Ep. 107 | Storytelling for Ministry Fundraising: 2 Ways to Use Story
You’ve probably heard this advice before:
Use stories in your fundraising.
And yes. Stories are incredibly powerful.
But I think there’s a misunderstanding about what “using storytelling” actually means.
A lot of missionaries and ministry leaders hear storytelling and think about finding something meaningful that happened in the ministry and retelling it.
Someone’s life changed. A prayer was answered. A donor made something possible. You tell people what happened and call it a story.
Those stories absolutely have a place in your fundraising.
But there’s a much bigger way you can use the power of story—and I think it can completely change the way you communicate with donors.
Storytelling is a structure you can learn
Think about one of your favorite movies or books.
There’s a reason the story pulls you in.
Really good stories follow recognizable structures. Certain plot points happen in a certain order. Tension builds. The main character faces a problem and gets pulled into a journey.
One of the most well-known examples is the Hero’s Journey.
And once I started learning more about story structure as a filmmaker, I eventually realized something:
You can use these same principles to structure your fundraising message.
You don’t have to wait until you have an amazing story to tell.
You can use story structure in the way you talk about your ministry every day.
There are two main ways I recommend using storytelling in your fundraising.
#1: Build your main fundraising message with story structure
This is the big one.
Before you worry about finding more impact stories, I want you to have a strong fundraising message built around story.
Your fundraising message is the foundation underneath the way you communicate about your ministry.
Someone asks:
“So, tell me about your ministry.”
What do you say?
A lot of ministry leaders start talking about everything they do.
You explain one program. Then you remember another initiative. Suddenly you’re explaining how the ministry started 12 years ago, followed by what happened last year, followed by something else you’re planning.
And afterward you’re thinking, I think I just word-vomited all over that person.
A clear fundraising message gives you a structure to follow.
You know where to begin. You know what the donor needs to understand about the problem. You know where your ministry fits into the story and how the donor can play a meaningful role in solving that problem.
Instead of trying to remember everything you could possibly say about your ministry, you have a message you can come back to again and again.
Your fundraising message becomes the foundation for everything else
Once you’ve developed your core message, you can use it practically anywhere you communicate with donors:
One-on-one donor conversations
Church presentations
Fundraising events
Your website
Videos
Social media
Newsletters
You aren’t starting over every time you sit down to write something.
You already know the story you’re inviting donors into.
That gives your fundraising communication much more consistency. Your staff can understand the message. Your donors hear the same clear vision whether they’re reading your website or sitting across the table from you.
And most importantly, your potential donor can actually see where they fit.
The donor becomes an active character in the story instead of someone standing outside the ministry listening to you explain everything you’re doing.
That’s where story structure becomes incredibly powerful for fundraising.
#2: Use individual stories as proof
Once you have your main fundraising message solid, individual stories become incredibly valuable.
Think about them as supporting proof of the bigger story you’re already telling.
One obvious example is an impact story.
Maybe you work with children and you’ve watched one child’s life completely change through the ministry. You can show what life looked like before, what happened, and what changed.
That story helps a donor see:
“This is what my partnership can actually make possible.”
But impact stories aren’t your only option.
Don’t overlook donor stories
Donor stories can be incredibly powerful because your audience can see themselves in another donor.
What has partnering with your ministry meant to someone who gives?
Maybe they discovered a way to use their resources for something they deeply care about. Maybe their family became involved in the mission. Maybe supporting the ministry changed their own relationship with generosity.
Those stories answer a question potential donors may already be wondering:
What would it be like for me to become part of this?
You can also tell origin stories about how your ministry began or other individual stories that support the larger message.
But remember the distinction:
Your main fundraising message is the anchor. Individual stories support the message.
You probably have more stories than you think
There’s another problem I see with ministry storytelling.
Ministry leaders wait for stories to find them.
Someone sends you an incredible testimony, so you share it. A volunteer tells you something amazing that happened, so you write it down.
Then you wait for another one.
But some of your best stories may never randomly land in your inbox.
You have to go looking for them.
Talk to your volunteers. Talk to people your ministry serves when appropriate. Talk to donors.
Ask questions.
Pay attention to the changes happening in people’s lives.
Finding stories requires some intentionality, but once you begin collecting them, you’re building an incredible resource for your ministry.
Create one place to collect your stories
Please don’t rely on remembering them.
And don’t scatter them across random notes on your phone.
Create one place where you collect stories.
Every time you discover a good impact story or hear something meaningful from a donor, add it.
Over time, you’re creating a story bank that you can pull from whenever you’re writing a newsletter, preparing a presentation, creating a video, or talking with a potential donor.
And here’s one of my favorite things about stories:
Stories don’t expire.
If someone’s life was changed through your ministry five years ago, that still happened.
The story can continue showing donors the kind of impact their partnership can make.
Start with your fundraising message
If you’re excited about storytelling, you may want to immediately start collecting more stories.
Good. Do that.
But I would start one step earlier.
Get your main fundraising message clear.
Build it around a strong story structure so you understand the problem your ministry addresses, the role your ministry plays, and the meaningful role you’re inviting your donor to take.
Then bring in those individual stories as proof.
Once that foundation is clear, fundraising communication gets so much easier because you don’t have to reinvent your message every time you talk to someone.
Need help building your fundraising message?
This is one of my favorite things to work through with ministry leaders.
If your message feels scattered, you’re rambling when people ask what you do, or you’re struggling to help potential donors understand why they should get involved, we can work through your fundraising message together.
We’ll use story structure to clarify the message and build something you can actually use across your fundraising.
Learn more about one-on-one fundraising coaching
More Episodes
