This is our soapbox

This is our soapbox on philanthropy, fundraising, the charitable sector, and the world. For more information, visit GoalBusters.net or call 888.883.2690.

Monday, September 29, 2008

Communicating Your Mission with Infectious Passion

It has been said that no one ever gave to an organization because of a Power Point presentation. Or a case statement.

Fundraisers talk about case statements a lot. It’s a document that outlines the history, mission and vision of the organization, plus gives the detail of the project that is the center of the fundraising campaign. Sometimes the documents are long, and sometimes they can be a bit dry.

The question becomes, “Will the donor even read it?” Maybe not.

So, turn your case statement into a “bedtime story.”

First, you have once upon a time. What was the situation that caused your organization to come into being?

Next, introduce your hero or heroine. This might be a founder, or a current leader, or a person your organization serves. Highlight the quest or mission—what do they want or need to accomplish?

Then, put obstacles in the way. Why can’t our hero succeed in the current state?

But don’t leave it at that. Describe what happily ever after looks like. Show how the world can be a better place if the hero accomplishes his or her goals.

Finally, put the donor in the story. Show how the donor can be your “deus ex machina” or “god from the machine.” Demonstrate that your donor can help make the happily ever after, happen.

It’s very easy to fall into the habit of putting together slides and charts to communicate your cause. While valid data is still critical to support your case, if you can develop a short “once upon a time” tale, you have a great way to immediately connect with a potential contributor.

This Tip is excerpted from “Storytelling: Communicating Your Mission with Infectious Passion,” soon to be presented in Tucson, Arizona. For more information on this workshop, contact GoalBusters or check our Workshops and Presentations page.

Also, for a great article on storytelling in fundraising by Alessandra Bianchi, visit Stanford Social Innovation Review.
#####

Connect with GoalBusters: LinkedIn - Alice Ferris / LinkedIn - Jim Anderson / Facebook / Twitter / YouTube / Myspace

