How to Structure Your Non-Profit’s Story

There are many ways to tell a great non-profit story. And, while those great stories may appear to be unique they actually follow a similar, proven structure.

So, if you’re struggling to create a successful story for non-profit we suggest using the structure below. (Of course, you’ll still want inject your brand’s personality into your story to make it unique.)

The Intro

Your intro is one of the most important parts of your story. If it doesn’t immediately grab the person’s attention they won’t bother learning more about you.

Some of the best ways to write a compelling intro is to either use a powerful statistic, an unavoidable truth, or a sentence that ends with a cliffhanger.

The Problem

Before people will care about your non-profit’s mission they need to know what’s at stake. 

So, clearly outline the problem you’re trying to solve in the world. The more data and real-life examples you can use to highlight this problem the more powerful this part of your story will be.

Another great way to improve this section is to help the reader understand what the future will look like if the problem is not solved.

The Solution

Now that you’ve identified the problem it’s time to present your solution.

The goal of this section is to show why your solution is the best option, and explain how you’ll make that solution a reality. 

A few things to note when it comes to presenting your solution:

The best solution, not the only one

Don’t frame your solution as the only solution. There are always other options out, and it will immediately make the reader question you if you claim to have the only solution.

Instead you want to show why you feel you have the best solution.

The solution needs to be realistic

If you want the reader to buy into your solution they need to feel it’s achievable. Providing data and a detailed plan will go a long way to add credibility to your vision.

Impact & Success Stories

This section can be tricky if you’re a new non-profit. But, for those non-profits that have had some success this is the section that adds instant credibility to your story.

You need to share success stories, testimonials, and/or results you’ve been able to achieve.

If you’re a new non-profit you can always use white papers and case studies from similar initiatives to show your vision can follow the same path to success.

Strategic Partners

If you have any strategic partnerships in place you’ll want to highlight them here.

Make sure to place this section after the Impact & Success Stories. The reason is the Impact & Success Stories creates the credibility, while the Strategic Partners section amplifies that credibility. When someone can see that others are bought into your vision they are more likely to buy in to it as well.

Call to Action

Finally, it’s time to ask the reader to take action. You need to make sure you clearly state what that action is and what the next steps are.