What Nonprofits Can Teach Newsrooms About Impact and Storytelling
By: Jason Tomassini
Tags: Content Strategy, Storytelling, Nonprofit, Media, Journalism

1. Solicit feedback and start a formal system for tracking it

For nonprofits, the best measure of success is how their work affects the individuals they are trying to serve.

For news organizations, there’s no more direct measure of impact than an affected reader. It’s a big deal when readers take the time to email, tweet, call or approach news organizations about stories. Yes, that outreach is not always positive, but that’s OK — it’s important that people care.

Newsrooms can identify their strongest supporters, actively solicit them for testimonials and relentlessly document and share meaningful reader feedback. Put someone in charge of capturing these moments and broadcast them widely — in newsletters, on social media and in fundraising or marketing materials.

2. Extend the lifecycle of your best work

Nonprofits develop long-lasting relationships with people they serve.

In journalism, stories can be life-changing — sometimes for better, sometimes for worse — for the subjects of reporting. Nonprofit news organizations have taken down politicians, changed laws and elevated new voices and perspectives. Often this change occurs well beyond press time, which means it may go overlooked by the organization and funders.

Once a story is published, newsrooms should track what happens to those featured in it. The editorial team can write follow-up stories, host a reader Q&A with the subject, or create a newsletter that offers updates on the story. Marketing and development staff can develop case studies and profiles.

All of this serves as a reminder to a nonprofit’s supporters that the value of the work is sustained over time.

3. Tell your story like you tell your subjects’ stories

Be the supporting character in your story. Photo from Unsplash and used under a Creative Commons license.

Because they often prioritize marketing and communications, many nonprofits develop a deep understanding of the story they want to tell.

Journalists are better than anyone at telling stories — except when it comes to telling their own. When it’s time to showcase a nonprofit newsroom’s work to funders, the same approach that works for journalism can be applied. Investigate the organization’s impact. Talk to everyone who is affected by it. Weave personal narratives together with compelling data.

“Think of your organization as a supporting character for the hero in the story you are sharing,” writes Julie Dixon, the director of strategy at Atlantic 57 (and formerly of the Georgetown University Center for Social Impact Communication). “Focus your lens on the person whose life has been changed by your organization’s programs and services.”

(For more on this, see how the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism used photography and storytelling to communicate its impact to stakeholders earlier this year.)

4. Avoid jargon

The most successful nonprofits communicators don’t assume every funder knows their sector inside and out.

Likewise, the people who care about journalism are only a small part of the potential base of support for nonprofit news. Clear writing and storytelling skills can reach that broader group with an effective message. Keep in mind that the news nonprofit’s value is not limited to reporting and publishing articles; it’s value is the impact it (and its partners) can have on the world. That is a story can extends beyond the journalism world.

How do you do that? Journalists cringe when sources use a jargon-ridden press release, an annual report filled with marketing speak or an executive trained in platitudes to validate their message. Step one for nonprofit news organizations is to avoid those tactics themselves.

Above all, remember that whether it’s a funder, an individual donor or just a potential ambassador for your brand, earning support for a cause means quickly, concisely, and clearly showing them what that support can get them. Take a lesson from the nonprofits that already do this best.