Why Charities are Perfectly Suited for Podcasting & How to Get Started
By Carey Green, CEO of PodcastFastTrack.com
Your nonprofit should create a podcast. No doubt about it.
Let’s do a little imagining to prove the point. And please, take this seriously. The three minutes it takes you to do this exercise could change the trajectory of your nonprofit in powerfully good ways.
Q: Why does your nonprofit exist?
Go ahead, spout off your mission statement or elevator pitch. That’s a good place to start. Then go deeper. Remind yourself why your efforts matter to the people you serve.
Then, think about them… the people you serve.
Who are they? Can you recall the names of specific people? What are their stories? Which of them represents the best possible outcome you could hope for as a result of the work you do?
When you have that story in mind, imagine how you’d tell it to a handful of different people…
A woman who asks what your nonprofit does
Your best friend’s 10 year old son
A potential donor who wants to make a lasting impact
A man who is in need of your services but doesn’t know it yet
Go ahead, think it through. How would you tell the story to each of those people?
The effort you’re investing right now, thinking about how you’d tell the story effectively in each scenario is the reason your nonprofit would be well served by creating a podcast. You are a part of life-changing stories every day. You turn many of them into happy endings.
And here’s the connection with podcasting…the best podcasts are great stories.
The power of nonprofit success stories
Stories inspire. Stories give hope. Stories motivate people to do more and be more and give more and invest more.
And those things — inspiration, hope, motivation — are what your nonprofit should be regularly giving to those it serves, to the people it seeks to empower, to the individuals and families that come alongside you as donors.
When you can do that through telling the stories you encounter day after day in the work you do, it makes a difference… and a podcast is one of the best forms of storytelling in existence.
My guess is that you can come up with at least three stories about how your nonprofit has helped make the world a better place right off the top of your head. I also bet that the people your nonprofit has helped would jump at the chance to tell their story, and how your nonprofit was HUGE in turning things around for them.
It’s also likely that the donors who partnered with you on a specific cause would be happy to explain why they pitched in to help. Your success story is their success story. A podcast could be your tool for making heroes of your donors and showing others who would love to help how they can become heroes too.
You already have the most important ingredients…
the cast
the crew
the scripts for the stories you have to tell
Stay in your lane. Focus on putting the stories together effectively. Pull your team together to sketch out the ideas that will authentically tell the amazing stories you’ve lived.
When pesky technical questions about your future podcast come to mind, jot them down and get back to what you do best. When the time comes, you should seek out someone who specializes in the tech side of podcasting. This person or agency is going to become your production partner.
They will help you get the podcast going and keep it going, growing, and improving long-term.
What should you look for in a podcasting partnership?
Shared values
An ear for good storytelling
Technical know-how and expertise
Patience to answer the many questions you’ll have
Systems that make the minutia and back and forth simple and easy
Take the time to ask the questions that will tell you if a potential partnership is going to work. It’s painful to have to switch relationships once you’ve got up a full head of steam.
You’ve already changed lives. Your stories can change even more.
Both the people you serve and the people who support your nonprofit financially have experienced benefits from their connection with you. Don’t stop there. Get others in on the goodness.
Tell the stories that only you can tell. And keep on telling them. Use your podcast to distribute them far and wide. It’s one of the most natural ways to spread the word about the great things being accomplished… and to invite others to get in on the fun of being a blessing to others.
Connect with Carey: podcastfasttrack.com
Frontier.FM is produced by Podcast Fast Track!
Example podcasts: