Storied Lessons from Non-Profit Expert:: Kim St. John-Stevenson

When Rosa was dying of cancer, she had nowhere to turn. No money, no home, no family.  Donor-supported Malachi House on Cleveland’s near Westside gave Rosa a place to spend her final months and die with dignity.

Non-profit organizations like Malachi House need donations to keep operating. And, showing their human side, through story, is a way to engage people and, quite frankly, get them to open their wallets.

Storytelling expert and non-profit consultant Kim St. John-Stevenson talked about marketing to donors  at IABC Cleveland’s November meeting. Many of the tips in her presentation could  apply to for-profit businesses as well. St. John-Stevenson is President and Chief Communications Strategist for Cleveland-based Ink+ LLC.  

Numbers are part of the story for donors. To really catch people’s attention though, she said, “Communicators should help tease out the messages and tell the stories. Stories must be unique to your organization because you’re in competition with other organizations. Funders [customers] will ask, ‘What’s the difference?’”

To frame those stories, St. John-Stevenson offered simple, but compelling reminders

• What is the core issue?
• What is the story about?
• What makes it interesting?
• Have you included details?
• Is the meaning clear?
• What’s the “look?”
• Where is the emotion?

“It doesn’t need to be fancy, it needs to be out there,” she said sharing case studies from a number of clients. “You don’t want to be the best-kept secret.”

For those who want to learn more, St. John-Stevenson recommended additional resources: Storytelling as Best Practice by Andy Goodman and causecommunication.org.

If you missed St. John-Stevenson’s presentation you missed additional tools that can help attract donors/customers to your organization. For more information, find her at www.inkplusllc.com, Twitter @inkplusllc and Facebook.com/inkplusllc.