams, share that information with your supporters. Don’t expect your community to know that you need them to give more regularly if they don’t know what’s happening on your end. Be transparent if you lose a large contract, grant, or canceled a fee-based event. You’ll be surprised how supportive they’ll be.

4. Create Mini-Campaigns Throughout the Year

Sometimes annual fundraising goals can be daunting. It’s helpful to create multiple mini-campaigns throughout your fundraising year. Sharing bite-sized moments in time helps close your annual funding gap. Knowing and sharing your money story all year long is a tool to inspire leadership and donors to help reach these more manageable money milestones. Spreading your mini-campaigns out all year takes away the anxiety of reaching your annual goal at year-end.

5. Framing the Message is Key

The way you share your money story is just as important as the topic of your story. A message about what money makes possible is inspiring. It’s not a message about how “badly” your organization is doing or how much you need help. It is a message about what money makes possible that inspires. Share what can be done together to allow your supporters to fulfill their own aspirations and increase their impact.

6. Fill in the Gaps

By sharing “what’s missing” you provide an opportunity for supporters to fill in the gaps and make a difference. By sharing the gaps between known sources of funding and what it actually takes to deliver your quality services and programs, your community learns how they can increase their own impact. This will make it easier to invite monthly or multi-year gifts.are “what it takes” to do your important work. Invite them to ask questions about your costs so they become a larger part of the conversation.