If you’ve ever been pregnant…you know the power of the anecdote.

If you’ve ever had surgery…you know the power of the anecdote.

If you’ve ever…toilet trained children, had a vasectomy, grieved a loved one…you know the power of anecdotes.

Anecdotes are just stories about things that happened to other people.

You’ve heard stories about the friend of a friend who was shocked she was having twins, or who had preeclampsia or… You’ve hard about the guy going in for surgery on his left knee who wrote “replace this one” on it with permanent marker to be sure the surgeon got it right.

We all know someone (who knows someone) who had this thing or that thing happen to them. And it made an impact on us. So we remember it. And we pass it on to the next person we encounter that it might relate to.

Stories are connection points

We tell stories to connect with others, and to make sense of our own experiences. If I know someone, or someone who knows someone, who experienced something similar to what you’re going through, it helps me relate to you. If it’s similar to what I’m going through, it helps me integrate the experience into my life.

What does that have to do with fundraising?

Stories in fundraising

When you talk to donors, you’re seeking their connection points with your charity. How does what you do relate to who they are?

Stories and anecdotes about the people you help stick. They stick with your donor relations folks who go out and talk to donors — and need stories to tell. They stick with your donors when they read your newsletter, website, social media messages and even brochures (when done right).

Stories change brain chemistry

And what do they do? Good stories–powerful, engaging stories–actually change the brain chemistry of the people hearing them. And that changes their behavior.

In The Psychology of Storytelling and Empathy on PSYBLOG Jeremy Dean explains how stories with a dramatic arc cause the listener’s brain to release cortisol (associated with distress) and oxytocin (associated with empathy). In turn, folks who released more of those chemicals tended to donate more money–either to another person or to charity.

I don’t think you need a story to explain how that can help your organization.

We are social creatures, ever seeking connection to each other and the world around us. Stories connect us. Tell them.