Susan Wynne, the Participant Support Coach for the Atlanta 3-Day, joins us today to talk about the importance that your story has in your fundraising efforts.

“Tales told from the heart reach the heart.” – Steve Sanfield

Who doesn’t love a good story? A really great story can draw people in, transport them to new and different places and move them to act. Stories are what connect us to each other.

Your story is an important way for you to share your message with potential donors. Your story is what will help you achieve the goal that you set out to reach, which is to help create a world without breast cancer.

When participants register for the Komen 3-Day, one of the first things that we as coaches suggest they do is customize their personal 3-Day® webpage. This is the place where you will tell potential donors YOUR story. What brought you to the 3-Day? What made you decide to walk 60 miles and raise $2,300? What will your friends’ and family members’ donations mean to you and to the fight?

Below I’ve outlined a few tips to help you tell your story:

1. Make your story authentic. The people who are going to be supporting you will be drawn in because they know you, they want to support you, and they can empathize with your story. Don’t tell someone else’s story. Use your voice. Jot down a few thoughts about what you want to share: what made you decide to participate? Why is this cause important to you? Why did you choose the 3-Day? This will become the outline for your story.
2. Speak from the heart. For most of us, making the decision to participate in the 3-Day was emotional. Maybe you were driven to participate because you were diagnosed, maybe because you lost a loved one, maybe you might not have a personal connection, but were drawn to participate because you want to do something to make the world better. Whatever the reason, it must have been powerful to make you decide to do something that many other people wouldn’t do. Share your reason with your donors. It is the stories, not statistics, that will help connect people to your cause.
3. Remember that your story is powerful; share it with everyone! As the 3-Day gets closer, we have many participants who reach out to the coaches because they need some last-minute fundraising advice. As a coach, the first thing I do is go online and visit their personal fundraising page. I’m surprised by how often I discover that they had not personalized their page yet; they had not told their story. Many walkers make the mistake of thinking their story isn’t important, or thinking it won’t make an impact, so they don’t share it. But they couldn’t be more wrong! My first suggestion is to get that personal page updated, then share it with the world. It’s amazing the success that people have when they take this very important step.
4. Make sure to include your donors in your story. Your donors are helping you achieve your goal by supporting you. Their generosity goes so far beyond the monetary gifts they give, because together with you, they have helped make a difference in the fight to end breast cancer. Share how their donations are helping, and thank them publicly early and often.

Sometimes getting started is the hardest step, so if you need a little help with getting your story out there, call your 3-Day coach at 800-996-3DAY.