The Modern Nonprofit

OCTOBER 17, 2023

You’ll want to tell a compelling story that breathes life into your cause and paints a vivid picture of the powerful difference every donation makes. This isn’t just about beautiful words—pictures and videos are your allies, bringing the world closer to your cause and adding a human touch to cold stats.

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Whole Whale

AUGUST 16, 2022

A picture is worth a thousand words. We are about to enter into a golden age of storytelling more unbound from resource constraints than ever before. And with AI image generators, you can create custom visuals that will grab attention and convey complex information in a simple way. Are you working on a report or presentation?

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Eric Jacobsen Blog

OCTOBER 10, 2016

Last month brought the much anticipated release of Paul Smith 's new book, Sell with a Story: How to Capture Attention, Build Trust, and Close the Sale. Storytelling is a skill. What took longer was actually convincing myself that writing a book teaching salespeople how to be better storytellers would make the world a better place.

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Candid

JUNE 7, 2023

As a member of Generation Z (Gen Z), or today’s 11- to 26-year-olds, I have been curious about the advice given to nonprofits on capturing younger audiences’ attention. But other suggestions, like using pop culture slang and memes to catch Gen Z’s shorter attention span, feel a little off.

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The Storytelling Non-profit

NOVEMBER 29, 2021

Next, let’s talk about some storytelling strategies to help you maximize your giving. I like this kind of story in a year-end campaign because it feels timely for the season (especially the last few days of December) and paints a clear picture of your vision for the next year. And we can all use more engagement during December, right?

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TechImpact

JANUARY 26, 2015

Social media serves is a tool for not only updating your status, or posting picture of your lunch. Nonprofits of all kinds are using it to disseminate information about their cause and help marginalized groups that need more awareness get the attention of the masses.

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Qgiv

JANUARY 12, 2023

However, creating a strong social media presence isn’t as simple as writing a post and hitting “send” or taking a few pictures and uploading them online. Knowing the answers to these questions can help you create content and social media that attracts people’s attention and draws new donors to your website. Focus on storytelling.

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Tech Soup

MAY 28, 2013

That's what the Digital Storytelling Challenge seeks to accomplish every year. At the 2013 Digital Storytelling Awards Gala on May 28, the community's successes were clear. Congratulations to all of these award winners, and collective gratitude to all the participants in this year’s digital storytelling challenge.

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Forum One

DECEMBER 1, 2021

There are a number of trends worth exploring: Technology that fuels data-driven storytelling. Our work with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) shows the power of harnessing data for impact storytelling. Sometimes we don’t have as clear of a picture of the tools or processes that will deliver the greatest impact.

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The Storytelling Non-profit

OCTOBER 11, 2021

When I talk to other non-profit professionals about email fundraising, many of the questions I get asked boil down to how to capture and keep people’s attention. In this article I’m going to show you my approach to narrative and storytelling in email that has helped me raise just shy of $1m in a year for one of my clients.

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Qgiv

APRIL 23, 2021

At some point in your professional fundraising career, you’ve probably heard the importance of storytelling when crafting your nonprofit’s donor experience. No matter your experience, a crucial aspect of storytelling is helping donors understand what your organization does and showing how, or who, you’re helping. That’s a wrap!

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sgEngage

JANUARY 10, 2024

Deciphering Key Questions It is equally as important to determine what to collect as it is to identify what we can stop giving our attention. Storytelling Storytelling has also become a prominent concept connected to data processes in philanthropy.

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Eric Jacobsen Blog

FEBRUARY 25, 2021

Today, we look back to 2016 : 2016 brought the much anticipated release of Paul Smith 's book, Sell with a Story: How to Capture Attention, Build Trust, and Close the Sale. Storytelling is a skill. Storytelling is a powerful tool. And, the newest installment in the series is equally good, informative, practical and actionable.

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Eric Jacobsen Blog

OCTOBER 11, 2020

Today, we look back to 2016 : 2016 brought the much anticipated release of Paul Smith 's book, Sell with a Story: How to Capture Attention, Build Trust, and Close the Sale. Storytelling is a skill. Storytelling is a powerful tool. And, the newest installment in the series is equally good, informative, practical and actionable.

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Qgiv

JUNE 6, 2023

Use pictures with people in them for the highest engagement. People tend to be drawn to other people and pictures of other people rather than just text graphics. Using your brand colors can also help attract attention from people who may be already familiar with your organization and increase your brand visibility online.

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Qgiv

JULY 21, 2022

Make sure your “About” section provides an accurate picture of your mission and what your organization does. The two most important pictures on your profile will be your profile picture and header image. Visual storytelling is important on LinkedIn, so make sure you’re posting high quality, informative images.

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Tech Soup

AUGUST 22, 2014

In previous years, we called it our Digital Storytelling Challenge. Any charity anywhere in the world can send us a short video or five-picture Flickr slideshow that tells about their work and will be entered to win some cash prizes. Our story challenges get lots of attention. Please visit the site to view this video).

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Eric Jacobsen Blog

JANUARY 1, 2018

2016 brought the much anticipated release of Paul Smith 's book, Sell with a Story: How to Capture Attention, Build Trust, and Close the Sale. Storytelling is a skill. What took longer was actually convincing myself that writing a book teaching salespeople how to be better storytellers would make the world a better place.

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NTEN

MAY 12, 2011

Given the attention that Data gets from the media, influencers, and the hill, we believe that every communications department is obligated to look closer at their data and how they are using it - and should be tapping into it to get work done towards your organizations goals. Focus their attention, and they'll get it.

