July: Once Upon a Time…
Empowered Together Through Storytelling
Throughout the month of July, we have had the pleasure of speaking with a number of our current and past clients about storytelling. We hope you have been able to follow along on social media. If not, check out our posts on Instagram+ Facebook. Hearing each perspective has left us feeling inspired. View the full interview series as well as additional storytelling tips below.
As always, we welcome you to connect with us if you have any questions, want to chat, or share feedback!📧
Tips from the Experts💡
Empowered Nonprofits has had the privilege of working with incredible vendors such as p3 mediaworks. P3 is a film + production company
that focuses on telling the stories of mission-driven organizations.
Who better to share their expertise on impactful storytelling than one of p3's founders, Curtis Gilbert. Take it away Curtis!
👋 Hello Empowered readers! Curtis here from p3 mediaworks.
Here are my top 3 tips on how to make a video your audience will remember (and maybe even watch more than once):
1. Use video as an opportunity to tell a story—the challenges, the perseverance, the impact, and the heroes behind it all. Details are perfect for a written document, but a video, is your opportunity to connect on an emotional level. Dedicate the video to the impact and what it means to the people connected to the mission.
2. The people connected to the mission are the stars of the story. A client whose life is in a better place than it was before, as a result of the organization, speaks to the audience on a human level. Equally powerful, inspired voices are also found in the people doing the work—the executive director, office manager, instructor, etc. Everyone is a star, and on camera they will shine.
3. In the story of a mission-driven organization, the greatest soundbite is never scripted. Ever. I have scripted a lot of soundbites and some of them I've really liked. But, even the best soundbite I have scripted has never been the best soundbite in a video telling the story of a mission-driven organization. I definitely believe it's great to script a few ideas to get the wheels turning and also serve as supportive context, but the greatest soundbites always come "off-the-cuff"— not from a script, but from an authentic conversation with a person who believes in the work they are doing.
Hear from some of our amazing clients as they share their stories:
Allyson Marks Greenfield
Executive Director, Israel Cancer Research Fund-Chicago
Justin Milrad
Co-Founder, The Blue Dove Foundation
Brenda Palms Barber
CEO & President, North Lawndale Employment Network
Jessica Butler
Director of Development, North Lawndale Employment Network
Check out all of our July posts on Storytelling
From the Vault
Empowered Nonprofit's Stefanie Pessis Weil led a session back in April 2021 on Virtual Storytelling along with The Second City's Kelly Leonard for Wintrust Financial Corporation and Chicago Innovation's client event.
August Reveal: You’ve Got Mail!
During the month of August, Empowered Nonprofits will be giving you the top tips and tricks to include in your direct and digital fundraising campaigns. Follow us on social media and subscribe to the newsletter
Missed a past newsletter? Click below:
Who is Empowered Nonprofits?
Empowered Nonprofits is a woman-owned firm focused on empowering nonprofit organizations to execute cutting-edge fundraising strategies that not only yield record-breaking results, but inspire and engage entire communities.
