{"id":2769,"date":"2018-07-27T19:12:52","date_gmt":"2018-07-27T19:12:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/espaceidees.ca\/2018\/07\/27\/storytelling-how-using-emotions-resonates-with-potential-donors\/"},"modified":"2025-07-10T14:40:02","modified_gmt":"2025-07-10T18:40:02","slug":"storytelling-how-using-emotions-resonates-with-potential-donors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/espaceidees.ca\/en\/storytelling-how-using-emotions-resonates-with-potential-donors\/","title":{"rendered":"Storytelling: How Using Emotions Resonates With Potential Donors"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\u201cPeople will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.\u201d<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 Maya Angelou, American poet, writer, actress and activist<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

Storytelling is a communication technique that is becoming increasingly common in philanthropy. Developed in the 1990s in the US, storytelling is the art of telling a story to convey a message (or “sell” a cause) rather than using argumentation or a traditional case for support. The ultimate goal is to reach and inspire others (or in our case, potential donors) to support our cause.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

A Different Way to Inform and Mobilize<\/h3>\n\n

According to the \u201cGuide pratique sur l\u2019impact<\/strong><\/a>\u201d (Practical Guide on Impact), people are more sensitive to information when it is told in the context of a story (Fortin, 2018, p. 63). Gone are the days when we only had to describe the mission and the services of our nonprofit organization to obtain donor support. We need to inspire our target audience in order to motivate them to learn more about us and to persuade and engage them.<\/p>\n\n

To help donors identify more easily with our cause and influence generosity, we should speak to them from the heart and not the head. Through a good story, they will not only think about our cause and the services we offer, but also about what they can do to improve the life of the person around whom our story is told.<\/p>\n\n

Furthermore, when people are touched by a story, the message remains engraved longer in their memory. When the story is real, it automatically brings a greater sense of respect from the audience. Its role is not to tell people what they should do or think, but simply to convey a stimulating and inspiring message.<\/p>\n\n

How to Incorporate Storytelling<\/h3>\n\n

We can tell a story using a photo, video, Facebook post, tweet, blog post, etc. The question we always need to answer is: how does our organization change lives?<\/p>\n\n

How to Find a Story to Share<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n

We can use the testimonials our organization receives from its volunteers, service users, employees or others. Don\u2019t hesitate to ask donors and board members to also share their story if you believe it will resonate with your target audience.<\/p>\n\n

Here are some additional tips from the \u201cGuide pratique sur l\u2019impact<\/strong><\/a>\u201d (Practical Guide on Impact):<\/p>\n\n