Charities mastering the art of storytelling

Storytelling is so important in communications. It’s a way to convey emotion, build trust, be relatable, highlight injustice, inspire change, and fundraise. It can also show the impact that charities are making in the world and how donations and fundraising efforts enable that impact.

 

The charities who master storytelling are the ones who empower people to tell their own stories. Whether they are beneficiaries, service users, volunteers, fundraisers, or staff – their voice is powerful. Building emotional connections to your cause comes from people, not your organisation. So put storytelling into their hands.

 

Here are five examples of great storytelling by charities.

 

 

WaterAid

 

One of the best examples of storytelling is WaterAid’s Untapped campaign. Tombohuaun is a tiny village in the jungle of Sierra Leone and Untapped tells the story of the village celebrating the arrival of clean water.

 

We got to meet the villagers, like Matu, Nafisatu, Nancy, Lucy, and Sellu and hear from them directly about how hard life was before clean water arrived. Supporters could explore the waterhole through 360 video and even chat with Sellu on Facebook Messenger.

 

The Untapped campaign raised over £8 million for WaterAid. It was successful because people were immersed in the story. They got to know the villagers and feel part of the community, which is why, when the clean water arrived, it felt joyous for everyone. We shared in the celebrations.

 

 

 

Shelter

 

In 2019, as part of their Christmas campaign, Shelter gave three children – Will, Bibi, and Lewis – phones to film video diaries of the temporary accommodation they were living in. The children show us around their homes, pointing out where the rats try to come in, or where their parents are having to sleep on bean bags on the floor.

 

It’s such powerful storytelling because it’s not scripted or professionally filmed. It’s simply children sharing their reality with us, using their own words to convey how they feel about having to live, and spend Christmas, in temporary accommodation. You can’t help but be moved by their situation and inspired to want to donate. 

 

 

 

Save the Children

 

Save the Children make use of interactive storytelling, using images, video, and quotes to tell powerful, inspiring stories to engage supporters.

 

One of our favourites, which is to encourage people to leave a legacy by leaving a gift in their will, is the story of how 800 babies in a Liberian village came to be named ‘Alice’.

 

Alice is a midwife who goes to extraordinary lengths to deliver babies, sometimes travelling eight hours on her Save the Children motorbike. She’s even delivered babies on the side of the road.

 

Hence why so many babies are named Alice – in honour of the midwife who delivered them.

 

 

World Bicycle Relief

 

World Bicycle Relief provides bicycles to people living in rural communities so that they can access education, healthcare, or run a business.

 

One such beneficiary of a life-changing bicycle is Georgina. Widowed in 2010, 68-year-old Georgina supports herself by working her farm in Zambia. She has three cows who produce milk twice a day and she is a member of the Palabana Dairy Cooperative, which is 12km from her farm.

 

Prior to owning a bicycle, Georgina was only able to deliver milk once a day or less. Now she is able to deliver milk twice a day, which has improved her business.

 

The charity shares stories of people who are benefiting from owning a bicycle, including those who have become bike mechanics in order to service these life-changing bikes.

 

 

CAFOD

 

A journey in the dark tells the story of Fabiano, who lives in Uganda, and how he must collect water three times a day, which takes an hour each time. The walk can be dangerous because of wild animals but also because of the people you might encounter. One day Fabiano met a man on the way back from collecting water, who asked for a drink. He then beat Fabiano badly.

 

Having to collect water multiple times a day is physically tiring and if Fabiano is late back from the pump, he misses out on going to school.

 

To tell Fabiano’s story, CAFOD has cleverly used a comic-book style of imagery which then changes into a photo of Fabiano and real imagery of where he lives. The story has a happy ending as, with CAFOD’s help, a water pump has been installed closer to the village which means that Fabiano is able to go to school and isn’t so tired.

 

I particularly love how the charity has used Shorthand, which allows for different formats such as images, graphics and video, to tell Fabiano’s story.

 

 

What do all these stories have in common?

 

Below we look at three common elements featured in all of the above campaigns.

 

 

Real people

 

All of these examples feature real people and real stories told in their own words. Real stories create an emotional attachment, which is an essential element of effective storytelling.

 

 

Problem and solution

 

Successful storytelling, particularly in fundraising, presents a problem or challenge, then proposes the solution. Each of these stories show a problem and then a solution, which is often made possible by supporters and donors.

 

 

A strong visual element

 

Words are powerful but imagery or video can really bring a story to life. It can also be more interesting and immersive for the reader when different formats are used to tell the story – so combining images with video and even graphics.