Telling Your Story When the Future Is Uncertain

Those of us who work in the nonprofit sector know that the future is never a given, but the experiences that we have shared over the past five months since COVID-19 arrived in the United States have presented challenges beyond what many of us might have ever imagined. And yet, so many nonprofit leaders out there have just kept going, with more community members to serve than ever. To those of you who made it to the end of your 2020 fiscal year recently, we send our heartfelt congratulations. To those that have another six months to go—we are here for you!

Back in March, we published a post with advice for incorporating the Coronavirus pandemic into your storytelling. The more time goes on, however, the likelier it looks that we will be operating in a state of limbo for quite some time. Many of our clients are starting to formulate plans for reopening their offices and program service sites, as they wait for guidance from state and local officials, the Centers for Disease Control, and peer organizations in their fields. 

As fundraisers, we are used to speaking confidently about our vision for the future, about the goals that our organizations will accomplish and how we are going to achieve success. Now, that kind of forward-thinking storytelling is difficult, especially in situations when the future remains uncertain. Storytelling is an absolutely essential part of fundraising, and you must continue to do it to keep your organization moving forward through the end of 2020 and beyond.

So, what should we be telling our donors about where we are going and how we are going to get there?

Let’s review five key essentials of fundraising stories to get you moving in the face of uncertainty:

1. Know your audience

2. Be honest, transparent, and authentic

3. Provide an emotional hook

4. Create a sense of urgency

5. Make any ask a specific ask

KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE

As you are formulating the story about your organization’s work and how you are navigating challenges around the COVID-19 pandemic, the first factor you need to consider is your audience. Your story is going to have a different focus depending on who you are talking to, and what medium you are using to share your message.

For instance, your approach to a long-time major donor who knows your work and your team well is going to be different from your approach to a new donor, or someone who typically gives at a lower level. Consider the prior knowledge that your donor brings to the table when they are receiving your communications, and the context that you need to provide in order to make sure that your story is clear and compelling.

Beyond knowing your audience’s relationship to your organization, you need to have a grasp on who they are as people. That means being aware of things like demographics, wealth, philanthropic history, and other giving priorities. All of this information will help you craft a message that will resonate and promote good relationships with your donors.  If you don’t already know these things about your donors, now is the time to find out. You can conduct your own donor research, or hire a firm to help you get it done.

If you’re looking at a broader audience for your message, such as prior donors at all levels, ticket-buyers from the last year, or participants in your charitable run/walk, you should consider list segmentation so that you can hone your story and message even further.

Finally, even in the time of social distancing, you still have several options for engaging your donors. You could take a one-on-one video meeting or phone call, hold a virtual small-group event, hold a larger webinar-style event, send an email, or send a personal letter in the mail. The key is to know your audience well enough to be able to choose the platform that is the best for them.

BE HONEST, TRANSPARENT, AND AUTHENTIC

Once you have identified your audience, it’s time to start thinking about the scope of the story you want to tell. Whether your circumstances are currently hopeful or there are many challenges ahead, your fundraising story is not a place for sugar-coating. That will only make your donors feel like you are feeding them a line, or worse, that you don’t trust them with the truth. You are going to find much more success building real, meaningful relationships with your donors by being transparent and authentic. Balancing urgency with desperation can be a fine line to walk, especially in times of great uncertainty, but you can do it by carefully considering the following:

1. Your current roadblocks
   Some examples include: Your venue is closed and you can’t provide services, you have lost your earned revenue stream because you are not allowed to hold performances or live events, or the pandemic has caused your community’s need for your services to expand beyond your current capacity to provide them.

2. Your pathway forward, and how your donor can be of service
   Some examples include: You need volunteers to help reach people in need, you need more funding to continue paying your staff and/or hire additional staff, or you need advocates to call their elected officials on your behalf.

It is more than okay to communicate to your donors that you are facing hardship as long as you do it responsibly. Showing that you have made plans to move the organization forward through your challenges demonstrates that you are not just trying to bail out a sinking ship. And YES, you can even do this when the future is still uncertain. Be forthright with your plan to move forward AND acknowledge that you are prepared to re-strategize and pivot when something unexpected arises. The truth is that no one knows how long this pandemic is going to last, no one knows when it we will all be able to safely return to our offices, and no one knows exactly what the nonprofit sector will look like once we are able to resume a more “normal” life. No one is expecting you to know that either.

PROVIDE AN EMOTIONAL HOOK

Every good fundraising story, even when we’re not facing uncertainty, must have an emotional component. Charitable giving is an emotional act, driven by change that donors want to see in the world, or needs they want to see met.

