EP 11 Crafting your Why We Can't Stay Here Story
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Sara Mayer: [00:00:00] Welcome to Impact Unleashed, the nonprofit edition, where we dive deep into the untapped potential of nonprofits and their remarkable ability to create a lasting impact. I'm your host, Sarah Mayer. Let's dive in.
Sara Mayer: Welcome back to Impact Unleashed, the non profit edition. As you know, I'm your host, Sara Mayer, and this is the podcast where non profit leaders, change makers, and visionaries come to unlock the secrets to amplifying their impact. Today, we're continuing on our series, The 10 Stories Great Leaders Tell, inspired by Paul Smith's incredible framework for storytelling.
Sara Mayer: In our last episode, we covered the founding story, the essential where we came from story. And in this week, we're diving into story number two. Why we can't stay here. This is truly the case for change. This [00:01:00] story is all about helping your audience understand why your nonprofit exists today and why the current situation demands action.
Sara Mayer: Now, the case for change is critical. It's not enough just to have a compelling founding story. You really need to keep the sense of urgency alive and the world as the world evolves and. So do the problems we face. This story answers questions like Why we can't be satisfied with where we're at right now.
Sara Mayer: Why is it important to act now? What will maybe happen if we don't? And this story lights a fire under your team, your supporters, your stakeholders, your board members. It truly pushes them from thinking this is a great mission. It's on the website. It may be on our board agendas. This is a great mission.
Sara Mayer: We need to do something about this right [00:02:00] now. The time is now, and you can structure that in your story number two, if you're watching on YouTube, or if you're not, you should be. I'm holding up the book, story number two, short book, you can read it very quickly. Doing the work of the book takes a little bit longer.
Sara Mayer: So here's a story. Simple structure for creating the why we can't stay here. Story. This is the case for change. The first one is to truly describe the current status quo. If you will start by painting a picture of the current situation, what's happening right now that's unacceptable, unsustainable, or unaligned with your vision.
Sara Mayer: So for example, in our city, 20% of high school students are dropping out before graduation. More than a thousand families in our community are on a wait list for affordable housing and the number is growing every year. You want to give your [00:03:00] audience a clear snapshot of the problem as it stands today.
Sara Mayer: And then you want to highlight the consequences of inaction. So this will show. Your audience, what will happen if things stay the same? So what's at stake? What's the cost of inaction? This is where you want to build and create that urgency. So, for example, if we don't intervene, these students may face a lifetime of limited job opportunities, continuing the cycle of poverty.
Sara Mayer: Without affordable housing, families are forced into unsafe living conditions or homelessness. The toll on their health, education, and future is devastating. It's important that you help your audience feel the weight of the problem by showing them the human, financial, or social costs of doing nothing.
Sara Mayer: You can't just leave them there, though, because that's dismal. [00:04:00] You want to show opportunity. You want to pivot to hope. What could change if your nonprofit or community took action? Show the potential for transformation. Imagine a community where every student graduates high school and has the skills to thrive in the workforce.
Sara Mayer: Or, what if every family in our city had safe, affordable, had a safe, affordable place to call home? The ripple effects would be life changing. And this shift reframes the story from a problem to an opportunity. Finally, it's time to make a call of action. Make it clear what needs to happen next and your how your audience can help.
Sara Mayer: This is the rallying the cry that motivates people to act. And so many times people will have. So many things they want to do in their mission as a nonprofit, you should [00:05:00] do a case for change for each one, because the call to action needs to be very clear. It shouldn't be you could do this and you should do this and you should do that and you should do that.
Sara Mayer: People get decision fatigue. You want to give them a clear road. So, for example, we can't afford to wait together. We can launch a mentorship program that helps at risk students stay in school. Will you join us? With your support, we can raise the funds to build 20 new housing units this year. Let's make this vision a reality.
Sara Mayer: Can we count on your support? Here's an example of how this story could flow. Right now, 1 in 5 students in our city is dropping out of high school. That's 200 young people each year who are entering adulthood without the skills they need to succeed. If we don't step in, those students face higher risks of unemployment, poverty, and even incarceration.
Sara Mayer: But it doesn't have to [00:06:00] be this way. We have the opportunity to launch a mentorship program that pairs these students together with caring adults who can guide them, inspire them, and help them stay on track. We can't stay here. We have to act now to change the trajectory of these young lives. Will you join us in making this vision a reality by signing up to be a mentor today?
Sara Mayer: Now, that might not be your nonprofit story, but notice how this story takes the audience from a problem through the consequences to hopeful, actionable solution. So here's a few tips. When you start out writing your story, step number one, if you haven't pulled out a notepad and pen, now's the time step.
Sara Mayer: Number one, you want to anchor this in data. You want to back your story up with real facts, real figures, because numbers help illustrate the problem [00:07:00] clearly and build credibility, but you can't stop there. Step two. Once you decide the data, the problem you're trying to solve, the data around it, pick that data point.
Sara Mayer: Step two, you want to make it personal. You want to share how someone being impacted by the problem would make that experience different for them. So hearing about a specific individual's experience really makes it feel relatable. Pick the data, pick the story. Third, you want to end with action. Don't just present a problem and say, this is dismal.
Sara Mayer: You have to give them hope. You need to show a clear path forward and how your audience can contribute to the solution. In this example, we were asking people to sign up to be mentors. One ask. Now, could they benefit from getting money and donors? Yes. [00:08:00] Could they benefit from having somebody volunteer to work in the mentorship program?
Sara Mayer: Absolutely. There are many different things that could bring this case for change, story number two, why we can't stay here, to life. But you want to ask for one thing. What's the most important thing when you're telling that story? Now, you may have the same story with different calls to action, but you can't have multiple calls to action in each story.
Sara Mayer: Because if I said, well, you could do this, or you could do that, or you could do this, or you could do that, it gets overwhelming and then people move on to something else. You want them to make a decision. Do I want to be a mentor? Yes. Sign up here. Do I want to be a mentor? No, I'm good. If somebody truly believes in your vision and they're like, Hey, I can't be a mentor.
Sara Mayer: They will reach out and say, Hey, it can't be a mentor. How else can I support? But you [00:09:00] can also have different videos with different calls to action and test out which one is the most impactful. All right. Wrapping it up. You have some work to do to write this story. The why we can't stay here story is one of the most motivating stories and the most important stories you can tell as a non profit leader.
Sara Mayer: It helps your audience see the urgency of your work. And invites them to be part of the meaningful change. So I want you to take some time to reflect on your case for change. You may have a couple stories here, depending on the clientele you serve. So what's happening in your mission area that demands action?
Sara Mayer: How can you rally your supporters to take that next step? So I want to thank you for listening to this episode of Impact Unleashed, the nonprofit edition. If you're enjoying this series, please subscribe and share it with other nonprofit [00:10:00] leaders. Very excited to have you here. And when you craft these stories, please tag us.
Sara Mayer: We would love to share your success, but also what your nonprofit is working on. And don't forget to smash that subscribe button so that you can be updated when the next episode drops in this series of the 10 Stories Great Leaders Tell. Until next time, don't forget to keep unleashing your impact because your community needs you.