The Modern Nonprofit Fundraiser Podcast

Storytelling is a major part of how brands connect with their audiences, but nonprofit storytelling is unique. It can be a major challenge to do it well so that you do more than just grow your donor base. We spoke with Beth Guckenberger who has been using storytelling to build relationships with her donors in order to connect them to the work of her nonprofit. Beth is co-executive director at Back2Back Ministries. Along with her husband, Todd, they have been focused on international orphan care since 1997. They have been able to grow their reach by mastering how to use storytelling for fundraising. The Guckenbergers have found that it often feels like the nonprofit is the medium between the donor, who funds the cause, and the cause itself. Despite the organization’s best intentions, it can actually widen the space between the donor and the work they wish to fund. At Back2Back, they want to shorten the distance between what’s happening in the field and the donor. Great storytelling shortens that distance,