Why Do You Do What You Do? Sharing Your Purpose

Clarifying and sharing your “Why” builds trust, connects with supporters, and sets your mission apart. 

Transcript

Copy

Welcome to the Life and Mission podcast. I'm Kay Helm, and we are talking about the six building blocks of storytelling. Who, what, where, why, when, and how. And you have landed on the why episode.

If you've been listening to any amount of time, you know that the founder's story should address not only how you got involved with the work that you're doing, but also why you got involved and why it matters to you. And we're gonna come back to that part of it towards the end of this episode.

But because it's not the only why that you need to share. And so I wanna make sure we're hitting a whole lot of other things. 

[00:00:39] Why is this needed?

The biggest why is, why is your work needed in the first place? Why do you do what you do? Why? Is this needed? Why is this even necessary? Why are we even here doing this thing? So, be specific. Don't just say there is a need. Tell us exactly what is wrong or missing. 

We're doing this.

Why? 

Because traffickers know when children are aging outta the system. 

Because in this village, the nearest church is a three mile walk across a mountain. 

One really good way to get a powerful sentence to begin your story is you say, we do this because, or we are here because, “because” like, just use that word and say, “we do this because“ …and then you, you write out what it is and then, when you're happy with that, simply knock off that first part of the sentence. Right. 

Knock off everything at the, “because” until you get to the “because” everything before that goes (away), and now you have a really strong statement about why your work is needed and it's just a fact, right? 

So a really strong sentence is just gonna jump right in. So you could say, “We are here because in this village, the nearest church is the three day walk across the mountains.” 

Okay? Or you could say, “In this village, the nearest church is a three day walk across the mountains.”

You see the difference between the two of those, and that's a really strong start to your story and it provides a framework for everything that follows. 

We need to know Why is your work needed? So that's the first why. Why is your work needed?

[00:02:19] Why is this need not being met?

The next one is similar. It's why is that need not being met? or why hasn't this problem already been solved? Because we know that the needs that we meet are way more complicated than most of us know, right?

They're definitely more complicated than what most of our donors understand. They're more complicated than we thought they were when we first got involved. Let's be honest. And you know, there just, there's more to it. There's always something else coming up, isn't there? but really kind of in the big picture, why isn't this need already being met now?

Um, it could be due to, you know, the what of what you do. So here's a good example with, Wycliffe Bible, uh, translators. they could be speaking about a specific group of people that don't have a written Bible yet. Well, why hasn't that been done yet? I mean, how long have we been working on this? How long does it take to make a Bible translation? 

Well, maybe this group doesn't have a Bible translation because their language has no written alphabet, and it's gonna take years of linguistic development before a single verse can be translated.

When they tell us stories about that, then we understand that these translators, they don't just provide Bibles. Like Wycliffe doesn't just provide Bibles. They don't just stick to major languages that already have a written language. They send trained linguists to live in remote villages for decades, and so their why is developing a way to write the language down. Because getting Bibles into people's hands in the language that they can understand is so important that it's worth taking all that time to go and to build relationships in that place and to help the people of the place create a written language for the language that they already speak. 

And that also answers another why question that they must get all the time, which is: why does it take so long, right? 

So if you're fighting human trafficking, this has been a problem since—well, gee, you could find it very early in the Bible. So it's very, it's been a persistent problem and I'm pretty sure as long as there are human beings that that's gonna be a problem. Why are you still fighting it?

Because it, every person is made in the image of God and every person that you can rescue from that, every person that you can keep from experiencing that in the first place, every person that can be redeemed from it and rebuild their lives. All of that is so, so important, and it's the why that you're doing this, because those lives are valuable, is part of the why, 

But also why is it—Why is it taking so long? Why hasn't it already been fixed? Why, why, why?right? We talked about the environment in the last episode, but you need to do something a certain way because of broken systems, or maybe because of efficient systems that actually are so efficient that they leave some people out. Okay? Because they were built for efficiency, not for including everybody. And so maybe the work that you do, you're working with the people that, that drop through the cracks in that system. you're explaining why that work is needed so that, you know, I thought we had services that took care of that.

Well, yes we do. And they take care of the majority of the cases. And so we leave that to the system. What we are doing over here in this. Is we're taking care of the people that fall through the cracks that don't quite qualify, but still can't make it on their own. 

Whatever it is you do, if you can, explain what you do in terms of the place that you fit in a system that might seem to be working or maybe, the problem hasn't been solved in the place that you're working because there might be corruption, there might be things happening with the weather and the climate, with the economy. There might be conflict in the area, social dynamics, different things going on. That is why that particular work that you're doing is needed in that place where you're doing the work. 