Make sure that this part of your story is mission forward, with appropriate context about the purpose for which your organization exists. One best practice is to tell the story of a specific person. You want your audience to be able to personally relate to your cause, and you can facilitate that by telling the concrete story of one person.

As you embark on the work of selecting a person whose story you want to tell, keep in mind how that person may be affected by the way you tell their story. It is important not to create harm in your effort to do good. If you cannot find a good way to profile a person who has benefited from your services without objectifying them or creating “trauma porn” around their life experiences, then try a different angle. Here are a few ideas to get you thinking outside the box:

1. Tell the story of a donor or board member whose perspective was transformed through their work with your organization.

2. Feature a volunteer who has been moved, or learned new things, through their experiences with your work. This might include someone who has participated in a peer-to-peer fundraising activity on your behalf, such as a walk/run.

3. Focus on the founder, and the reasons they created the organization to begin with.

The goal in telling this part of your story is to help your audience feel a sense of connection to your work by seeing themselves in it—and that remains true even in uncertain times. They do not have to see themselves in your clients or beneficiaries in order to identify emotionally with your mission. It may be that they will relate to the story of your board member, volunteer, or founder because they know what it is to feel passion for a cause and want to act on it.

Additionally, in this time of uncertainty, it may be that the emotional story you have to tell is your own. For many organizations the current climate has meant layoffs, furloughs, and salary cuts, or that teams have had to continue their great work without sufficient resources. This is also an emotional part of your story. If you choose to go this route, remember to talk about how you are going to move forward through this difficult period, and don’t forget to always bring it back to your mission!

CREATE A SENSE OF URGENCY

The case for why you need support now is one of the most important pieces of your fundraising story. Don’t give your donor the opportunity to set your request aside and think, “I can do this another time.” Of course, at a time like this, urgency is not something that any nonprofit organization is lacking. BUT, creating a sense of urgency in your donor communications shouldn’t only be about uncertainty and threats to the future of your organization.

Remember that you want to communicate confidence. Even though you are encountering challenges (in some cases, HUGE challenges), you have to demonstrate that you’ve thought about how to navigate the storm and carry the organization forward. Here are two ideas for adding urgency to your story, while still projecting a strong vision for the future:

1. Find or create a matching gift that has a deadline.
   Even if that gift is small—say $5,000 or $10,000—telling prospective donors that any gifts made by the deadline are being doubled will give them a very specific motivation to act now. When you’re navigating rocky or uncertain territory, one of the safest and quickest ways to secure a matching gift is by going to your board of directors. Depending on their capacity, the match might come from one generous donor, or it may be a pool of gifts from a group of donors.
   
   Even better, you can weave the story of your matching gift donor or donors into the bigger story that you are telling about your organization. In this instance, times may be hard, but your Board has your back, and you will be able to achieve your goals with the funds from this match.

2. Set and amplify a program-specific deadline.
   Because you are talented, dedicated, and an all-around badass, your important work has continued throughout the COVID-19 crisis—don’t let anyone forget it! So, what timelines and deadlines exist around the programs that you continue to provide to your community? Maybe the number of meals you have to deliver to those without regular access to food has increased. Maybe you have a big, live virtual event on the horizon. Maybe there are children who need technological and educational resources before the start of the next school year. In all of these cases, you can create a sense of urgency that is focused entirely on your mission and work. Let your audience of donors know that they can be a part of the solution.

The caveat to this idea is that cultivating your donors effectively means that not every communication includes an ask for money. Even in the cases when your story is intended for friend-raising, rather and fund-raising, you must remember to keep your message relevant and keep your mission urgent so that the role you are playing in your community is absolutely clear.

MAKE ANY ASK A SPECIFIC ASK

Of course, it is not always the right moment to make an ask for money. For one thing, your donors must be thanked and updated on the impact of their prior giving before you can ask them again. That said, it is extremely important that you do not let uncertainty about your future stand in the way of making a request for a gift.

Research on donor behavior has shown time and again that asking donors for a specific amount results in a larger gift than would have been given if no amount had been specified. Donorly has worked with many nonprofits who are thrilled to see this effect play out first-hand in their own appeals.  As long as the donor has been properly cultivated along the way, and you have done your research on your audience (#1 above!), then you don’t have to worry about offending anyone—in fact, your donor audience may even be expecting it. Often, even when a donor doesn’t feel that they can give at the level you have requested, they will still respond by giving at a level with which they are comfortable.

All across the country, individual and foundation donors are stepping up to play a part in the recovery of the nonprofit sector. Don’t miss your opportunity for a meaningful, and potentially long-standing partnership with a donor by sidestepping your opportunity to make an ask.