Unite! Inspire! Record!
Documenting Good Works
We've been working on workshops for non-profits on digital storytelling / social media ... how to "document and celebrate" a for-good project.
Representing projects through compelling stories makes your organization's "good work" easier to communicate to others and more memorable.
Conventional approaches to project reporting often fail to capture the deeper and more authentic story. Standard forms or reports focus on quantitative data and general descriptions of activity, and don’t capture the heart of the story and the faces and voices of real people. Day-to-day documentation practices are often spotty, after-the-fact and inconsistent, which lowers the long-term value of the reporting and project. Press releases & PR shots are tailored for traditional news outlets, and are often not specific or authentic. Third-party project reporting or marketing consultants are expensive, are often hired as an after-thought, can only cover a fraction of an organization's activity, and frequently miss the opportunity to document actual events, before and after, and people in action.
So ... what's the answer.
We propose putting the responsibility (and fun) of creating project stories in the hands of project staff, partners and members of the impacted community. By empowering them with the skills to identify, capture and tell compelling stories about the program, you can help …
- Put a specific human face and voice to the importance of your initiatives;
- Enable documentation at key points in the project, making it possible to illustrate the “before and after” --- the dramatic arc of the story;
- Increase the number and quality of media assets that your organization and community have to communicate the value of your collective work;
- Create an economy of scale, as many projects and their constituents, across the country, collect hundreds of stories in many locations.
Representing projects through compelling stories makes your organization's "good work" easier to communicate to others and more memorable.
Conventional approaches to project reporting often fail to capture the deeper and more authentic story. Standard forms or reports focus on quantitative data and general descriptions of activity, and don’t capture the heart of the story and the faces and voices of real people. Day-to-day documentation practices are often spotty, after-the-fact and inconsistent, which lowers the long-term value of the reporting and project. Press releases & PR shots are tailored for traditional news outlets, and are often not specific or authentic. Third-party project reporting or marketing consultants are expensive, are often hired as an after-thought, can only cover a fraction of an organization's activity, and frequently miss the opportunity to document actual events, before and after, and people in action.
So ... what's the answer.
We propose putting the responsibility (and fun) of creating project stories in the hands of project staff, partners and members of the impacted community. By empowering them with the skills to identify, capture and tell compelling stories about the program, you can help …
- Put a specific human face and voice to the importance of your initiatives;
- Enable documentation at key points in the project, making it possible to illustrate the “before and after” --- the dramatic arc of the story;
- Increase the number and quality of media assets that your organization and community have to communicate the value of your collective work;
- Create an economy of scale, as many projects and their constituents, across the country, collect hundreds of stories in many locations.
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