Keri Silk, MS, DTM
Stories create connection. Perhaps the most important thing an agency can do is to get their clients stories out to the world at large. People are moved to give because they feel connected. Connections through emotion are the strongest. Consider the television advertising with small needy children staring through hungry eyes. Or, the ads that show a homeless person smiling over a steaming plate of Thanksgiving dinner and others.
Your stories are just as powerful. Use words and whenever possible pictures. Tell the needs, tell your successes and always offer a way that your audience can help. This is just as important in grant writing as it is in any other form of donation request.
When you tell a story or use a picture be sure to obtain a release of information from the client. If not available, you can consider changing names and other information so that the client is not recognizable. You may wish to consult an attorney on this.
When writing a grant I always try to include a story. It helps the giver identify and connect. With more funders moving towards shorter applications you will need to weigh every word. Leave out the pontificating and keep the story.