Maybe you provide a last mile sort of service for people. where people kind of make it almost to where they can actually access the service and you are there to bridge that last mile, right?

At some point you have to explain to me, a potential donor, why you need to cover that last mile. Why do you need to be that last part of the distribution chain? That could be clean water, it could be Bibles, it could be healthcare services, it could be anything. 

When I worked with Tributaries, it was, we taught faith leaders and social workers and teachers and medical personnel and others, a really simple process or simple framework for understanding people mental health and trauma.

Why? Because many nations only had one or two psychologists for the entire country. And most of the people in that country could not access those services. They lived too far away. the, there just were too many people that needed the services for the number of people that could provide services. And so, we would train people to fill that need because Like most people don't need the really high level mental health services. but they can be helped through a trained pastor or a trained medical worker or a teacher who's been trained, or even a police officer who meets them in their moment of crisis and is able to respond in a way that is a lot more helpful, because he understands a little bit about mental health and what happens to us in a crisis or when we've experienced trauma. And it makes a world of difference for people just by training those, those folks. And so if you're doing something like that, so if you can explain where you sit in the system.

So the fact that we go around and, and train people. About mental health. The first response that I usually get from people is, oh, we need that here. Well, yes, we need it everywhere, but let me tell you, there's only one psychologist in such and such a country. And so you go, oh, you know, all of a sudden the conversation changes.

And so you're kind of using that as a why. Why you do things, not only where you do it, why you do it in the first place, why you do it, where you do it, and why you do it the way that you do it. Right? So your why and your how, they really go together. They fit together really well. And you're gonna talk a lot of times about your why and about your how together.

And, um, we'll, we'll, we're gonna get to the, to the “how” at the end of this series. 

So you're answering questions like the why of what you're needed, why the need isn't already being met, and why you do things the way that you do.

[00:09:34] Why do you do things the way you do?

And that is our next why. Why do you do the things that you do, the way you do them? 

Because you probably do a lot more than people realize that when you share the reasons that you do things in a certain way, it helps people understand why you need resources that you're asking for. So you might say, we provide our ride service for our clients.

The unanswered, the unasked question is why? so you might say we provide a ride service for our clients because. The local bus line stops running two hours before the night shift at the factory ends. Right?

And that's your group of people that you're helping is those factory workers. Well, if you're gonna help 'em, that providing that ride service could be a really key component. So why do you do that? Because the bus isn't doing it right? That's the gap that you're filling. Your why involves sharing some of the context for your work. 

So let's say you help women who have been assaulted. What does that help involve? Why? you could say something like: 

It's really risky for a woman to come forward in cases like this. The prevailing belief here is that the woman deserved what happened to her, that she was wearing something that invited the assault. The man's actions were never questioned. That's why we give her a safe place to stay an experienced legal advocate, and we go with her when she stands before the judge. 

And that can be a huge part of what you do. Your why gives donors context for that work. And it all of this helps build trust and connection with your supporters and says you can accomplish what you've set out to do.

Which brings us to our next why. 

[00:11:20] Why should someone support you?

Why should someone support you? So donors might choose you for a lot of reasons, right? And I wanna address three of those. 

First of all, they might give because you've already shown that you are committed and able to do the work, and that's why we share transformation stories, but also a great reason to share any relevant qualifications, experience, training. Remember I talked about that in the episode we did, on “who— who, who are you?” 

So even if you're learning as you go, you share about those learning experiences and, you're not, don't think of it as competing with other organizations doing similar work. So a lot of times when we say, why should I support you instead of so and so, it sets us up like a, a, like it's a competition, which it is not. Instead just talk about, what you've learned, what you know, how you're doing the work, and just help us to be confident in your ability to do it.

And part of that is just, you're making donors feel safe handling their hard earned cash. That's, that's what it's, it's not so much that they don't trust you, it's that they don't feel safe yet. And so you want to make them like, understand that, when they. Invest in what you're doing. That even if it takes a long time and even if you have setbacks, that they can be confident that you're gonna stick with it and that you're gonna, do the things that need to be done.

So just understand that donors do not give where they don't feel that their gifts will be effective, and they don't give if they feel a little uneasy about anything about what you're doing. So sharing your why is a big part of helping them to see that you are a good investment. 

Alright. Another reason closely related is that they give because they trust you to steward their gifts. Right. We touched on that a little bit. They could think that you're a wonderful person. They could think that your cause is really worthy of support. But if your finances are chaotic or your reporting doesn't make sense. They will pass because, your ability to keep your finances and reporting organized and honest is really essential for your success.

