Engage Your Leadership in the Cultivation and Solicitation of Top Prospects

Inspiring stories bring emotion and life to newsletters, annual reports, gala speeches and face-to-face donor meetings.Fundraising copywriter and donor communications specialist, Julie Cooper, encourages development directors to cultivate a "story collecting mindset" among fundraisers to ensure uplifting narratives about the impact of their donors and organizations are never in short supply."Simplify this task by creating a #StoryGold channel on Slack where staff can drop snippets on-the-go," Cooper says."You can also add a 'Share a Story' button to your team's workflow software -just be sure to include an example of the kind of story notes you're looking for."Another option is to send monthly or quarterly calendar reminders along with a Google form where team members can share quotes, inspiring moments they've recently experienced or beforeand-after story arcs that are mission-relevant.Staff may be resistant to add another task to their busy schedules.Remind them that a streamlined story banking plan actually saves time by eliminating the need to scramble for content."A story system = less stress and more money," Cooper says.