GOOD NEWS: The Call of Stories
Good News: An enewsletter for donors and nonprofits
on strategic planning, governance, fundraising, and executive leadership.
The Call of Stories
For very good reasons, one of my nonprofit clients refuses to name its board committee charged with fundraising the Fundraising Committee. Rather, they choose to call this important group the Storytelling Committee. There is much wisdom in their decision.
I meet board members all the time and easily their most common refrain is, “I love this organization and I’ll do anything for it. Just don’t ask me to beg my friends and family for money.” To which I reply: “Great. We’ll never ask you to beg anyone for anything. But can you tell the story about why you said ‘yes’ to this board? Why you care and so generously offer your time, talent, and treasure?” “Of course,” they invariably reply.
A few takeaways:
People are Moved by Stories: One of the fundamental things that makes us human is our need to tell and be told stories. All of the data in the world does not move people to take action. It is the careful marshaling of relevant data combined with emotion and the right examples that enlist others to your cause. Win minds and hearts with compelling stories supported by data. Do not become one of the many spreadsheet jockeys who talk about their work with antiseptic, detached language. We are hardwired to tell, hear, and be influenced by stories.
Language Matters: How you name committee and staff positions broadcasts who you are as an organization. How you describe your day to day activities and goals affects your mindset and how others respond. Be vigilant and discourage staff, board members, even donors from describing the critical work of securing financial investments in your worthy mission as anything less than noble. Understand that you are presenting others with an opportunity to feel good about making a difference. Think of your responsibilities enthusiastically and proudly tell the story of your organization’s mission, successes, needs, and wants. If your fundraising team's lack of conviction is reflected in their language, you may need to take the hard steps of reorganizing who is responsible for financially sustaining your organization.
“Get Your A$$ In the Chair:” When the renowned author of Liar's Poker, Moneyball, The Blind Side, The Big Short, and many other captivating stories was asked for one piece of advice to offer writers, Michael Lewis replied, “Get your A$$ in the chair and write.” Simple, yes? But how many executive directors, board members, and fundraising teams lament not having the time to intentionally tell the story of their organization to those they seek to serve, current and prospective employees, even - and perhaps especially - donors?
Beware the brand of “busyness.” The excuse of the tyranny of the immediate too often provides a convenient way out of doing the hardest things - finding consensus on how best to communicate your story about who you are as an organization and then going out into the world over and over to tell your story. Again, we are hardwired to avoid challenges and seek the path of least resistance. Notice when you check your email (again!) or attend yet another internal meeting rather than get away from the office to meet someone old or new and tell your story.
Whether you name a committee one thing or another isn’t entirely the point. A deep rooted belief in your organization's mission and having the courage to share it with others is. Why and how you think about your responsibilities is. As Lao Tzu wrote in the 6th century BC, “Watch your thoughts, they become your words; watch your words, they become your actions; watch your actions, they become your character; watch your character, it becomes your destiny.”
Stuff Steve Is Watching, Listening To, and Reading
White Poverty (15 minute watch)
"295,000 people are dying per year from poverty and low wages. That's 800 people a day. It is the fourth leading cause of death in America. Whenever we have a brief discussion about poverty we put up a Black woman on welfare, which racializes it and demeans Black people. But then it dismisses tens of millions of white poor people. In '63, the March on Washington called for the raise in minimum wage to $2/hour which indexed for inflation would be over $15/hour today. The March on Washington was titled For Jobs and Justice. It wasn't just about Black civil rights. It was about a broad, inclusive, justice filled democracy. There's not a county in America where you can work a minimum wage job and afford a basic two bedroom apartment." Protestant minister, social activist, Yale Divinity School professor Dr. William Barber
Watch Here
Michael Lewis' Master Class On Storytelling (2 minute listen)
"Unless you have a story, you don't have a way to persuade people. In this class, we're going to talk about the elements of a story and how you might start a story if you're in a job interview, you've got to give a speech, you've got to go to a dinner party. You get better at it, you get better at life. If you learn how to tell a story better, it gives you powers you didn't have in all sorts of places." Author Michael Lewis
Listen Here
Willie Mays, The Say Hey Kid (3 minute read)
"For a long time, Babe Ruth was the most celebrated player in baseball history, despite never facing Black American or Latin American players outside of exhibitions. Ruth's homerun prowess was his calling card. Willie Mays could do it all. He hit home runs, stole bases, and made historic catches in center field, the position requiring the most skill, speed, and knowledge of the unpredictable flights of baseballs calculated instantly off the crack of the bat. Coming along at the advent of TV, Mays was a performer who dazzled when the cameras were on. He was the perfect standard bearer when the images transitioned from black-and-white to color." Marcos Breton, The Sacramento Bee
Read Here
