I love to hear a joke now and then, and during the pandemic my husband, who is a terrific joke-teller, has helped reduce my stress. He has a secret source of new jokes, somewhere on the internet (he’ll never tell), and also a great memory. He can read or hear a joke once, laugh to himself, and then tell it flawlessly. I’m jealous! But really, I benefit hugely from that belly-laugh a few times a week. And he’s always a hit at dinner with friends or family. Even on Zoom!

Telling a story well is a gift we can each give to other people. It just takes practice.

But what does joke-telling or story telling have to do with fundraising?

Well, joke-telling – maybe not much.

But story telling – maybe a lot.

First, there’s the story of your group’s beginning and of your progress. In my work, I often ask potential clients, “How and why did your group get started?” Nine times out of ten, it’s a story of someone experiencing something that made them realize lots of OTHERS experience that too, so they set out to right that wrong or at least bring people together to solve a problem. And we usually love to hear about how that happened. The story line can ultimately enfold the listener as well, by helping them understand how they, too, can help.

Second, there’s the story of how a donor got started supporting your group and why it continues to be meaningful to them. Amazingly, this story does not often get told because we don’t ask our donors to tell us. And they don’t think to tell us, because we are all caught up in giving them other information about what’s new and great with our organization (or challenging, as it has been recently), and WE’RE talking! As a fundraiser, remember to listen, but make your listening count by asking the donor thoughtful questions.

Third, there’s the story of the difference your group makes to those it’s designed to help. And here, anecdotes can work wonderfully. Commit to memory at least two or three brief stories about people [or animals or plants or rivers or oceans] that have experienced benefit from your work. Make them brief and lively but most of all, vivid.

I have an exciting library project in my consulting portfolio right now, and to end this post, I have a little story for you involving a library:

I had an elderly friend whose husband died. She was contacted by a man she had gone to high school with, also widowed, and they married. One day, she was leading a seminar for other seniors at her local library, and her new husband had arranged to meet her there after the seminar. When she found him at one of the reading tables, she looked over his shoulder and found him sheepishly reading “The Joy of Sex, Large Print Edition”!

May you build stories into your life and your work, along with lots of chuckles and a few belly laughs every week!

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