The art of storytelling is a powerful relationship-building tool. For a funder, it’s a means to communicate the success of its programs and cultivate a reputation for what it stands for as an organization. In addition, funders can create opportunities for grantees to elevate their mission and community voices to the larger philanthropic community. While one might think that identifying and elevating these stories is purely the responsibility of a dedicated communications team and its network of creative consultants, as the recent PEAK Florida chapter event, “Champions of Storytelling,” made clear, grants management professionals also have a critical role to play.

Grants management professionals can be an invaluable asset to a communications team because they are positioned to build deep relationships with grantees. “On reviewing reports from grantees, our grants management team can check a box [in our grants management system] that will alert the communications team about a success story,” Maseda said. Davis similarly found ways to integrate her communications strategy with standing grants management processes. “We build into our grants management system so that, on an annual basis, our partners know we’ll reach out to them for stories they’d like to share.” Curry shared that she works closely with the grants director at her organization. “I go straight to the source,” she said. “If [Grants Director] Lindsey Morrison has a story from a partner, she tells me and I reach out to them for more information.”

  • Establish and maintain trust with all stakeholders Every person involved in the storytelling process needs to rest assured that information is being received and handled with utmost care.
  • Empower grantees to tell their stories Even if a funder may have a dedicated communications team—in a flash poll, 58 percent of attendees said that they did—those teams may struggle with capacity issues. And nonprofit partners may have even less capacity to communicate about their work.

Read the full article about helping nonprofits tell their stories by David Bender, Jessica Cohen, Lashonda Curry, Leigh Davis, Grace Maseda at PEAK Grantmaking.