Labels

Alice Ferris (99) Jim Anderson (72) AFP (41) ACFRE (39) goalbusters (33) GoalBusters Consulting (31) CFRE (30) fundraising (30) Training (23) nonprofit (23) 100 days of gratitude (21) Association of Fundraising Professionals (18) Presentations (18) 100 days (17) 2009 (15) 2014 (15) AFP Conference (15) gratitude (15) AFPNAZ (14) Social Media (14) 2010 (13) 2013 (13) philanthropy (13) 2012 (11) Workshop (11) travel (11) 2011 (10) Flagstaff (9) How To (9) KAWC (8) Volunteer (8) arizona (8) thank you (8) 2008 (7) Facebook (7) Marketing (7) YouTube (7) 2017 (6) FAQ (6) Food (6) Public Radio (6) Storytelling (6) Tips (6) Video (6) LinkedIn (5) Lowell Observatory (5) Making the Ask (5) NFCB (5) Planning (5) Social Networking (5) Webinar (5) restaurants (5) rural fundraising (5) 2016 (4) Air Travel (4) Chinese New Year (4) Christmas (4) Donor (4) Hopi (4) KGHR (4) KUYI (4) Major Gifts (4) Native American (4) PBS (4) Planned Giving (4) Pledge Drive (4) Public Broadcasting (4) Public Television (4) SlideShare (4) Special Events (4) Stevenson (4) Video Production (4) board development (4) ethics (4) stewardship (4) 2015 (3) Arizona PBS (3) Brand (3) Canada (3) Capital Campaign (3) Chinese (3) Community (3) Development Staff (3) Donor Acquisition (3) Economy (3) Elf (3) Elves (3) Goals (3) HEEF (3) Haiku Deck (3) Health Care (3) Holiday (3) Jimisms (3) KAWC Colorado River Public Media (3) Manifesto (3) Mission (3) North Country HealthCare (3) Passion (3) Photography (3) Promotion (3) Research (3) Small Shops (3) Wisconsin (3) Year-End Giving (3) customer service (3) diversity (3) phoenix (3) prescott (3) resolutions (3) yuma (3) 2007 (2) 2020 (2) AFP TechKnow (2) Accreditation (2) Advancing Philanthropy (2) Alice's Restaurants (2) Baltimore (2) Books (2) Business Strategy (2) CFRE International (2) Chronicle of Philanthropy (2) Coaches (2) Commentary (2) Communication (2) Conference (2) Congress (2) Dancing (2) Dr. John H. Caskey III (2) Elta Foster (2) Foodspotting (2) Fundraising Campaign (2) Funny (2) Guiding Principles (2) Honor (2) Hopi Education Endowment Fund (2) House of Philanthropy (2) Humor (2) Immigrant (2) Jib Jab (2) KAET (2) NAU (2) Navajo (2) New Orleans (2) Partners (2) Plan (2) Press Release (2) Profile (2) Prospecting (2) Relationships (2) Respect (2) Resume (2) Reviews (2) Sanders (2) Schultz Fire (2) Singing (2) Strategic Planning (2) TechKnow (2) Toronto (2) Trust (2) Twitter (2) VIP (2) Values (2) Velvet Rope (2) Visionary (2) Vora Finacial (2) accountability (2) anniversary (2) appreciation (2) award (2) career satisfaction (2) change (2) checklist (2) code of ethics (2) crisis (2) crisis communication (2) cultivation (2) culture of philanthropy (2) development (2) development cycle (2) diverse communities (2) education (2) goal setting (2) habits (2) introspection (2) jobs (2) lapsed donors (2) las vegas (2) lessons (2) new year (2) personal (2) san diego (2) tripit (2) washington DC (2) 2019 (1) 30 day plan (1) 60 minutes (1) AFP Foundation Canada (1) AFP Meeting (1) AFPeeps (1) ALD (1) AWC (1) African American (1) Alexis de Tocqueville (1) Alpha Lambda Delta (1) Andrew Philips (1) Angry (1) Animoto (1) Anna LaBenz (1) Annagreta Jacobson (1) Apps (1) Arizona Daily Sun (1) Arizona University (1) Arizona Western College (1) Ask the Experts (1) Bequests (1) Bill Ferris (1) Blink (1) Bloomerang (1) Boot Camp (1) Boudros (1) Branding (1) Broadway (1) CAN-SPAM (1) CEO (1) CN Tower EdgeWalk (1) COVID (1) COVID-19 (1) CPB (1) Career Change (1) Case (1) Center on Philanthropy (1) Certified Fund Raising Executive (1) Charity Channel (1) Charlatans (1) Cheerleaders (1) Children (1) Chris Adams (1) Church (1) City Council (1) Cleveland (1) Cold Call (1) Colorado (1) Commission (1) Community Service (1) Compensation (1) Cook (1) Corporate Giving (1) Credential (1) Credentialing (1) Dan Coughlin (1) Data (1) Dating Game (1) Dave Tinker (1) Desert (1) Dharmesh Vora (1) Discovery Channel Telescope (1) Domestic Violence Shelter (1) Donald Sutherland (1) Donation (1) Douglas Adams (1) Downton Abbey (1) Dr. Carl Myers (1) Dr. William J. Rugg (1) EAA (1) Ed Renzi (1) Efficiency (1) Elevator Speech (1) Entrepreneur Magazine (1) Extraordinary