“What we need here is a good story.”
If you’ve spent time working to create social change, you’ve heard this statement. Stories are incredibly powerful tools for engaging audiences, creating empathy and driving action, but they don’t exist on their own. Good stories—the ones that engage our emotions and change our minds—are the end product of a longer process.
Think of it like a tree. The trunk and branches you see are possible because of a deep root system that supports and nourishes the whole tree. Stories work the same way. To drive action, they need a strong root structure, including a clearly articulated strategy and goals, a focused narrative, and consistent messaging. So before you craft that killer story, you need to answer these basic questions:
What?
- Goals: What are you trying to accomplish?
- Vision: What would the world look like if your goals came true?
Why?
- Values: What core values drive your efforts to realize this vision?
- Challenges: What’s preventing your vision from occurring?
How?
- Strategy: What steps are you taking to bring that vision to life, and why are they effective?
Who?
- Audiences: Who do you need to make your strategy happen? What do they want, and what are they concerned about?
To see this in action, imagine a nonprofit that wants to help more students attend college by urging them to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The effort has the potential to unlock billions of dollars in financial aid, but only if they can get school counselors, high school students and families to buy in. Let’s walk them through our questions:
What?
- Goal: For more students to have the resources they need to access and attend college.
- Vision: A future where all students are able to attend college, no matter their background or family’s income.
Why?
- Values: All young people have the right to realize their potential. Our society benefits when every student can pursue higher education.
- Challenges: Cost is the number one obstacle to college attendance. Low FAFSA completion rates leave billions in financial aid funding on the table every year. Many students don’t fill out their FAFSAs because they, their families and school counselors don’t realize what financial aid resources are available through this single form.
How?
- Strategy: We’re making sure that every student completes their FAFSA form, potentially unlocking billions of dollars in financial aid that would otherwise be unclaimed.
Who?
- Key Audiences:
- Students need to believe college is attainable, understand how financial aid works and what resources are available in order to fill out their FAFSAs. They want to succeed in the workforce, but don’t want to amass crushing student debt.
- Families need to support their children in pursuing higher education, understand their financial aid options, and provide the information needed to apply for aid. They want to help their kids succeed, but worry that they don’t have the resources or understanding to help their children attend college.
- School counselors need to understand the impact of increased FAFSA completion and urge students to fill out their FAFSA forms. They want their students to succeed and their schools to improve their FAFSA completion rates, but are already overextended.
These answers are the roots of a strong storytelling structure, which includes:
- Narrative: The overall story of your organization or campaign. It brings your who, what and why together in one place in a simple and emotionally engaging way.
- Messaging: How you communicate your narrative to different audiences. It keeps you consistent while enabling you to tailor what you’re saying to resonate with specific groups.
- Stories: Portray your key messages through the lens of real human experience, making them feel more tangible, accessible and urgent. They usually center around one or more main characters, and have a beginning, middle and end.
How might that translate into communications tools for our hypothetical nonprofit?
Core Narrative: A single document that conveys your organization’s narrative clearly and directly, which can then be used to generate content such as web copy, fundraising emails, videos and more..
Example Narrative
- All youth deserve the opportunity to realize their potential. Yet far too many students miss out on life-changing higher education opportunities because they believe they can’t afford college. Every year, billions of dollars in financial aid go unused because eligible students don’t fill out their FAFSA forms. But by working with students, parents and teachers to increase FAFSA completion, we are unlocking higher education opportunities for millions of young people, creating a brighter and more prosperous future not just for our students, but for their families, communities and our society.
Messaging Platform: A document containing general-audience messages, messages targeted at specific audiences and calls to action, which can be used to create talking points and ensure alignment across your communications.
Example Messages
- Nearly half of graduating high school seniors missed out on financial aid for college in 2024 because they didn’t fill out their FAFSA, leaving more than $4.4 billion in Pell Grants on the table. (general message)
- My college dreams are within reach! By filling out my FAFSA form, I can make sure I have the financial resources to earn a degree. (targeted message)
- Visit FAFSA.gov to find tools to help your students learn about, apply for and receive financial aid for college. (call to action)
Story Bank: A spreadsheet listing key information about specific stories. It contains an overview of the story itself, details about the people involved, contact info and other information to pitch to media outlets, generate social media posts or use the stories in materials.
Example Story:
- Chanda Nguyen dreamed of being the first in her family to attend college, but the cost made it look unattainable. She was on the verge of writing off higher education when her school counselor walked her through the many financial aid programs for which she was eligible. By filling out her FAFSA, Chanda accessed federal grants and other scholarships through her state and her school. In May 2025, she strode proudly across the stage to the cheers of family and friends, graduating with honors from California State University, Northridge with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Information Technology.
The tallest trees have the deepest roots. By taking the time to build a supporting storytelling structure, you’ll make your stories more effective, build closer connections with your stakeholders, and spark actions that advance your strategic goals.
Wanna learn more about how to tell your story? Let’s talk.