Remember in nursery school how fun story time was? Ah, story time, just sit back, relax and let your imagination bring you to new places in time and space. The truth is, story time never gets old for people of any age, and it can be an effective and successful tool for communicating with adults.

A story has the ability to unlock doors, unlock hearts, and open minds, all of which helps in fundraising. Here are a few ways telling a story can be helpful in fundraising.

Breaking through the noise—There is no lack of worthy causes for philanthropists to choose from, so why should anyone take notice of your cause? A great way to make your organization stand out from the rest is by telling stories. What has your organization done successfully to change lives and make the world a better place?

Emotional involvement—When people hear a story, they are able to comprehend it with more than just the power of their intellect, they can understand your message on an emotional level. Once people become emotional supporters of your cause, less convincing is needed to gain their support.

Communicating your mission—Your organization's mission statement is only as valuable as the results you are able to bring about. If you have already produced results, and can tell about them, then your mission becomes more real and achievable to potential…

In 2009, I graduated from ASU's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication with a bachelor's degree in journalism, public relations emphasis, and took an internship in Australia. After a short period of time, that public relations internship turned into a full-time job. A few months later, I decided to quit the PR job in Australia to return home and back to a job in the service industry I had all through college. (Not the best idea I've ever had.)

In addition to a great experience, my time in Australia came with two great epiphanies: I did not like working in an office and I wanted to travel. These lessons, combined with the income and flexible schedule of my job, brought me to the decision that I was going to take a year off to travel and figure out what I wanted to do with my life. Well, as we all know, one year can turn into two very quickly; and, while I was able to get quite a bit of traveling under my belt, I was no closer to deciding where I wanted my life to take me.

So, I did what anyone who has no clear indication of where she wants her future to go would do; I went back to school. I am now studying to get a master's degree in nonprofit studies (MNpS) from the ASU Lodestar Center. The structure and challenge of graduate school has reignited my motivation to find a "real job." Two years out of the game, I decided to brush off my PR boots and see what the world had to offer. I kept telling myself, “It’s just…

Welcome to Research Friday! As part of a continuing weekly series, each Friday we invite a nonprofit scholar or practitioner to highlight current nonprofit research reports or studies and discuss how they can inform and improve day-to-day practice. We welcome your comments and feedback.

In 2011 I gave to over twenty different nonprofit organizations. From each I received various forms of acknowledgements, ranging from a standard receipt to phone calls to video messages. The type of thank you did not appear to depend on the size of my gift. For example, I gave $20.08 to my alma mater in honor of my graduation year, and have received a thank you email, letter, alumni car decal, and a second thank you letter personally written from a current student at the university. Conversely, I gave $250 to a Christian humanitarian organization and received a thank you letter with an electronic signature. Yet I plan to give again in 2012 to the Christian humanitarian organization and not to my alma mater, a decision which seems to run counter to commonly held assumptions about donor stewardship.

Donor stewardship is often defined as the activities and strategies utilized by a nonprofit organization to cultivate, engage and retain donors. The most commonly talked-about element of donor stewardship is reciprocity, or acknowledging and thanking donors for their contributions to the organization. Organizations have good reason to be concerned…

Last month I found myself in New Orleans. For about 20 hours.

It was just enough time to roam the infamous French Quarter, kick around Bourbon Street, take a historical walking tour and head out to the next city.

I’d never experienced New Orleans, Louisiana (or NOLA as the locals call it), but I thought I knew it well. After all, every February I got to hear all about Mardi Gras.

I got the full, media-saturated story on Katrina as the events themselves unfolded. I’d even watched Emeril cooking with his special spices plenty of times.

I thought I knew what to expect…
…people who had been down on their luck, who held on tight to everything, were slow to trust.

Turns out, I was wrong. About all of it. In less than one day, I realized that NOLA was filled with not just a unique group of people, but a treasure trove of lessons. I present three of them to you now.

Lesson #1: NOLA does not whine

The people of New Orleans have had some tough times. They’ve seen poverty and tragedy in their city, experienced natural disasters and man-made neglect. I expected it to have taken its toll. I expected people to talk about how they were wronged, how horrible their situations have been. I admit it—I even provoked a bit. I asked my tour guide, a NOLA native, about Katrina. He shrugged, and without any tone in his voice or any tension in his fists he said, "yeah, it was tough…really…

(Since this is Research Friday, I’ll point out that he summarizes years of research studies in support of this phenomenon.)2

You probably knew this. After all, this is the nonprofit world, where…