October 22, 2024
The Impact Issue #32: How Ethical Is Your Storytelling?
Learn ethical storytelling for grant proposals, insights on California’s funding trends, and tools to elevate your narrative. Boost impact with beneficiary voices!
Hi there!
This week, we're diving into powerful ways to enhance your grant proposals with your clients' voices.
We’ll cover how to incorporate stories ethically, a tool to help you collect testimonies, and what you should do to best include your beneficiaries in compelling narratives.
Grab a cup of coffee, and let's get started.
Welcome to The Impact!
Don’t Miss This
Are you a grant writer based in California? If so, we have a quick favor to ask 🙏.
We're reporting on California’s Private Grant Funding Landscape, and we need your expertise!
We’d love to hear your thoughts on:
- How has the private funding scene in California evolved for you?
- Are there unique grant opportunities for nonprofits here?
- What future trends do you anticipate in California’s private funding landscape?
- Do you have any hot takes?
Your insights will help us gain a comprehensive picture of California’s funding environment.
Fill out the quick survey below, and you could be featured in the upcoming publication 👇.
Pitfalls and Pointers
You’ve spent hours pouring over your proposal. You’ve carefully developed your budget, backed up your needs statement with data, and made sure your program description is clear and compelling.
Your application is good, but you’re still missing something that could make it great: the voices of your beneficiaries.
⚠️ Pitfall: Overlooking the Human Element in Proposals
There are a lot of reasons why you might not include testimonials in your grant proposal. Maybe you:
- Ran out of time to collect stories
- Were unsure what questions to ask or how to respect your client’s privacy
- Overlooked the opportunity because the application prompts didn’t ask for it specifically
Whatever the reason, without the voices of the people your project serves, your proposal can feel clinical and detached. While it can be easy to get lost in the requirements and technical details of your application, it’s important to not forget the “why” behind your mission.
💡 Pointer: Incorporate Client and Beneficiary Stories in Your Proposals
When it comes to telling a story that resonates with funders, there's nothing quite like using the voices of your beneficiaries. By incorporating their experiences, you're creating a narrative that showcases impact on a personal level.
Here are some tips for how to do this well:
- Incorporate direct quotes from interviews or testimonials, but keep them relevant to the grant's objectives.
- Build client testimony activities into your program planning. Instead of waiting until the grant or report date creeps up on you and you find yourself scrambling to contact program participants, build activities into your existing grant programs to get feedback that you can use later. Use pre-established tools and templates to make collection easy (more on this below!).
- Focus on diversity of perspectives—ensure you're representing a range of experiences, including the voices of those most impacted by your work.
- Tie stories to outcomes. Share how your nonprofit has improved the lives of specific individuals while pointing to measurable results.
By letting your beneficiaries speak, you give funders direct insight into the real-world impact of your work.
Need some inspiration?
👉 Check out 45 powerful nonprofit storytelling tips and examples!
Tech You Should Know
What:
MemoryFox is a storytelling platform designed to help nonprofits collect and organize testimonials, photos, and video stories from their beneficiaries in a centralized location.
How Grant Writers Can Use It:
- Streamline Story Collection: Easily gather client stories through guided prompts and submission tools. Memoryfox has an easy-to-use “Collect, Organize, Share” method with tools for each step so you can build story collection into your programming.
- Curate Narratives: Organize the collected stories into themes that directly align with your grant objectives.
- Share Authentically: Use the content to weave authentic, emotional appeals throughout your grant applications.
Keep in Mind:
- Use Wisely: While visuals and testimonials can elevate your proposals, always ensure they align with your funder’s preferences for materials.
- Prioritize Your Client’s Privacy: Memory Fox has consent forms built into their platform to ensure that your clients are comfortable with the way their stories will be used. Make sure to give them access to the final version of what they have shared and allow them to give the thumbs up about how their image or voice is being used!
Ready to give MemoryFox a try?
🦊 Check out how it works here!
Expert Perspectives
🏆 Carly Euler on How Nonprofits Can Tell Stories Ethically
What do you do if the people you serve have sensitive stories that they might not want to share?
The team at MemoryFox was wondering the same thing.
What resulted was the 2023 Ethical Storytelling Report—a 74 page report jam-packed with insights from 20+ storytelling experts and boots-on-the-ground nonprofit professionals.
Carly Euler, MemoryFox Marketing Manager, shared with us the top insights and ethical storytelling practices they discovered.
Here’s Her Expert Advice:
- Get Consent: Always have explicit consent from beneficiaries before sharing their stories, especially in sensitive contexts. Let them know about what options you can give them to protect their anonymity, and ensure that they feel comfortable with how you will use their voice and story.
- Avoid the "Savior" Narrative. Focus on empowerment, not pity, and ensure you portray your clients with dignity and respect. Think about how to include hope and relief into the story to demonstrate the necessity and impact of your programing, rather than focusing on emotions like despair or desperation.
- Build Relationships: Storytelling should be about long-term engagement, not one-time transactions. Engage your beneficiaries as partners in the storytelling process. Make sure the only time you’re asking them about what they need and what the program has meant to their lives isn’t just for a grant or report. Building deep relationships is a long-term activity and should be included in every aspect of your work.
🌟 Explore more insights from the report in Carly’s Instrumentl webinar!
The Latest Numbers
Have you checked out the Qgiv Generational Giving Report? Qgiv surveyed over 1300 donors of all ages to uncover how, why, and when they give.
Discover insights like:
- Which age groups are more likely to donate to different types of causes
- What turns donors off to an organization
- What motivates different generations to give
The report also includes profiles on different age ranges so you can tailor your outreach efforts effectively.
➡️ Download the full report here!
Opportunities Spotlight
🏠 PNC Foundation Grants
Who It’s For: Organizations working in the fields of education, affordable housing, community development, and arts and culture in any community where PNC has a significant presence.
Next Deadline: Rolling deadline for letters of interest, full proposal upon invitation
Grant Amount: Varies
The Details:
PNC Foundation has two main programs; through their Grow up Great Program they fund early childhood education initiatives that serve children from majority low and middle income families. They also offer foundation grants to tackle economic issues ranging from affordable housing to community development, covering a wide range of programming that strengthens communities.
📝 Dunn Family Foundation Grant
Who It’s For: Organizations that improve access and development of educational materials for all ages, working to democratize knowledge and build a better society through learning.
Next Deadline: Rolling
Grant Amount: $5,000- $25,000
The Details:
The Dunn Family Foundation funds nonprofits that utilize education to build a better society and employ innovative approaches to the use of testing and support materials for educational initiatives. First time grant recipients can only receive grants for project funding, with capital funding available for previous grantee partners. The Foundation allows for up to 15% of the grant budget to go towards facilities and administration costs.
🔍 Explore thousands of other grant opportunities in our database!
Networking Nook
The opportunities that were originally shared in this issue of The Impact have since passed. To check out more recent and upcoming live events, go here.
In Case You Missed It
📑 Article: How Are Nonprofits Funded? 7 Fundraising Strategies
There are many ways to secure funding for your nonprofit. This guide covers the top seven different strategies you can integrate into your fundraising plan to ensure a diversified funding base and successful campaigns.
📑 Article: Secrets to Securing In-Kind Donations: Advice From an Expert
Renee Zau, CEO and co-founder of DonationMatch, shared with us what it takes to secure in-kind donations. Learn what companies look for, how to make the ask, and what you can do to increase your chances of a yes.
👉 Learn the Secrets to Success!
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