I’ve long been rabbiting on to anyone who’ll listen about beneficiary stories and how they’re one of the best tools (if not THE best!) at a charity’s disposal for getting supporters on board. But recently I’ve been struck by the huge impact a great beneficiary story can have on a different audience: the charity’s very own staff.

Over the last six months I’ve been working with Crest Advisory on a big project for Victim Support. I’ve interviewed dozens of staff, volunteers and beneficiaries and discovered just what an important and effective charity it is.

Victim Support helps victims of crime – anyone from elderly people who’ve been burgled, to children affected by domestic violence, to victims of hate crime, trafficking, anti-social behaviour, terrorism…the list goes on.

Time and time again, I’ve heard beneficiaries describing the help they’ve had from Victim Support as ‘life-saving.’ As you can imagine, such sentiments are music to this charity writer’s ears – you don’t get much more powerful than ‘life-saving’ when it comes to stories that will inspire supporters.

But never mind the supporters (for the moment at least). What about the people working their socks off to provide that life-saving support – the staff? Don’t they deserve to be inspired too?

Of course they do. And at Victim Support, they are. I’ve been sending beneficiary stories to teams across the UK and their responses have made my day:

“This is an amazing read. I’m so proud of my team here in Cornwall and stories like this remind me why I do the job I do.”

“Ah that story is lovely – I feel like crying!”

“Thanks so much for sending that through. It really is nice to read such positive feedback and makes me feel even more pleased that I do this job.”

So the case for charities investing in stories grows stronger! The benefits are bountiful. Your beneficiaries gain satisfaction from sharing their stories because it’s a way to ‘give something back’ to the charity. Those stories can then become compelling content – for your website, social media, appeals, grant applications, donor reports, newsletters – that will excite your supporters. And, as my work with Victim Support illustrates, those same stories will give your staff a warm glow, reminding them exactly why they do what they do and motivating them to keep doing it.

So what should you do the next time your employers invite you out for some staff-morale-boosting bowling and a drink on them? Suggest that next time, that bowling and booze money might be better spent on producing a great new beneficiary story. I’ll wager that its impact will last far longer than a free glass of Pinot.