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My Generosity Experiment
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Tag Archives: storytelling
Mailing it in
Today I received emails from class representatives from both my high school and graduate school asking me to give as part of an annual campaign. Both asks were identical: our participation rates are low, please give so we can increase … Continue reading
Stories, Facts and Synthesis
Break down any presentation and you’ve got three building blocks: stories, facts and synthesis. Since we’re generally not comfortable as storytellers, and since it feels safe to report on the facts, lots of presentations divide up the pie like this … Continue reading
Chimamanda Adichie: The danger of a single story
I can’t believe it took me until now to watch Chimamanda Adichie’s profound TED talk about the danger of a single story. A friend shared it with me the day before I discovered that it’s one of the twenty most-viewed … Continue reading
Posted in TED Conference
Tagged Chimamanda Adichie, courage, identity, moral imagination, storytelling, TED
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Sign everything you send out
I was trading emails with a nonprofit CEO when the question of newsletters came up. Specifically, who should his organization’s quarterly newsletter come from / be signed by since it’s not written by him? We’re all busy, there’s a lot … Continue reading
Posted in communications
Tagged communicatoins, connection, newsletters, storytelling, Work
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Hans Rosling does it again
I don’t know which makes me smile more, the amazing visualization of statistics to tell a complex story, or Hans Rosling’s contagious joy and energy. It’s a wonderful 4-minute video. Enjoy.
Posted in storytelling
Tagged data, global development, Hans Rosling, statistics, storytelling
1 Comment
The big ask
A colleague asked me today, “what different strategies would you use to ask someone for $250,000 as opposed to $50,000?” The first thing to clarify is whether you’re asking the same person for these different amounts of money. Put another … Continue reading
Posted in fundraising
Tagged confidence, fundraising, nonprofits, Raising Capital, storytelling
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Hope, Pakistan, and the power of storytelling
From Acumen Fund’s *spark! event last month. Getting to work with people like Jawad Aslam gets me out of bed in the morning. I promise this is worth seeing through to the end. : : : : : : : … Continue reading
Posted in Acumen Fund
Tagged Ansaar Management Company, hope, Jawad Aslam, KKB-4, Pakistan, storytelling
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Sarah Kay, poetry and project V.O.I.C.E.
I don’t know many 21 year olds who can pull this off. Beautiful poetry indeed, and the power of storytelling. And why slam poetry made Sarah the only happy 14 year old she knew:
The 17 second story
Twice in the last two weeks I’ve had 30 minute calls with people who are exploring interesting new vehicles for raising capital in the nonprofit sector. Yet in both cases, it took 17 minutes (I counted) to get to the … Continue reading
