Oct 15, 2021

How to Improve and Repurpose your Nonprofit’s Core Story

Dabo's All in Team Foundation social video

Once upon a time, I worked with an organization that, when asked what they’d like to see from our project, replied with “collect the most money in the least amount of time.” Well, sure, that’s kind of what every nonprofit wants, but… well there are too many unanswered fundraising questions there: how, for what, what do you do about it, etc. And of course, probably the most important: who are you telling the story to? 

So, let’s talk about your story. Your core story. I’m honestly surprised about how many organizations don’t have their core story figured out. The core story is a combination of the organization’s goal (beyond getting the donations!), some specifics about the campaign, who they’re helping, how they’re helping, how the donor is involved, and more. This is your story; your core story. Now… what do you do with it? 

Segment your Donor Base 

Having a good understanding of that core story is key to the next steps, the most common being to segment. When you tell your story, you tell it to different groups. For example, take a school. You, as the school, need to get your message out with the best impact you can muster. Most, and I really do mean most from my experience, will just send out that core story to everyone on their lists.  

But, if you segment that list into something as simple as Alumni and Parents, you can now change the wording of your story to “speak to” each group. Segmenting donors enables you to send messages that are more in-tune with what each donor is interested in and aligned with why they support your organization. 

Ursinus College Facebook post

Have a Multichannel Approach 

But segmenting goes beyond types of supporters, zip codes, financial levels, etc. It can also apply to the medium it is sent through.  A live storyteller will adapt to the crowd. A physical flyer pays attention to text style and size and framing of the tex and usage of images. An email pays attention to a subject line, exactly who it is from, pictures, link styles, length, and more. 

Then there’s social media! With Twitter, you are limited to only 280 characters. You need to be able to tell that story in 280 characters or less. Instagram means your story should be captured in a single image with no links. Facebook allows you to have a little more freedom on design, but then you also need to consider the best time to send it. 

Every time, every medium, and every audience should be considered when crafting your message from your core story. That core message will still be there, but the actual words, images, or style may be completely different. You are making the message personal and your different audiences can relate that much better. They are all getting the same general message, but you are giving them a more direct reason to care in the language they prefer. 

Thank you letter and post from Habitat for Humanity

Keep your Story Alive 

Now that you’re successfully personalizing your story to fit your audience, how do you repurpose it? How do you keep an audience that constantly wants something new with your “same old story?”  The storyteller (you) needs to adapt to their audience at every telling. This means to keep it topical. What is happening in the world that could relate to your audience and your core story? 

This may mean your core story changes slightly. Of course, right now, that is easy to see because of the pandemic. New hurdles are in place. The “bad guy” in your story likely has changed to (at least) include the virus as a concern. So, the main story may change slightly, and that alone gives your campaign new life. But with the new factors, your message in all of its different forms also changes. 

COVID-19 Response Fund tweet from United Way of Palm Beach County

Ideally, you don’t want to tell the exact same story and just slap a different title or subject line on it, or use a different Twitter message to go to the exact same link. It will just bore and frustrate your supporters. But with an ever so slightly different focus, whether it is because of new circumstances (COVID-19), different vehicles (Twitter vs. Facebook), or different audiences (parents vs. alumni), you can use the “same” material – your core story – and have a unique, timely and personal experience for all of your different constituents. 

Our goal at GiveSmart is to help nonprofit organizations create and manage successful digital fundraising campaigns, raise more money and retain donors longer. Request a free demo with one of our fundraising experts to learn, step by step, how GiveSmart can simply help set up your campaigns while transforming your results. 

Related

navigating nonprofit success
March 25, 2024

Navigating Nonprofit Success: An Executive Director’s Guide to Excellence

The executive director is the most important role in the management of an organization, so…

Read More
budget planning
March 21, 2024

Budget Planning for Nonprofits: Ensuring a Successful Fundraiser

If you’re planning a fundraiser, you’ll need a good budget. A fundraising budget plan is…

Read More
February 1, 2024

Why Donors Love Success Stories

When someone decides to donate to your organization, two crucial elements must come together — their…

Read More
clients-B

What our clients say

We needed a platform to make sales online and to track and display ads for our sponsors. GiveSmart was perfect. We ended up making close to $15,000 more than we had hoped for. Definite better ROI than we anticipated. The interface is easy to use and provides plenty of options to get help if needed.

Michelle M.

The Rotary Club of South Whidbey Island

Using GS has created ease in auction bookkeeping, payments, and generating post-event thank you/tax letters. While we were online during COVID, our interactions with our GiveSmart via phone, email, and zoom were seamless. A representative always got back to us within the day. I would recommend GiveSmart to anyone doing a large online event.

Julie G.

MicroFinancing Partners in Africa

GiveSmart is highly flexible - you can use it for [a] simple registration and check-in, to full-scale galas with complex order forms, onsite upsells, live auctions, seating management, and more.

Jamie F.

Hope Chest for Breast Cancer

GiveSmart is easy to use and ideal for virtual events and can be used for in-person events to manage the silent auction, seating charts, and check-in to the event. Being able to use the platform for unlimited events within the contract year is very useful and being able to add other users and volunteers for different levels of access is helpful as well.

Dawn L.

Literacy Coalition of Palm Beach County