Nonprofit leaders are in crisis. Things have been rough for a while, and as a person who has worked in nonprofits for most of my career, I know it was never an easy sector to work in. Embracing storytelling could help.

Now, according to the Center for Effective Philanthropy’s 2025 State of Nonprofits report, things are looking particularly grim. Public trust and donor participation were already declining in 2023, and the concerns about burnout and staffing shortages reported in 2024 have continued, if not worsened.

Nonprofit leaders and staff alike are navigating an almost constant state of urgency, alongside a toxic and volatile political and policy environment.

So, what can we do to ease this burden and set ourselves up for success in the long run? We can focus on embracing storytelling.

You might think that response is out of left field, and that’s fair, but answer me this: When is the last time you gave to a cause you cared about?

Whether it was money, time, or something else altogether, the thing that moves people to action is either their own story or one that resonates with them so much that they have no choice but to act.

I recently received a newsletter that said there would be more folks around the table at Thanksgiving this year. Why? Because fewer people are dying from cancer.

It was striking right out of the gate with the human element. And something so many of us can relate to — a full table at the holidays or one with very specific people missing.

You would do almost anything to have your people around the table again, right? So why not donate to research that will make that happen for someone else, someone whose story is similar to yours?

Pairing stories with striking data on the real human impact of something like cancer research or free counseling (funded by nonprofits) means people feel the weight. And when they feel, they move.

Read the full article about embracing storytelling by Chantell Frazier at The Center for Effective Philanthropy.