Cindy Eggleton has always believed in the power of a story.

But the CEO and co-founder of Brilliant Cities, a Detroit-based early childhood development nonprofit that supports learning in underserved communities, never expected someone to tell hers. And definitely not in a sleek documentary with a slick soundtrack and plenty of images of other Detroit institutions, such as General Motors, Diana Ross, and the historic Fox Theatre.

“It’s never been about me,” said Eggleton, adding that participating in the “Nevertheless: The Women Changing the World” documentary series on YouTube was her way of honoring her late mother, Geraldine, who inspired her to speak out and help others in their community.

However, as they face an increasingly uncertain funding landscape, nonprofits are focusing more on storytelling in outreach to donors – both big and small – and raising production values for videos and podcasts.

“Storytelling is how we’re able to draw people in and get them to connect to a deeper truth about themselves or about the world or a problem that needs to be solved,” said Elevate Prize Foundation CEO Carolina Jayaram Garcia. “It’s connecting those issues back to you as a human and not saying, ‘Well, that’s their problem. That’s all the way over there.’ The story allows it to be human.”

Elevate Prize Foundation Launches Its Own Documentary Studio to Advance Digital Storytelling

The foundation launched the production house Elevate Studios earlier this year to tell more of those stories, Jayaram Garcia said. “Nevertheless: The Women Changing the World,” Elevate Studios’ first series, has already generated more than 3 million views on YouTube and will debut its second season in the summer of 2026.

“It’s been incredible to see the growth we’ve had on YouTube and how it’s resonated so quickly with so many people,” Jayaram Garcia said. “We know we’re on to something here.”

Philanthropic support of storytelling has been ongoing for decades, mostly through donors funding documentary projects. Open Society Foundations created the Soros Documentary Fund in 1996 before the Sundance Institute took it over in 2002, with the George Soros-backed nonprofit’s continued monetary support. The Ford Foundation formalized its funding plans in 2011, creating its JustFilms program that still supports 25-30 documentary films annually. Earlier this month, Firelight Media, a New York-based nonprofit supporting documentary filmmakers of color, launched the Firelight Fund, which will offer directors $50,000 grants for their projects.

 

Read the full article about digital storytelling in the nonprofit sector by Glenn Gamboa at Fortune.