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Beth's Blog: How Nonprofits Can Use Social Media

JANUARY 9, 2013

Some nonprofits make use of their in-house designers to create beautiful and eye-catching infographics. One example is Best Friends Animal Society as profile by John Haydon on his blog in “ Nonprofit Storytelling with Infographics ” which offers some simple tips for getting the most out of your infographic.

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Eric Jacobsen Blog

SEPTEMBER 5, 2016

Because, Thursday, September 8 brings the official release of Paul Smith 's new book, Sell with a Story: How to Capture Attention, Build Trust, and Close the Sale. Storytelling is a skill. Storytelling is a powerful tool. This is a great week. It causes buyers to put down their defenses. It helps them relax. Including me.

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Connection Cafe

FEBRUARY 24, 2014

In the digital age, where most traditional storytelling is done over the Internet, attention spans are ever shrinking. National Library of Medicine put the average 2013 attention span at 8 seconds. Of that 8 second average attention span, I can assure you that my generation is on the lower end of that count.

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Qgiv

JULY 27, 2021

Julia: My framework that I use with my clients is 80/20: 80% of your posts should be informative, educational, inspirational, helpful, valuable, shedding light on your programs, storytelling, etc. It builds that trust and earns their attention, so when you do have something to ask them, they’ll pay attention.

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Get Fully Funded

SEPTEMBER 22, 2021

For this reason, your social media campaign must stand out so that it can attract the attention of the right people. On social media, storytelling is a powerful tool that can draw in people who have stumbled across your platform. Remember, a picture is worth a thousand words. Everyone loves a good story.

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Allegiance Group

APRIL 15, 2024

Then, pair those motivations with demographic descriptors to paint a more detailed picture of the audience your direct mail fundraising efforts will target. Consider incorporating these strategies into your preliminary concepts for the campaign: Leverage storytelling. Choose impactful visuals.

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Connection Cafe

MARCH 26, 2021

Then, craft physical and digital appeals that don’t compete with each other, but work together to create a comprehensive picture of your nonprofit. Social media platforms promote the use of posts that are brief and attention-grabbing. Unfortunately, online spaces are not always the best places for emotional storytelling.

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Tech Soup

APRIL 18, 2013

By working through this in advanced, you and your team will have a clear picture of what you want your video to look like and a blueprint to work from rather than making things up as you go along. 2) Don't talk above their head: One way to lose the attention of your audience is to speak over their head.

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Forum One

FEBRUARY 21, 2011

Given the attention that Data gets from the media, influencers, and the hill, we believe that every communications department is obligated to look closer at their data and how they are using it - and should be tapping into it to get work done towards your organizations goals. Focus their attention, and they’ll get it.

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CauseVox

NOVEMBER 26, 2023

Whether you’re striving to make a difference in your community, protect the environment, or provide a lifeline to those in need, your storytelling ability can mean the difference between a thriving and well-funded program and one that falls flat. The Power of Storytelling in Fundraising Humans are meaning-making creatures.

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Media Cause

AUGUST 9, 2021

Just wanted to see if you were paying attention.). While big-picture concepting, co-collaborating, prototyping, and testing may be part of many traditional creative and design processes, we recognize that they oftentimes require more time, or money, than many organizations have at their disposal.

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Qgiv

FEBRUARY 20, 2022

While you should be sending out more than donation appeal emails to your donors, when you do make those appeals, pay attention to your subject lines. Donors don’t need a full background history of your nonprofit at this moment, but they do need you to paint a clear picture of how they can help through concise storytelling.

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Have Fun - Do Good

JULY 29, 2010

. • In her post, Nonprofit blogs: why this one works , Lisbeth of Nonprofit Execs on the Edge points to 2 keys to a juicy blog: a focus on storytelling and blog posts that aren't staff-generated. Pictures have tenfold the value of words. Nonprofit 2.0 It's about our supporters. Include a photo in the post if at all possible.

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Neon CRM

AUGUST 10, 2023

If you attend, be ready to pay attention and take good notes. This is a great conference for technology professionals looking to develop their skills and capture the bigger picture of how data and technology can make a difference in the world. Cost: General admission is free. from May 1 through May 3.

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Connection Cafe

JANUARY 21, 2014

Guest post by Vanessa Chase : Fundraising & Communications Strategist, Storytelling Enthusiast and Philanthropy Advocate. Hundreds, if not thousands of donors that require our attention. If you find yourself in a similar position, it’s time to look at storytelling as an option for scalable donor stewardship.

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Beth's Blog: How Nonprofits Can Use Social Media

APRIL 7, 2015

If you don’t know Chris Block, he is a gifted storyteller. He shared a definition from thought leader Jon Kabat-Zinn : “Mindfulness means paying attention in a particular way; on purpose, in the present moment, and non judgmentally.” ” It can be practiced simply with just paying attention to your breathing.

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Care2

MAY 11, 2011

Drawing national attention to an important issue (and a good bit of recognition for your organization the process). Share pictures, video, Tweets, Facebook posts, and blog reflections from the road. With a bit of savvy planning, road-trips can be an innovative vehicle to align with your organization’s goals. Raising funds.

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Beth's Blog: How Nonprofits Can Use Social Media

APRIL 3, 2013

Pay attention to what’s not there—your missing data. Pictures are worth a thousand words. I have three go-to resources for graphing data in Excel: Stephanie Evergreen’s blog about intentional data visualization, Cole Nussbaumer’s blog about storytelling with data, and Naomi Robbins’ blog about effective graphs.

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