For many organizations, story is currency.
This is especially true in the nonprofit and social impact world. We tell stories to amplify awareness. We tell stories to raise money – to do the good we want to do. And when we’ve done that good, we tell stories about it so donors, volunteers, and supporters can participate in the good their gifts make possible. We tell stories to invite others in.
Stories matter.
So why is it that we continue to tell the stories of those we serve as if they’re one dimensional? Why is it that we continue to consume one dimensional stories?
As a diverse group of nonprofit employees and activists, survivors and social workers, researchers and storytellers, we know we can tell better stories. And we know we can learn to expect more from our storytellers. We’re an open sourced, nuanced, constituent first, donor second collective seeking to change the way we tell and consume stories.