2024 benchmark report on storytelling and fundraising

By Shana Medel

We surveyed more than 250 nonprofit donors across the nation to answer a most important question: When storytelling and fundraising are integrated as one strategy, how do nonprofits experience greater success?

The results informed our very first benchmark report, titled “The Impact of Storytelling on Fundraising.” Our findings point to relevant, compelling storytelling as a critical component of nonprofit fundraising. Not surprising, right? (After all, we raise stories at Storyraise for this very reason.)

Soon, you can download our full report, intended to help your nonprofit incorporate storytelling into fundraising. Within those pages, you’ll find…

➡️ An overview of how storytelling and fundraising mesh and meld, all from a donor’s eye
➡️ Insights from professionals who are in the fundraising trenches
➡️ Examples of nonprofits using story-driven fundraising
➡️ How to apply our learnings to your own nonprofit work

For now, take a look below for a high-level overview of our report.

How did we set up the survey?
We partnered with SurveyMonkey to distribute our survey to individuals who made at least one donation within the past 12 months. Why SurveyMonkey? Every day, more than 2 million people take user-generated surveys on this platform, which is guided by three core principles: 1) scale and diversity, 2) known sampling and 3) transparency. Also, by using SurveyMonkey, we circumvented potential biases or conflicts of interest that may have resulted from sourcing participants from our own database.

What did we find out?
To be successful, nonprofits must tell stories. Good ones. Storytelling is the bedrock of fundraising. A most ancient art of connectivity. A way to turn emotion into action.

Every project, whether an impact report or an end-of-year campaign, is framed and fueled by the relationship between storytelling and fundraising. Based on survey responses, we distilled these five learnings:

🎁 Storytelling positively impacts giving.

Fundraising is the what. Storytelling is the how. More than 70% of respondents said they’re more likely to donate to a nonprofit that effectively uses storytelling to communicate mission and impact. And more than 80% of respondents said they are likely to continue supporting that nonprofit if they are fed regular updates with stories about the people or causes they serve. 

Those stories come in all shapes, sizes and of course, mediums. For example, if your nonprofit took a group of students on an alternative spring break trip, you may recap the experience through video, including a mix of action shots and interviews with participants. Or you may publish a 600-word blog accompanied by a photo gallery. Or you may do both. However you choose to share your most impactful stories, your nonprofit will be better off because you told them.

🔎 Nonprofit storytelling increases nonprofit transparency.

Nearly 60% of respondents said they believe nonprofits that effectively use storytelling are more transparent about their work and impact. Givers want to know where their dollars are going and what their dollars are doing. By sharing your stories, you increase their confidence in you, and the likelihood that they’ll keep on supporting you.

📲 Donors prefer to receive stories digitally.

You have to use the right channels to reach the right people. Nearly 70% of respondents said they prefer to receive storytelling content from nonprofits through digital channels, with social media posts taking the lead (20%), followed by websites and blogs (15%), email newsletters (13%), videos (13%), printed materials (10%) and podcasts (4%).

Now, these findings are not telling you to pour all time and attention into social media, letting your other efforts lag. You should embrace multi-platform storytelling, with a digital-first mindset. This means creating and delivering content for digital platforms that your audience uses, as these efforts will drive engagement and connectivity.

🙋‍♀️ Donors are more likely to give if they receive personalized stories.

Nearly 80% of respondents said they are likely or very likely to support a nonprofit that shares stories about issues they care about. When you craft a narrative for a specific donor, you address their personal connection to your cause. This is story-tailoring, the most personal and magical form of storytelling. 

By digging through your data, you can pinpoint giving trends, identifying the interests and motivations of your donors. Let’s say you run a nonprofit that supports children battling cancer. If your donors care most about your bone marrow treatment program, give them those stories. If your donors care most about your efforts to fuel research, give them those stories. And the best way to tell those stories: put the people you help at the very center.

🎥 When storytelling, nonprofits have to show, not just tell. 

Folks have to see your impact to believe your impact. You can and should use multimedia — some combination of words, videos, photos and statistics — to validate your work to prospective and current donors. When storytelling is done well, it can be the gift that keeps on giving.

The numbers confirm that. Approximately 70% of survey respondents said it’s important for nonprofits to send stories or testimonials so they can see the result of donations. And 90% said it’s important to see data and statistics as part of those stories.

What did survey respondents say?
Some of our survey questions required written responses. These were some of our favorite quotes:

“People need the story to know why their money is needed. There are way too many scams out there, and knowing there’s an actual human who needs help on the other end of the donation is more compelling.”

“Make sure it’s true. There’s nothing scummier than presenting someone in need and then embellishing or outright lying about their story to sucker people into giving up their cash. People have generous hearts and there are plenty of people with real stories who need help and presenting it in an honest way avoids potential scam issues.”

“I think sometimes storytelling can be off putting if it is used to in a way that makes you feel bad so you donate, but then never see the outcome of your donation impacted that story. For all you know, your money did nothing to help the specific case that made you want to donate, so I like knowing my impact if I donated for something very specific.”

“Humans connect with stories; I’ve heard the argument that instead of homosapiens, we should be pan narrans, the storytelling ape. Telling stories seems to be a core part of what makes us human.”

What did our colleagues say?
We spoke with our marketing colleagues. These quotes, full of insight and experience, were some of our favorites:

“Through storytelling, nonprofits can convey the human impact of their work, crafting narratives that resonate emotionally with donors and illustrate the tangible outcomes of their contributions.” — Lynne Wester, principal and founder of Donor Relations Group

“Email is such a powerful channel. I know it seems ‘old school,’ but at the end of the day, because organizations own the data in their house files, there are fewer barriers to getting in front of donors when compared to social channels that mostly require an ad buy to feature content for followers. The other reason I love email is that it can be used to retarget folks on social, so one piece of contact information can unlock multiple channels.” — Emily Pearl Goodstein, founder and CEO of Greater Good Strategy

Where do we go from here?
The bottom line: When fundraising efforts incorporate storytelling, donors are inspired to give.

The inaugural year of “The Impact of Storytelling on Fundraising” validated our very basis for existing: Storytelling can significantly increase fundraising success, helping nonprofits thrive. And the most effective way to weave storytelling into fundraising efforts is for nonprofit marketing and development teams to work together, not in silos.

A successful partnership looks something like this: Fundraising tells marketing what donors are thinking, saying, feeling and doing. These findings help marketing create more compelling, tailored stories. Fundraising uses those stories, and along the way, learns what resonates most with donors. They also share these stories during other donor touchpoints.

All of this is to say that storytelling-based fundraising starts with cross-organizational relationships. By collaborating with partners who can fill in the gaps, you can achieve greater success. Now, get ready to raise more stories and more dollars.

Happy Storyraising!