From Narrative to Impact: The Strategic Value of Storytelling in Nonprofit Work
Written by: Caroline Stone, Student at the University of Delaware
“The rain refuses to come.” These five words of Dr. Clare Mukankusi were featured early this year on the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s website. This prominent nonprofit was highlighting the exceptional work of a Ugandan farmer combating climate change by breeding beans that can withstand droughts. A young and insightful mind, Mukankusi’s work is twofold: help farmers to feed their communities and families while making a profit, and to propel her country’s economy forward (Chikava 2025). Her story, like so many others, isn’t just informative, it’s moving, and intentionally so.
This moving story as told by the director of agricultural delivery systems for the Gates Foundation, Enock Chikava, appeared on the website as one of dozens of stories published regularly. One of the world’s most successful nonprofits, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is one of many organizations utilizing storytelling for their growth–not just data. In a digital world, human-centered storytelling is of utmost importance in nonprofits. It is more than content for a website, or a mission statement on a home page: storytelling in the nonprofit world is a tool to develop empathy, donor trust, and meaningful action. In fact, that kind of emotional connection might be exactly what people are craving most these days.
In all of the daily noise, storytelling can connect people, and bring people together to support a nonprofit’s mission. To Andy Goodman, author, speaker, and consulting expert, “stories can shape people; they can inspire them to think and act differently” (The Bridgespan Group 2016). Where data and jargon of a nonprofit just adds to the noise of our day-to-day, stories reveal why it matters, and to whom. Storytelling has the unique quality of situating the reader or donor in the center, showing the tangible impact of your nonprofit. In short, stories act as glimpses of the humanity that so many nonprofits work so hard to protect. And while that all sounds great in theory, there are local organizations doing it in practice, giving their organization an edge just through powerful storytelling.
The Food Bank of Delaware is an excellent local example of an organization which regularly shares individual stories of families, veterans, and volunteers in their newsletters, on their website, and in their social media. A member of the Delaware community myself, these testimonials and experiences with volunteer-work, for example, inspire me to explore similar avenues of meaningful service. It’s one thing for a nonprofit organization to ask for donations– it’s another to inspire others to be as involved as they can be. And this involvement matters. As Melissa G. Bublitz et. al note in their framework for social impact storytelling,
“The audience’s emotional response to a [social impact organization] client’s story about a life challenge can catalyze positive behavioral outcomes such as volunteering, community support, or donations” (2016, p. 239).
When done in a meaningful way, storytelling does more than describe impact: it creates it. People crave meaning and community, and nonprofit storytelling provides both, creating a space where people can act on their values and feel connected in the process. Of course, some people such as myself might look at this and wonder if the stories are logistically enough; that they can be more than just a feel-good anecdote.
As it turns out, stories are the key tool a data-driven organization needs to create balance. In The Bridgespan Group’s interview with Goodman, he is asked if data can replace a story, or if the data can be useful in telling it. Nonprofit organizations track numbers and statistics to show their effectiveness to stakeholders, as the article points out, and Goodman’s response acknowledges that the best stories nonprofits use integrate both. As he argues, “the ‘one’ is the story… number two…is the data that says, ‘And I’ve got more than one story to tell you. This one story I told you is illustrative of hundreds of stories, thousands of stories. Here are the numbers that back up what I’m saying.’” That balance of emotions and data is what makes storytelling the most trustworthy source for a stakeholder. But how to write one? According to his framework, a nonprofit story should have:
A clear and named protagonist– the star of the show.
A clear setting in time and place
A final transformation
These components are what can bring your audience into the story– the goal being for them to see themselves in the shoes of those who have been transformed, done good work, made a difference. And when that happens, so does the magic.
From a scientist in Uganda to a family receiving food support right here in Delaware, stories contain valuable human experiences and magic: the heart of nonprofit work. They connect audiences no matter where they come from, or who they are. Stories inspire action in divisive times and anchor the missions of nonprofits in lived experiences.
So here’s the whole point.
It’s time for nonprofits to invest in more than the data: invest in stories. It’s time for donors to listen for these stories. People aren’t moved by pie charts and spreadsheets– they’re moved because someone’s story mattered. Because someone’s humanness made you rediscover your own.
References:
Bublitz, M. G., Escalas, J. E., Peracchio, L. A., Furchheim, P., Grau, S. L., Hamby, A., Kay, M. J., Mulder, M. R., & Scott, A. (2016). Transformative Stories: A Framework for Crafting Stories for Social Impact Organizations. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 35(2), 237–248. http://www.jstor.org/stable/44164855
Chikava, E. (2025, February 21). The scientist reinventing beans to grow Uganda’s economy. Gates Foundation. https://www.gatesfoundation.org/ideas/articles/smallholder-farmers-uganda-scientist
Heagele, M. (2025, April 11). Volunteer spotlight: Nicole Tarantino. Food Bank of Delaware . https://www.fbd.org/volunteer-spotlight-nicole-tarantino/
Why nonprofits need to be storytellers. Bridgespan. (2016, January 15). https://www.bridgespan.org/insights/why-nonprofits-need-to-be-storytellers
