How can you emotionally connect with donors through storytelling?

1 Identify your donor persona

Before you write any story, you need to know who you're writing for. A donor persona is a fictional representation of your ideal donor, based on research and data. It helps you understand their motivations, challenges, values, and preferences. By creating a donor persona, you can tailor your stories to their needs and interests, and show them how your nonprofit can help them achieve their goals.

2 Choose a relevant and compelling theme

A theme is the main idea or message that you want to convey through your story. It should align with your nonprofit's mission and vision, and also appeal to your donor persona's emotions and values. For example, if your nonprofit works to end hunger, your theme could be dignity, empowerment, or hope. A theme helps you create a consistent and coherent narrative that connects your story to your cause and your donor.

3 Use the hero's journey structure

The hero's journey is a classic storytelling structure that follows a protagonist as they face a challenge, overcome obstacles, and achieve a transformation. It's a proven formula that engages the reader and creates empathy and suspense. To use the hero's journey to structure your story, you should first introduce the hero - the person or group that your nonprofit serves - and show them in their ordinary world, facing a problem or need that your donor can relate to. Then present the call to action, explaining how your nonprofit helps them overcome their challenge, and what impact it has on their life. Afterward, show the transformation by demonstrating the results and benefits of your nonprofit's work. Use specific and tangible examples such as numbers, quotes, or images to illustrate how the hero has changed or improved, and how their situation is different from before. Finally, invite the donor to join the journey by showing them how their donation can make a difference and what value they get from being involved. Make sure to use a clear and compelling call to action, and express gratitude and appreciation.

4 Use sensory and emotional language

To make your story more vivid and memorable, you need to use language that appeals to the senses and the emotions. Sensory language helps you paint a picture of the scene, using words that describe sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch. Emotional language helps you convey the feelings and attitudes of the characters, using words that express joy, sadness, anger, fear, or surprise. By using sensory and emotional language, you can transport your reader to the story world, and make them feel what the hero feels.

5 Edit and polish your story

Once you have written your story, it's important to edit and polish it to ensure clarity and accuracy. Cut out any unnecessary or redundant words, sentences, or paragraphs for simplicity and clarity. Check your grammar, spelling, and punctuation with a tool like Grammarly or Hemingway. Read your story aloud or have someone else read it to ensure the flow, rhythm, and tone sound natural and engaging. Finally, test your story with your donor persona to make sure it answers their questions, addresses their concerns, and motivates them to act.