Many non profits have learned that case studies and stories are great ways to promote their cause. Stories about impoverished children being fed and receiving medical care, or disaster victims getting new homes and a chance to start over, or orphaned and abandoned children being adopted into loving homes, all make compelling ways to present the non profit's mission.
But what about donors and volunteers?
Don't think for a moment that the people who write checks or those who hammer nails under a hot sun, don't receive great rewards for what they do.
These people have compelling stories too that can be used to raise more funds and enlist more volunteers.
Think for a moment what donors and volunteers "get out of" their experience with a worthy non profit cause. Here are two that come to mind right away:
- The emotional benefits can be life changing. I read about Prince William of England and how he spent one summer several years ago cleaning toilets and serving impoverished communities in South America. In an interview, he literally gushed about how the experience had made him a new person.
- The reputation building can be dramatic. Again, I have to think that the image of Prince Will cleaning toilets had to be the best "PR" the future monarch could ever have. I don't at all mean to be cynical here, but I cannot doubt that the British people have never looked at the young prince in the same way since. Imagine how beneficial such publicity might be for a person or company in need of great publicity. You literally cannot buy advertising that works as well.
Non profits have important stories to tell. Although many use the dry old "just the facts" way of telling about their mission, enlightened non profits are learning to tell it with stories and case studies.
COPYRIGHT © 2008, Charles Brown
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