At Good360 the impact created on the communities we provide for is the heart for why we do what we do. That is why we encourage our members to share impact stories, in order to tell our product donors and partners how their donations have made a difference in communities across Australia.
Impact stories can go a long way, and are an amazing tool, to demonstrate what kind of impact retailers can have by donating brand-new goods to Australians in need. They also encourage our current donors to continue donating, as it’s a visual and emotive way to understand the scale of their donation and see the good they have created.
Writing an effective impact story is not impossible, but it may take a little bit of time to perfect. If you or your organisation is unfamiliar with how to tell a story, or you feel a bit stuck when beginning to write one, we have compiled a few tips that can help you get started. If you are unsure on where to write your impact story, read how to get started here.
1. Start by including these 3 essentials:
- What did you receive?
- What was done with the donation?
- Who did it help?
It helps to tell the story about how the donations have helped your broader community through one initiative or event you may have run, or to narrow it down further, if possible, to one recipient’s story. This will give you one major story to focus on so your impact story is direct and not cluttered.
Once you have these three basics, you have a solid foundation to write your impact story on.
This impact story from The Big Umbrella is a great example of how to tell a story about a single initiative that has helped a wider community.
2. Tell the story through the words of the recipients
Readers love nothing more than to hear directly from the recipients on how a donation has made a difference. Grabbing some direct quotes from a community member or two is a powerful storytelling tool that helps a reader connect to the story. To do this, consider interviewing your recipient like a reporter, and ask a lot of questions to gather detailed responses. This could also turn into a story you could share with your community to highlight the good you are doing with the products you have received.
This impact story from Bay & Basin Community Resources not only tells the story of one recipient of donated clothing, but also features some quotes to further illustrate her experience.
3. Include some good-quality photos of your recipients or your team
Donors love to see the faces of who is receiving the products. If you aren’t able to get photos of recipients, take a photo of your team with the product! Photos of people are more effective than photos of open boxes or product on their own. (Scroll below and watch the video to see a quick overview of how to take a good photo!).
This impact story from Sonder features some high-quality photos of an event they had held with the help of Good360 donations.
This impact story from Lithgow Information and Neighbourhood Centre also features some lovely photos of recipients with donations.
We hope this guide has been useful in showing you how to write an effective impact story that shows product donors and other partners how donations have made a difference in your community. Our E-Commerce Coordinator, Ebony, has created this informative video to help you bring these points together.
