#131: The Power of Storytelling

At United Way of King County, we've provided more than 1 million free home grocery deliveries to our neighbors since the delivery program began in 2020.

This year, we've processed more than 12,000 tax returns from January through April and helped people access more than $18 million in credits.

And last year, we helped 2,300 families stay safely housed through our coordinated approach to housing stability.

Behind those numbers are individuals and families of every background, from the single parent in North Seattle struggling to make ends meet, to the rent and technical college student with an empty stomach and wallet, to the family on the east side that's one financial setback away from eviction.

We share the stories of their strength and stick-to-itiveness, how they turned to us sometimes when all else failed, and how we help them stay housed, put food on the table, and secure the finances to make ends meet.

Many of us at United Way can relate to their stories firsthand.

Often we see our history in their struggles.

And as we work alongside communities to build an equitable future for everyone, as we meet with donors, advocates, and lawmakers, and as we craft blogs, post on social media, or air episodes on this podcast, we share stories about our neighbors, our partners, and our grantees in a way that we hope conveys our belief that we're all in this together, and together we can address our greatest challenges.

Sharing such stories is aptly called storytelling.

It's a means of communication that's been around for thousands of years, but has gained popularity recently with the growth of digital media.

We see storytelling as a powerful tool for conveying the impact of our work beyond facts and figures.

We can point to research from the Stanford Graduate School of Business, which found that information delivered with facts and stories is more than 20 times more memorable than just facts alone.

We align with like-minded storytellers, particularly those who serve and advocate for their communities.

And to that end, we recently traveled to Canyon, Texas for the National Storytelling Network's annual conference.

Launched in Jonesboro, Tennessee in 1975, the National Storytelling Network comprises more than 1,000 individuals and affiliate organizations and embodies storytelling through practices such as story slams, oral history readings, art performances, workshops, and advocacy.

Among the conference's workshops was Storytelling Tools for Social Change, hosted by Lauren Neamy, a lifelong storyteller, author, and founder of the Minneapolis-based American School of Storytelling.

Neamy's storytelling prowess is rooted in 1960s work with community activist Saul Alinsky in anti-war organizing, and in the creation of the Public Policy Project to help low-wealth immigrant and communities of color effectively tell their stories.

Nimi's workshop at the National Storytelling Festival focused on four storytelling techniques for supporting social change, creating storytelling circles, collecting oral history, framing advocacy messaging, and delivering public testimony.

He offered real-life stories on how communities of people from different backgrounds and perspectives often used the four storytelling techniques to craft messages that persuaded lawmakers to bring about changes that their neighborhoods desired.

Hourglass sat down with Nini after the workshop for a conversation about storytelling and whether his four storytelling techniques have been used to address an issue that our county has been grappling with for years, homelessness and housing.

We also chatted with United Way Chief Impact Officer Regina Malveaux, our Senior Director of Philanthropic Engagement, Gary Rubin, and our Marketing Strategist, Kayla Dunn, about how our organization uses storytelling to convey the impact of our work beyond facts and figures.