7 Paths Blog

Leaders and fundraisers can use stories as a way to help volunteers understand the mission of a nonprofit and also move the volunteers to greater commitment.

Nonprofit leaders are often so immersed in their work that it seems common place to them and they forget that volunteers need to hear the stories. I’ve been working with Dave McClure, the executive director of the Youth Service Bureau (YSB) of Illinois Valley, a 31 year old nonprofit.

To help families succeed, often in crisis situations, YSB currently operates seven programs dealing with funding from 56 different federal, state and local sources as well as private foundations.

Dave and his board want to add an annual fundraising campaign to the mix to broaden their funding. To help the volunteers understand to work of this nonprofit that serves people in five county, I’ve suggested he tell a story. As Dave was wrapping up a steering committee meeting gathered to work on launching an annual fundraising campaign I realized he was forgetting the story. When prompted he told this story:

“Recently a mother, Ann,* who had been diagnosed with a mental illness was referred to us for therapy. She has a 22-month old child. The Department of Children and Family Services regularly refers to us their most difficult cases.

“Our therapists often meet with families in their homes because we find it to be the best way to help families succeed. Plus Ann didn’t have access to transportation to come to therapy.

“Unfortunately this is not a success story. One day recently Susan, the therapist, arrived at the home and Ann was very upset. They talked but Ann continued to be upset.

“At one point the 22-month old was playing with a noisy toy and it was squeaking. Ann shattered the toy, in front of her child, to keep it from squeaking. She was unable to control her anger, and Ann was afraid she would harm her child.

“Susan told Ann that she would have to call the DCFS hotline because Ann was endangering her child. After Susan made the call, she stayed with Ann until the investigators arrived and determined it was best to remove the child from the home.

“Later that day Ann threatened to harm Susan for causing her child to be taken from her. But the police were very helpful and no incidents occurred.

“It was not the therapeutic outcome that Susan or YSB wanted. But it was good to have the therapist in the home to see what was happening. I’m just thankful a YSB worker was there, on that day, so we could both protect that child and also prevent the mother from doing something she would regret. The child’s now in a foster home in the Illinois Valley,” Dave concluded.

“It was a success,” one of the volunteers said, “the child was in a safer place.”

As Dave told the story I could sense everyone in the room moving from being business and community leaders working on one more fundraising campaign, to being people deeply concerned for the welfare of this child and family.

And they were seeing their work on the campaign as one small part of making a difference in the incredibly complex family issues that a nonprofit like YSB works with every day.

Stories deepen our understanding of an organization and deepen the meaning of our role in the organization.

• Names and some details changed to protect privacy.