Donor Journey (1) FM (1) FTC (1) Family (1) Fan Pages (1) Farm (1) Fast Food Nation (1) Feasibility Study (1) Feedback (1) Fight Club (1) Flagstaff Community Partnership (1) Flagstaff Shelter Services (1) Flood (1) Flowers (1) Food Bank (1) Foundations (1) Founders Medallion (1) Frances McAllister (1) Free (1) Fundraising Effectiveness Project (1) Gallup Q12 (1) Ginny Z. Berson (1) Girl Scouts (1) Giving USA (1) Global Philanthropic (1) Goldilocks Proposals (1) Granite Mountain Hotshots (1) Grant Writing (1) Grants (1) Grants Step by Step (1) Halifax (1) Hash House A Go Go (1) Hawaii (1) Healthcare (1) Hey Eleanor (1) Hiring (1) Hispanic (1) Homeless (1) Hopi Foundation (1) Hospital (1) Houston (1) IAIA (1) ICON (1) Identity (1) Ignorant (1) Immigration (1) In Kind (1) Indiana University (1) JC Patrick (1) JLB Project (1) January (1) Jetpack America (1) Jim Collins (1) Jimmy LaRose (1) KUAT (1) Kaleidoscope (1) Karla Williams (1) Ken Lain (1) KonMari (1) Kristin Taliaferro (1) KristinCoach (1) Latino (1) Lawrence Welk (1) Le Pavillon (1) Legacy (1) Living Social (1) Lodging (1) Los Angeles (1) Lotus of Siam (1) MIP (1) Mabel's on Main (1) Madison (1) Makeover Series (1) Malcolm Brett (1) Malcolm Gladwell (1) Margo Hudson (1) Marshall Rosenberg (1) Mary W. Black (1) Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs (1) McDonalds (1) Meeting Facilitation (1) Methodist (1) Mexican (1) Michael Nilsen (1) Middle East (1) Mike Geiger (1) Montessori in the Park (1) Mr Rogers (1) MySpace (1) NAFB (1) NANOE (1) NPR (1) NSU (1) NaNope (1) Nan Bain (1) Nepal (1) New York (1) News (1) Nietzche (1) Nonviolent Communication (1) Northern Arizona University (1) Organizational Readiness (1) Orlando (1) Oshkosh (1) Ottawa (1) PMDMC (1) PRPD (1) Pacifica (1) Pandemic (1) Parade (1) Partners in Recognition (1) Paul Helford (1) Philanthropist (1) Pittsburgh (1) Plenary Speaker (1) Politics (1) Porgy and Bess (1) Prezi (1) Proposal (1) Publications (1) Quentin Lee (1) Questions (1) Racial Profiling (1) Raku (1) Review (1) Rick Swanson (1) River City Grill (1) Riverwalk (1) Robbe Healey (1) Robert Kiyosaki (1) Ronald McDonald House (1) Rose Marie Ferris (1) SB1070 (1) SEO (1) SWOT (1) San Antonio (1) Saskatoon (1) Scottsdale (1) Service (1) Serving Your Community (1) Shared History (1) Soroptimists (1) Speaker (1) Sponsors (1) Sponsorship (1) Spring (1) Stephen Hawking (1) Stereotypes (1) Strategic Thinking (1) Super Size me (1) Suze Orman (1) Sweets Raku (1) Taco Trucks (1) Target Marketing (1) Team (1) Teamwork (1) Television (1) Teri Sanders (1) Texas (1) Thanksgiving (1) Tim Burcham (1) Timothy Sandoval (1) Toolkit (1) Tough (1) Tough Economy (1) Train (1) Tucson (1) Tweets (1) United President's Club (1) Vernon Kahe (1) WBAI (1) Watters Garden Center (1) Whitney Anderson (1) WikiHow (1) Wills (1) Winnipeg (1) Wisconsin Public Television (1) Women's March on Washington (1) Woodford Reserve (1) Yarnell (1) Yarnell Fire (1) Year in review (1) Year of the Sheep (1) Yellow Pages (1) accidental fundraiser (1) administration (1) adventures (1) assessment (1) astronomy (1) beliefs (1) birthday (1) board of governors (1) board service (1) breaking up (1) brochures (1) budget cuts (1) business practices (1) career (1) career development (1) cats (1) cliques (1) community radio (1) conversations (1) difficult people (1) dinner parties (1) donor focused (1) donor pyramid (1) election 2016 (1) end of relationship (1) essay (1) executive director (1) federal funding (1) firefighters (1) for profit (1) high school (1) hotels (1) ikigai (1) inspiration (1) jetpack (1) job seeking (1) keynote (1) leadership (1) lemons (1) loss (1) mentoring (1) millennials (1) monthly giving (1) motivation (1) multicultural (1) nomination (1) oklahoma city (1) organizational culture (1) outstanding professional (1) peoria (1) personal growth (1) potlucks (1) productivity (1) receptions (1) recognition (1) red flags (1) remembrance (1) sales (1) san francisco (1) scholarships (1) science (1) setbacks (1) star thrower (1) starfish (1) sustaining members (1) tempe (1) thirtysomething (1) three cups of tea (1) to do (1) transformational (1) vlog (1) volunteers (1) wildland fire (1) winslow (1)