As you build drama and excitement into you grants, it is important to be careful with the way you tell stories about your clients. First, you will want to make your client as sympathetic as possible, even though they may have made some bad mistakes. Above all, it is important not to stigmatize your clients. This is often a surprisingly easy error to make, if only because the staff who work around clients may burn out on the clients and their problems overtime. Although compassion fatigue is normal, even unavoidable, it is important to erase all traces of it from your grant application.
The funders do not care how awful the clients are. The funders see the clients as angels who will turn around their lives thanks to the funders’ investments.
Often, I find it helps to start out by telling the client’s story while they were a child. This is helpful because it puts the client in the most sympathetic light and may help explain the client’s later missteps. I have found it useful also to have a specific client in mind when I write these stories. In most cases, I will not use the client’s actual name to protect their privacy. Nevertheless, I think having a real person in mind as you write makes your portrayal more realistic and honest. Be sure you add in a few details which help illustrate the character of the subject of your story such as their appearance, clothes, accessories, typical behaviors, and speech patterns.
Next, it is important to address the serious problem which faces the client: alcoholism, drug abuse, homelessness, unemployment, post-traumatic stress, recovery from physical, mental or sexual abuse. I cannot emphasize the following statement too much: The uglier, meaner, more serious looking the problem, the better your heroic story will read.
I got my start telling stories about abused and neglected animals back when I was the development director for the Los Angeles SPCA. Often these stories were so brutal that I got notes from donors assuring me they would keep donating to the charity, but would I please stop sending them these horrific fundraising letters. The point is that you are competing against movies, television and on-line resources to obtain your donor’s attention. Since it takes a lot to get their attention, you may need to stretch your personal boundaries quite a bit to develop copy that is sufficiently capable of holding your donor’s interest.
As you explain the role that your agency played in fostering your client’s success, it is important not to take away the glory of their personal achievement. This means it is vital to stress how much risk and investment came from the client. For example, the client may have skillfully escaped a dangerous situation. They may have shown uncommon courage in admitting their faults and taking action to fix them. Many times, you can emphasize the client’s own participation in the coached solution by stressing their perseverance, willingness to overcome obstacles, and their ultimate triumph over the naysayers in their lives.
Ideally, you will want to share your story with the client and get their permission to use it – even if you do not use their real name. Knowing this in advance will help you re-frame their experience in a manner that gives credit not only to your charity but also to your clients.
Finally, there is nothing wrong with the client expressing gratitude for the difference your charity made in their lives. Gratitude is one of a client’s or a charity’s most endearing qualities. It pays to emphasize it. After all, the donors are making a sacrifice and taking a risk themselves when they invest in the promise of your grant proposal .
