Tell the Whole Story: Why Ethical Storytelling Matters in Nonprofit Communications

Storytelling is one of the most powerful tools we have as communicators. It is also one of our most important responsibilities.

I started thinking seriously about storytelling while working at the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank. Part of my job was to visit one of our food distribution programs or pantry partners each month and interview the people who worked there and the people who came to receive food.

I have a background in journalism, so interviewing people was not new to me. But this was different. I was sitting across from people who were sometimes experiencing incredibly difficult circumstances, and I was asking them to tell me about their lives.

What I learned changed the way I think about nonprofit storytelling.

There are no "single stories"

Some people were shy and didn't want to talk much. Others were natural storytellers. People told me about their families, their jobs, their spouses and children, their homes, their pets, and their hobbies. They told jokes. They talked about cooking. They told me about places they had traveled and incredible things they had experienced.

I met veterans, healthcare workers, engineers, grocery store employees, hairdressers, parents, grandparents, and children. I met people who volunteered in their communities and people who regularly helped their neighbors.

Yes, these people were picking up food. But that was not the most interesting thing about them.

One woman would take the food she received and make a huge pot of soup for neighborhood children to eat after school. I spoke with someone who was living with her grandfather while saving money for an apartment and making cooking videos online. I met a man who had survived a traumatic brain injury and had to relearn how to walk and talk. I interviewed a cancer survivor who was recovering from chemo.

And I talked to a big Stephen King fan.

Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie warned about the danger of the "single story." Basically, she says that if we only hear one story about a person or country, we risk critical misunderstanding. The same is true for issues like food insecurity.

There is no single story of food insecurity in the same way that there is no single story of poverty, homelessness, disability, addiction, disease, or mental illness.

People are people first. The challenges they face are only one part of their story.

They aren't characters. They're people.

As storytellers, we have an enormous amount of power to shape how an audience sees the people in our stories.

But they're not characters. They're real people. That distinction matters.

When we tell someone's story, we make choices about which parts of their life to highlight, which details to leave out, what words to use, and where to place the emphasis. Those choices can shape whether an audience sees someone as a victim, a survivor, a neighbor, a parent, a professional, a friend, or a person with agency and aspirations. We have a responsibility to make those choices carefully.

That means respecting people's boundaries. During interviews, I sometimes had people tell me about something painful or private and ask me not to include it. We didn't. We never shared last names, street addresses, or unnecessary identifying details. We never published stories and photographs without permission. Stories involving children required explicit permission from a parent or guardian.

And perhaps most importantly, I never believed that I needed to push someone into talking about the hardest thing that had ever happened to them simply because it would make a compelling story.

You wouldn't ask a stranger to sit down and tell you about their deepest trauma. Why would we do that to someone simply because they're standing in a food pantry?

Avoid language that centers the organization or supporters

Nonprofit organizations often have a difficult storytelling challenge.

We need to communicate why the work matters. We need to demonstrate impact. And, especially in fundraising, we need to help supporters understand how their contribution makes a difference in someone's life.

That does not mean the organization or supporter needs to be the hero. In fact, I think some of the most powerful nonprofit stories happen when we resist that temptation.

A strength-based story doesn't ignore hardship. It puts hardship into context.

It doesn't say, Look at how difficult this person's life is.

It says, Look at this person. Look at what they care about. Look at what they've accomplished. Look at what they're working toward. And look at how this organization can support them along the way.

There is an important difference.

A parent who skips meals so their children can eat isn't an inspiring example of how beautifully resilient poverty can make someone. It's a heartbreaking reality that no family should have to experience.

Our job isn't to glamorize that hardship. Our job is to help people understand why it matters and what can be done about it.

Fundraising doesn't require a savior

This is where ethical storytelling can sometimes feel complicated for fundraisers.

You want people to understand that their donation has an impact. You want them to feel something. You want them to give. And stories are incredibly powerful at creating that connection.

But there is a difference between inviting someone to become part of the solution and telling them they are the person who is going to save someone else.

I want supporters to feel empathy rather than pity. I want them to recognize themselves in the person they're reading about. In my experience, that happens more often than you might expect. I've seen current and former supporters reach out because they recognized something of their own experience in a story and felt compelled to give.

I want people to understand that food insecurity is everywhere. It's in their community. It's in their zip code. It's closer than they think. And I want them to feel invited to join something meaningful.

The person experiencing hardship should remain the central actor in their own story. The organization provides support. The donor provides support. Together, they are part of a larger community working toward change.

That is a much more empowering story. And it can be a much more compelling one.

Let people tell you who they are

One of the things I loved most about conducting these interviews was asking questions that had nothing to do with food insecurity.

What makes you happy?

What fills your cup?

What are you proud of?

What do you hope for?

What are you doing after you leave here today?

What are you looking forward to?

People often opened up when they realized I wasn't there simply to document their challenges. I was interested in them. That is a small distinction, but I think it makes a big difference.

I also tried to use people's own words whenever possible. There is something powerful about allowing someone to describe their own experience rather than having an organization interpret it for them.

Their voice matters. Their perspective matters. Their personality matters.

Even the funny, quirky, ordinary details matter. Those are often the details that make us recognize something of ourselves in another person.

Ethical storytelling can be effective storytelling

I don't believe ethical storytelling means telling less powerful stories. I think it means telling more complete ones.

A story can make us laugh. It can make us cry. It can make us angry. It can make us hopeful. It can make us recognize ourselves in someone we might otherwise have considered completely different from us.

It can help us understand an issue through one person's experience while data shows us the scale of the problem. And it can give people a reason to care without asking them to pity or look down on someone else.

The best nonprofit storytelling doesn't reduce people to statistics or circumstances. It helps us see them.

Because behind every statistic is a person with a family, a history, a sense of humor, something they're proud of, something they're worried about, something they're looking forward to, and something they hope for.

Tell the whole story. Not just the part that makes someone feel sorry for them. Not just the part that makes your organization look good. Tell the complete story, and you'll convey truth, strength, and love in a way that is sure to make an impact.