Gather Stories to Show Donors Your Impact

March 2012

A story is a great way to give potential donors personalized insight into what your nonprofit does and the change you're making in the world. And the most compelling stories can be told by people who know you best—your clients, volunteers, and partners—as well as your existing donors.

In a recent survey, 84 percent of donors said that reviews were helpful when they were deciding whether or not to give to a nonprofit. And every day new potential donors flock to the Web to research nonprofits. Won't you tell them your story?

GuideStar's partnership with GreatNonprofits makes it easy for you to collect stories about your organization—for free. All you have to do is to encourage your constituents to tell their stories about you. Send e-mails, tweets, Facebook updates with the link to your Nonprofit Report on GuideStar. (Check out our Reviews Tool Kit for more information.)

Here's one example of a nonprofit making full use of its reviews. Joell Dunlap, executive director of Square Peg Foundation, reported, "Reviews have helped us raise $10,000 for our organization." Specifically, Square Peg Foundation has used reviews in grant proposals and letters to donors. She said, "Using reviews by an outside, 3rd party, increases legitimacy of our foundation leading to increased donations."

So far more than 11,000 nonprofits have received a total of more than 96,000 reviews.

Launch your storytelling campaign today. Reach out to people who know your work well and ask them to help tell your story by writing a review.