So you've gotta be able to present those things, pretty much on demand in an organized manner, and you need to report back to people on a regular basis, not just with the great stories, but also with the finances. And there's a whole plan for how you do that as well to be effective with your fundraising.

But if you need help on that, on managing the finances or how to talk about them, or even how to plan or manage your finances, most community colleges. Have something like a workplace development, program, and you can get in those classes. You don't have to get a degree in it or anything like that, but you can take these classes, and they're usually pretty affordable because they are designed for non-profits and you can learn a lot. another reason why your donors could give is because your values and their values are aligned, and that is why you need to include your values.

[00:14:40] Your personal "why"

When you talk about your personal why, and you can also talk about your organization's values, right? And so there's a dynamic to that as well. 

So let me circle back to the founder's story, and this also can apply to any story where you're the main character, but your founder's story in particular is the story about why you do what you do, how you first got involved, and that story absolutely must clearly illustrate your personal why. And that's the story of why you do what you do, why you do what you do, and when you share your reasons for being involved in this.

‘Cause there are other people out there, potential donors, potential volunteers, people who could open doors for you, people who could teach you something, people who could understand you and encourage you, and don't ever underestimate the the need for that encouragement. 

But there are people there who have that same reason that they would like to be involved. 

If they feel it really deeply like you do, they'll actually protect that. Itmight be things that are not—that they don't share with people. Okay. Maybe you work with, populations who are unhoused. Maybe that was them. Maybe they were hungry, they lost somebody in a similar way, or their heart breaks from injustice.

When you share your why, then you make it safe and when you share it in a vulnerable way, you really make it safe for that person to step out and share their why. And those are some of the strongest commitments. You will always hear me talking about connecting and building bridges.

Your personal why is a bridge and for each of us, for you. For me, for our donors, our actions are driven by the beliefs and by the values that we hold dear and we cannot confuse our sharing our how. How we got involved with sharing our why. We have to talk about that conviction, the why that drives our commitment to the work.

Okay? So don't miss that. Why?

So I could say that we're funding a feeding program for children. But why? Is it only because the children are hungry? No, it's because I believe that it's morally wrong for children to go hungry when there's a fully stocked market right across the street.

And that is how we started our organization was that belief that that statement, because I believe that is powerful, that makes people think. Go below the surface so that your message is not just another appeal for the donor's resources. 

“Because I believe” plants your feet firmly on a position that requires action.

With your feet firmly planted, you are essentially changing that question from “Will you give to my cause?” which allows them to distance themselves to, “Do you believe this too? Do you believe it? You believe that it is unconscionable for children to go hungry when food is right there. Do you believe that it is wrong for children to go hungry when there is food right across the street?”

So it's not just about you, it's about them. It's about who they believe themselves to be. 

Am I a person who lets children starve? No, I am not. Therefore, I need to be involved in this. I have to act in some way. 

And maybe they won't choose you. Maybe they'll go do something else. But that conversation of, “because I believe.” It, it makes us face ourselves. It makes us look deeper. And the people who already believe that strongly, like I said, they protect that because they don't want to be involved in somebody who's surface. So they need to see that you're not surface. 

This is all stuff that happens really quickly inside of us.

Okay. So I'm not, and and hear me, I'm not saying that you're trying, that you need to go out and guilt people into giving. That is not what I'm saying. I'm saying that when we state exactly what we believe in, no uncertain terms, it's like raising that banner so that people who also believe the same thing can see that and respond.

They step up “because I believe” is the foundational why. For all of us. 

[00:19:38] Homework

So here's your homework. Yes, I'm giving homework now. Look at your mission and look at the hard, logistical “whys”, right? That’s:

Why is your work needed? 

Why is that need not being met? Or why hasn't the problem already been solved?

Why do you do the things the way you do, and 

Why should someone support you? 

Those are kind of more logistical wise. And then your personal foundational, why, I want you to especially do this part, finish this sentence for yourself.

“I am doing this because I believe ____________”

I am doing this because I believe. 

Why?

Don't settle for the easy answer. Find the one that makes your heart beat faster, that makes you cry. That one, because when you share that, you're building a bridge and you're making that connection for the people who are called to and built wired to join you. They're already thinking that way. They are in, they're in on the cause, and they just need to connect with you. 

So next time we're gonna talk about the clock and the calendar, and we're moving into the fifth building block of when. So until then, I'm Kay Hellman. This is the Life and Mission Podcast.

Find your voice, tell your story. Change the world.