story smart, LLC

Strategies and Storytelling to Take Your Fundraising Further

Follow me on LinkedIn   Follow me on Twitter
  • Home
  • Value
  • Services & Terms
  • About My Work
    • Samples
    • Project Gallery
    • Testimonials
  • About Me
  • Blog
  • Contact

Get grant ready: American Rescue Plan Act funding

March 19, 2021 By Amy Scanlon

Frontline nonprofits may significantly benefit from the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act. Are you ready to apply for grant funding?  With the passage of the American Rescue Plan Act, the federal government has committed $1.9 trillion to alleviate the pain of the covid pandemic. A … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: American Rescue Plan Act, coronavirus, covid, grant, nonprofit

Storytelling for grant reports

March 4, 2019 By Amy Scanlon

More than ever, funders want to learn the impact of your work. And they want to hear it through stories of the people you served. At last month's Grants Cafe, I had the privilege of presenting on Storytelling for Grant Reports. Download the presentation here to demystify how to prepare, interview, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Blog

2 Quick Fixes to Make Right Now to Your Fundraising Appeal

January 22, 2019 By Amy Scanlon

You’ve written an appeal that needs to go out the door yesterday. But you’ve been hearing all this news about being “donor-centered,” using “neuroscience,” and all those other buzzwords—and you’re not sure your letter measures up. While it’s always better to study up before writing your appeal, I … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Blog, Storytelling, Writing Tagged With: donor-centered, writing

Weaving a mini-story into your grant application

April 18, 2018 By Amy Scanlon

Grant applications are increasingly rigid in format, leaving little room for creativity. Or are they? There are several places where you can inject some storytelling into your application, particularly if you have moving examples of the clients you serve or the impact you make. The statement of … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Blog

You CAN tell stories in your grant application

April 6, 2018 By Amy Scanlon

Where did you find a story that touched you in the past week— Were you listening to a heartwarming story on the radio? Did you watch a gregarious friend entertain guests at a party? Were you reading a grant application? Not a lot of takers on the third one, huh? Well, you can change that. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Blog

Where’s the Fire? Social Proof

March 16, 2018 By Amy Scanlon

As I sat down to my desk and stretched my hands over the keyboard to begin tapping out compelling direct marketing messages, a high-pitched alarm sounded and bright white light began flashing—it was the fire alarm. An annoying disruption to the day, what happened next was a vivid illustration of one … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Blog

Use your (five) senses

December 7, 2017 By Amy Scanlon

Vivid language that strikes at a donor’s senses goes a lot further than run-of-the-mill cliches. You may have read an earlier blog entry about the power of storytelling to light up listener’s brains. However, there was one aspect that I didn’t delve into—the language of storytelling. To be truly … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: storytelling, writing

Take them on a journey

November 9, 2017 By Amy Scanlon

A story without twists and turns is boring. If there were no obstacles, every romantic comedy, adventure film, mystery, or drama would be about ten minutes long. Your story should have some twists, turns, and obstacles, too. I’m not talking about manufacturing drama, but giving some insight into … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: storytelling, writing

Why tell stories?

October 26, 2017 By Amy Scanlon

Stories are one of the best ways to make your organization part of a donor’s life.  Neuroscience has shown that when people hear or read stories told in evocative terms, those stories activate corresponding parts of a listener’s brain. When you read about a juicy plum, a crunchy carrot, or gooey … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: storytelling

Amy Scanlon Consulting Is Now Story Smart, LLC

October 20, 2017 By Amy Scanlon

For years, I’ve operated under my own name as Amy Scanlon Consulting. It’s been nice to see my name gain recognition over the years. However, Amy Scanlon Consulting didn’t really communicate the essence of my work. As a nonprofit professional, I’ve developed a focus on and expertise in storytelling … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Amy Scanlon Consulting, storytelling

  • 1
  • 2
  • Next Page »

Subscribe via Email

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

Tags

acknowledgement acknowledgment American Rescue Plan Act Amy Scanlon Amy Scanlon Consulting coronavirus covid donor-centered grant grantwriting nonprofit storytelling thank you writing

Blog Archives

  • March 2021 (1)
  • March 2019 (1)
  • January 2019 (1)
  • April 2018 (2)
  • March 2018 (1)
  • December 2017 (1)
  • November 2017 (1)
  • October 2017 (2)
  • June 2017 (2)
  • May 2017 (1)
  • March 2017 (1)

Contact Me

Email: ascanlon@storysmartllc.com
Phone: 202-365-6637

LinkedIn | Twitter

Recent Blog Posts

  • Get grant ready: American Rescue Plan Act funding
  • Storytelling for grant reports
  • 2 Quick Fixes to Make Right Now to Your Fundraising Appeal

Search This Site

Copyright by story smart, llc. All rights reserved. Site Design by Cindy Leonard Consulting.

Home page icons by the Noun Project.