Non Profit

Nonprofit organizations are naturals for narrative marketing. Simply put, they have access to compelling human dramas every single day. Stories that make people cry. Stories that ignite hope and joy. If told well, there’s no way someone cannot react strongly to an organization’s key stories.

For the most part, though, this isn’t happening. Large and small, most nonprofits -especially those in the human services arena – do not utilize their stories to their full benefit, and typically only tap 10% of their potential.

A case in point is a drug and alcohol treatment agency, CoRR, that is located in northeastern California. This organization was on the doorstep of celebrating 30 years of service to their community, yet very few people knew they existed, much less had knowledge of what they did. And, the majority of people who did know about them, felt that they only dealt with “those people”, or that they were a part of local government.

This organization had a problem. First, the issue of substance abuse, especially among young people, was growing. For this reason they needed to expand their services. Unfortunately, there wasn’t government funding to provide prevention and treatment services to children (at least not much). Second, because of their local reputation (or lack thereof) they didn’t have much hope in raising funds locally. They’d have to go the grant funding route, which is very competitive and time consuming. Finally, their biggest problem of all was that they didn’t have a story.

The first truth of narrative marketing is that people respond to a well-told story. This agency didn’t even know they had a story to tell. But, this changed when they determined that, indeed, they had a number of very powerful stories of miracles and hope to share with the community. And that first story began with Janice.

Janice is a recovering drug addict whose story begins with her being raped by an uncle when she was 5-years old, using drugs by the age of 7, with her use escalating over the years to the point where she lost her children and had prison-time hanging over her. Today, two years later, she has over 2-years clean and sober and is in the process of being re-united with her children.

On behalf of this agency, Janice began telling her story to groups of local business people. Her tale of tragedy, depravity and redemption resonated within the local halls of power. Grown men cried. Audience members began writing checks.

By including stories like Janice’s in every presentation, every communication, and every grant proposal, this agency’s local reputation was transformed. They also began receiving grant money they’d never dreamed of receiving. Their agency became a member of the “big three” locally, linked to the two largest and most respected local organizations. The value of their government contracts also expanded…and they were now considered a partner, rather than just another nonprofit with their hand out looking for money.

All this through the power of one story. And then another. And another, all told well, and all connecting people to shared values. But, to accomplish this transformation, the stories they told had to have these elements:

1. Believability. Janice was real, not a compilation (as many stories are structured). She delivered her story personally, without reservation and with deep humility. When people heard her tell the story, they knew it to be the truth…because she lived it. But, the added-value was that, because the agency delivered believability through Janice, subsequent stories did not need to be told first-person-in-the-flesh. They could deliver stories in writing…they were believed because they established credibility through Janice’s first-hand account.

2. Personal Connection. What made Janice so believable was that she looked like she could be the wife, sister, daughter or grand-daughter of the people who heard her tale. She looked the part. Despite the many years of abuse she endured, her appearance was unblemished, even professional. Because of her appearance, and the simple way she told her story, people could connect with her.

3. Inherent Drama. There was plenty of drama in Janice’s story. While hard to hear, it was easy to imagine the pain she endured…and overcame. Drama is synonymous with conflict. Within the conflict there is struggle. And then there is resolution. While it’s not a good idea to include too much detail (Janice’s story could have filled an entire book), enough detail needs to be given to create an emotional connection. It is emotion that drives an effective story. But, within the resolution there needs to be a logical solution that people can be part of…a way to take action.

4. Value-Driven. Without being placed in a values-context, a marketing story is next to worthless. The reason why people love stories so much is that good stories connect people. How do people connect? Through values. Janice’s story resonated with her audience’s desire to protect the helpless, to preserve their community, to protect their own children, to preserve their own assets. She connected with their inherent compassion and genuine interest in preventing further abuses. Her story stuck because of the values connection.

5. Call to Action. To be effective, a marketing story must call people to take an action. Whether it’s seeking more information, purchasing a product, changing an idea through new knowledge, or making a donation, the end-result is that some kind of action needs to be taken. While not necessary, building urgency into a story will catapult action. This is a basic of good salesmanship (don’t bristle) or copywriting. Without the call to action, all you’ve delivered is entertainment. The story has a point. The point is that action must be taken or there will be more stories like Janice’s…only without the happy ending.

These are the must-have’s in any story that’s intended to create a positive result.

However, there is one important don’t that every nonprofit must also give attention:

Do not, under any circumstance, play the Guilt Card. Your job is to deliver a value-driven story that connects with people’s values. Delivering a guilt-trip will destroy a great story very, very quickly. Nobody wants to be associated with guilt…they want success.

So, rather than connect people to guilt, connect them to hope. Connect them to a solution.

Do that and you’ll connect to their checkbooks and influence.

(c) 2008 James Phelps Creative

Coach, consultant and copywriter, James Phelps, is the creator of “Practical Creativity: The Complete System for Powering-Up Your Creativity for Unrecognizable Results.” To learn more about this step-by-step program, and to sign up for his FREE how-to articles and other resources, visit http://www.See-Create.com

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