EA Coaching Recap: Guide to Storytelling in Fundraising

Hello and happy Friday!  Yesterday’s EveryAction storytelling coaching was packed with ideas, and we loved seeing so many of you jump in. 🎉 Thank you for sharing in chat and bringing the questions that made this session so useful!  

A huge shout-out to ​@Kristi Rinck for leading the storytelling session and to ​@rachel moody for the Story collection demo and for working through questions live!! 

Here’s are the highlights: 

Story Collection in EveryAction 🎯
Rachel walked us through the story collection form, which you can build under Online Actions. 🛠️

• Write a specific prompt. “What does life look like before our program, and after?” works better than a general ask.
• Add a waiver and terms that spell out how you’ll use each story. Then approve stories, assign them to staff, and tie them to campaigns from the Stories section.
• Stories don’t expire. Set your own time limit in the waiver and consent language.

🐾🌳👥 For policy, research, and environmental teams 

This was the most discussed thread in chat and Q&A. How does storytelling work if you are not a direct impact org? Here’s how you can show that.

• Talk with people affected by a policy win, a loss, or the environmental change you’re working toward. 
• Your volunteers and staff often have powerful personal reasons for showing up. Ask them! 
• Partners, lawmakers, and sister organizations can add their voices too. 
• Working toward a win that hasn’t happened yet? Present it as a vision, not a result, such as “Once this policy passes, here’s what could change.” 

• No stories yet? Share the why, the urgency, and the impact you’re projecting, and start documenting planning meetings and early wins. 
• Protecting anonymity: Try fake names, stock images, or blurred faces, and get written consent at every step. 

Still have questions from the Q&A? Drop them in this thread, and let’s keep learning together! We’d love to hear what you thought of the session and what you’d like to see next.

• What has worked for your organization when you don't serve people directly?
• How do you handle anonymity and consent in your stories?
• What's your best way to find stories when you're just getting started?

Thanks again to everyone who shared in chat and stuck around to the end! 🎉