COMM 251 | Building a Culture of Storytelling

Overview

This course will help participants develop systems, tools, and strategies to engage the full community – staff, volunteers, clients, donors, and board members – in the process of storytelling, so that everyone is equipped and excited to collaborate in collecting and sharing the stories of your nonprofit.

This session is part of the Certificate of Strategic Storytelling for Nonprofits, a brand-new series where nonprofit communicators and fundraisers will learn how busy teams can craft and share powerful, uplifting, and – most importantly – ethical stories about the people they serve, the work they do, and the impact of their volunteers, advocates, and donors.  

Using a combination of theory, long-term strategy, and practical, hands-on content development, participants will discover how to build an organization-wide culture of storytelling where everyone on staff is excited to contribute; how to create powerful stories full of first-person testimony and hopeful messaging; and how best to utilize these stories to achieve your goals, deliver on your mission, and celebrate the storytellers. Each class is underpinned by the core tenants of ethical and dignified storytelling that puts the storyteller – their voice, consent, and comfort – at the heart of the process. 

Sessions in the Certificate of Strategic Storytelling for Nonprofits can be taken individually or as a series. Each session features pre- and in-class activities to reinforce learning. 

Key Certificate Concepts

• Best practices for ethical, strengths-based storytelling 
• Creating story collection materials to ensure a process of informed consent  
• Building an organization-wide culture of storytelling  
• Identifying target audiences and key messages 
• Crafting powerful and uplifting stories – full of first-person testimony – that inspire your supporters to take action 
• Graphic design and video basics, including how to create eye-catching story visuals using free online tools 
• Adapting and optimizing stories and content for various digital platforms 
• Utilizing stories throughout your materials to achieve your organizational goals 

Audience

Team members who engage with communications and fundraising, especially from individual donors, such as: 

• Marketing/communications staff 
• Fundraising and development staff 
• Senior leadership 
• Client-facing programmatic staff 
• Board members, especially those serving on development committees