Comms Guide

Foundation WoD reporting requirements

Weekly:

Mandatory – submit one individual impact story, one 2min video, One picture caption story.
Supplementary – Picture caption

Monthly:

Submit one community impact story. This is about the impact of your work on the communities you have worked with. Should include details of everything you have done during the month.

Quarterly:

Individual Report for Board Paper
Individual capacity-building story: How WoD candidature has lifted you.
Data-driven Community impact story: This will be your 3-month high-impact intervention you have made in the community. Include numbers and analysis

Foundation Story Writing Guideline

METHOD

Determine purpose of Story

What do you want to accomplish and what partnerships do you hope to gain through telling your story?

Think about your audience

Who are your potential partners and what do they know about your work at this point? How can your work be enhanced by their partnership?

Boil it down

Distill the story to its most important facts/components (background of story, main characters, etc.). Remember your audience and try to decipher what they need to hear or know in order to understand and appreciate your story.

Connect on emotional level

Ask yourself how they can relate their work with yours through your story? Find a common thread even if it doesn’t seem apparent right away: think anecdotes or experiences your viewers may share.

Cause and Effect

Develop a concise, easy-to-follow timeline for your story. How were things before? What changed? How can your work continue to grow with the addition of a new partner?

Put it all together

Tell your story! Combine all of the above pieces to create an engaging story.

Take action

Give your audience a call to action. They’ve heard your story, now how should they act or reach out to you?

Prompts to start facilitating discussion

How are you (or the work your initiative is doing) helping to improve the community?
What initiatives near you should be highlighted? Why?
What do you think is the most important thing to change (or do) to make sure people have what they need to be improve their lives?
What would help people in your community be better off financially, emotionally, physically.

STORY DEVELOPMENT

Story Setting

Who is telling your story?

Your storyteller – It’s important to consider who will tell the story and how their point of view will affect the narrative. Is the narrator part of the story, or external to it? Is he or she watching the story unfold, or looking back on something that has already happened?

Who is the main character in your story?

The most effective stories are told from the perspective of an individual. Describe the person and the situation they find themselves in at the beginning of the story.

Who are the other characters in your story?

Describe other individuals who play meaningful roles in the story.

STORY DEVELOPMENT

Answer the following questions to guide your story development.

How were your main character’s eyes opened to the need? Recreate the moment when the person realized that something needed to be done. This can help your audience experience the “eye-opening” moment as well. You could think of it as the problem or solution.

What doubts or concerns did they have prior to taking action? State the doubts or concerns in the voice of the main character: What would he or she say?

What idea, inspiration or change occurred that pointed toward a possible solution?

What was the first step taken by your main character? What was their ultimate goal?

What challenges or obstacles did the characters encounter?

What/Who others (helpers) joined the work? What role did they play? Show people involved in creating solutions to their own problems—as well as others who supported the cause.

What other actions or steps were taken after the allies joined?

What breakthrough occurred that helped the characters realize that they could overcome the obstacle?

What was the impact on people’s lives?

Are there lessons to be shared from the story? Think of a specific lesson that the audience can take away from your story—and a specific action they can take to help the cause.