There is no replacement for the first-person narrative.
The best lessons are the ones that connect with audiences on a personal level. As fundraisers, it’s important to make these connections and relate with your supporters from a personal level.
Nneka Allan considers herself a Griot, an African term for historian and storyteller. She has made it her mission to create spaces to share the history and experiences of black fundraisers. As the founder of the Empathy Agency and co-writer of the Bright papers and her newest book, Collecting Courage, Nneka has lived up to her Griot title.
In our interview, we dive into important topics in storytelling, such as
- The power of the first-person narrative in building empathy
- How the bright papers and collecting courage came to be, and how she settled on the theme of the book
- The challenges she faced in creating collecting courage during a pandemic
- How to open up and accept vulnerability in storytelling
