I almost walked away without talking to Don.
It was a stifling hot July morning at a Waterbury, Connecticut soup kitchen, and I’d spent several hours touring and learning how an army of volunteers store, prep and serve food daily in the (non-air conditioned!) building and adjacent food pantry. I had more than enough to write my story for the donor newsletter for Connecticut Community Foundation. And I was pooped.
But the staff gently nudged me to talk to Don, since I had yet to talk to a single person of the thousands the pantry served each year. So I pulled out my cell phone to record a brief interview (I had already packed up my good video camera) before heading to my car.
In retrospect, I didn’t need the tour. Don’s story was all donors needed to hear.
There were no statistics, no mind-numbing program overviews, no talking heads. Just one man’s brief story, told in his own words, about overcoming homelessness thanks to the soup kitchen and its food pantry.
And that story is what moves and inspires donors—and should be the centerpiece of donor newsletters. But add a key message to donors: Your gift made this possible.
Don passed away earlier this year, but I think of him often and his quiet grace. Here’s to Don and all the storytellers—from #MeToo to #Climateaction to #Blacklivesmatter—whose courage inspired us all in 2019.
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Learn more about Carol Buckheit, the author of this post and the principal consultant at Just Giving Communications.