Storytelling for Gift Planning Success
Exercise 1: Clarifying Your Values
Mission!
Exercise 2: Review Your Mission
Five Most Important Q’s:
1. What is Our Mission?
2. Who is Our Customer?
3. What does Our Customer Value?
4. What are Our Accomplishments?
5. What is Our Plan?
Exercise 3: If we disappeared,
who would care, and why?
Share / Revise
Write / Test
Collect Ideas
Mission / Values
Storytelling
“Mind Map”
Why?
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“Be interesting, tell the truth,
live the truth.” – John Powers, 1895
Share Values
Raising $
Motivating others
Training
Recruiting
Planning
Connect with Donors! Inadequacy vs. Empowerment!
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
Help Champions with Their Stories…
1. Board Members
2. Happy Clients
3. Referral Partners
Core Four:
1. Who are we?
2. Our Founding?
3. Our Vision?
4. Our Accomplishments?
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5. I know what you’re thinking…
6. Teaching?
7. Employee values in action
Where to Look:
1. Our History
2. Our Victories
3. Our Defeats
4. Mentors
5. Current Events
Story Theory
Making Stories Memorable
Simple
Unexpected
• Gap Theory
Concrete
• Curse of Knowledge
Credible
• Style and Substance
Self Actualization
Emotional
• Worldview / Framing
Self Esteem
Levels of Connection
Love / Belonging
Inspirational
• Brand Personalities
Safety
1. Awareness
Empowering
• Brain: L: Analytic vs.
Physiological
2. Uniqueness
Transformational
Plot vs. Theme!
R: Emotional
3. Acceptance
• Quantitative vs. Qualitative
True
Truth! Story – Explanation – Meaning
4. Affiliation
Plots: Challenge
Hero / Villain / Conflict
5. Champion
Connection
The Hero’s Journey
Creativity
The Back Story?
200906092 TPB-AB21039 (09/09)
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Storytelling: Top Take-Aways
1. Stories help us make decisions, especially when we’re overwhelmed
with information.
2. Stories help us to share values and to inspire champions for our
cause.
3. Empowerment trumps inadequacy in the world of philanthropy.
4. Your values are key; people will connect with you based on shared
values, not because of what you do; remember to go beyond “what
we do.”
5. Your mission will help you to connect with your values, and to identify
good stories.
6. Be memorable: Simple, Unexpected, Concrete, Credible, Emotional,
Inspirational, Transformational.
7. Don’t be cursed by your knowledge.
8. What is your brand personality? Build your stories to reinforce your
personality.
9. Donors will decide to give based on your stories, and will use data to
justify their decisions.
10.Collect ideas, write them, test them, share them, revise them, and
help others to share them.
200906092 TPB-AB21039 (09/09)
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