Pique Your Audience’s Interest
Once you’ve developed your narrative, pique your audience’s interest by infusing it with any of what Edelman calls “The Seven Characteristics of Good Stories.” While you shouldn’t employ all of these qualities, using a few of them can help brighten your story and win over your audience.

Read more in Telling Your Pro Bono Story.

Deep roots
The success of the team’s pro bono storytelling is deeply rooted in the long-standing relationships they’ve cultivated company wide. They are a partner and a client of the company’s Corporate Communications department, which encompasses internal, digital, and external communications efforts. With both functions rolling up to Corporate Affairs, this integrated partnership is natural. Joan Steinberg, Managing Director and Global Head of Community Affairs at Morgan Stanley, said, “In order to fully tell your pro bono story, your communications partners need to constantly be updated on your efforts. Keeping them in the loop is critical.”

Steinberg also noted the importance of strong support and investment of resources from key leaders in the organization. “When business heads identify telling pro bono stories as a priority, there’s action.”

Read the full case study in Telling Your Pro Bono Story.

Building partnerships that resonate
One of VMware’s early efforts revolved around cultivating strong relationships across the company, but not just with the obvious players. “We worked very closely with our Global People Development team,” said Jessamine Chin, VMware Foundation’s Director. “This collaboration helped us tie our work to our Leadership Code”—a core part of the company’s culture—“which really resonates with employees.” The alignment was equally critical for connecting to the company’s bottom line. “From a brand perspective, the work we’re doing showcases who we are as a company and how those values translate to our business.”

The team also invested time and energy in partnering with their Global Communications department, keeping them abreast of all of the Foundation’s efforts and engaging them for key initiatives. Many years later, they now have a dedicated communications role supporting the Foundation. “Having [this role] on board has been instrumental in continuing to build our relationship with our Global Communications colleagues,” notes Chin.

Read the full case study in Telling Your Pro Bono Story

Taking a step-by-step approach

Given all of these barriers, it’s no wonder it’s so difficult to craft and share compelling stories about pro bono. As the field grows and matures, though, companies are investing more and more in storytelling, and they’re beginning to share their lessons learned. In this resource you’ll find not only a step-by-step approach on how to develop your own pro bono communications strategy, but also case studies from two companies bringing their stories to life.

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