More than 10 years ago, the CEO of a hospital system saw me at a networking event and mentioned a recent email newsletter I had sent describing the impact our collaborative health literacy program had on a student.
For a few years, we had been consistently focusing on telling the stories of students.
A couple of years after that conversation, a clinic vacated a nearby building. We had been looking for a new space for our organization more than a year. I learned that the same hospital system owned the vacated building.
Eventually, we bought that building at a major discount and renovated it. It’s now the long-term home of Literacy Network. There is a lot more to the story, of course, but if not for the consistent work we put into telling our story, I am certain this wouldn’t have happened.
The return on investment in telling our story was remarkable. Over the course of four years, we spent about $90,000 in staff time, consulting fees and materials. Within four years, we increased the assets of the organization by more than $3 million.
Many times when I saw people in the community and told them where I worked, they’d say, “Your organization does such amazing work.” And I’d ask how they knew that. It was almost always because they read a story of success from one of our program participants.
If you’d like to discuss how to use stories to positively impact your organization’s future, send me a message or give a call at 608-669-4447.