GMN 2013 Conference Session Summaries © 2013 Grants Managers Network

Sponsored by

Digital Storytelling: Imaging Your Grant Results and Mission

Grace-Anne Alfiero, President & CEO, Arts in Action Consulting

Displaying the image of a dandelion, Grace-Anne Alfiero told participants that she had worked in Japan at

an organization with a name meaning, roughly, “the little seed in the dandelion that flies away to another

community and plants itself to make it beautiful.” She used this image to illustrate the way that

storytelling spreads ideas. Alfiero urged participants to ask questions and mentioned her website

(www.ArtsinActionLLC.com) and email address (gracealfiero@gmail.com) as resources for more

information.

Alfiero showed a YouTube video in which a little girl talks lovingly about her sister with Down syndrome

and conveys an emotional message about not using the term “retarded.” The video was prepared by the

Treasure Valley Down Syndrome Association. Participants said they thought the video was very effective.

Alfiero said her goal for this session was to teach participants how to use grantee histories and

information on behalf of the grantmaker, the most effective ways to use digital presentation, what is

needed to make promotional videos, what items are needed from collaborators and grantees, and how the

participants can help support and spread knowledge about effective communication.

She said there are several ways to tell a story:

o Present to a crowd

o Write articles or blogs

o Do interviews

o Create murals

o Dance

o Sing

o Perform

o Create a video or a DVD

o Start a website

“Storytelling isn’t just for campfires anymore. Good stories compel people to change,” she said. A good

story demands an emotional investment, and people will adjust the way they think, feel, act, and behave in

GMN 2013 Conference Session Summaries © 2013 Grants Managers Network

Sponsored by

reaction to a good story. She offered another YouTube example from The Motivational Edge, a tax exempt

organization in Miami, Florida: Ishmael Jones, an African-American youth living in urban Miami, told his

story in 57 seconds and raised $13,000.

Participants said they felt inspired by the footage and felt they should donate money to The Motivational

Edge's cause. They also wanted more information because the video was so brief.

Alfiero reviewed the standard elements of a good story: beginning, middle, rising action, falling action,

and conclusion. She said good stories accomplish several goals:

o They drive an audience to action.

o They clarify the message.

o They confirm why the audience’s action is important.

o They explain how audience members should take action by giving them a website or other

resource links.

It is the storyteller’s responsibility to craft a good story, Alfiero said. To do that, the storyteller must listen

to his or her subjects, because it is their story, and must continue to listen because the subjects’ story

might change. The storyteller should be personal, should inspire action, and should think ahead.

Alfiero stressed that nonprofits now have a profit-making mindset and that tax-exempt businesses can

hold fundraisers and apply for grants. She said organizations should update their website content to give a

current and accurate image of their organization.

Alfiero asked how many participants felt they know their audience, and most replied, “sort of.” She said it

is worth considering what audience the organization really wants to reach. Grants managers must target

and change their storytelling tactics accordingly. The board of trustees is a different audience from the

grantee community. “Where are you putting this information?” she asked. “What’s your platform? Is your

audience on Facebook, Vimeo, a podcast? How will you get it out there?”

Alfiero reviewed Dr. William Glasser’s research on how we learn. Glasser said we learn 10% of what we

hear, 20% of what we read, 30% of what we see, 70% of what we discuss, 80% of what we experience

personally, and 95% of what we teach others. Accordingly, a video that combines sight, sound, personal

narrative, and teaching should reach the 95% learning mark. One minute of video is worth 1.8 million

words.

GMN 2013 Conference Session Summaries © 2013 Grants Managers Network

Sponsored by

The average American spends 20 hours per month viewing videos, and 85% of Americans watch videos

online.

Every organization has many stories, said Alfiero. Many are worth telling to promote the organization’s

mission. Family foundations are a rich source for historical narrative. Grantees’ stories about what they

accomplished with the grant are always compelling. The Volunteers of America public service

announcement on YouTube is an effective example, she said.

Capturing and archiving stories may set an organization apart from competitors, endearing it to partners,

benefactors, trustees, and the community. Alfiero quoted Maya Angelou to encapsulate the power of

multimedia storytelling: “People will never forget how you made them feel.” Video is a cost-effective

vehicle for learning because in this current, rapidly changing field, the technology is faster, cheaper, and

accessible at home. Smartphones have replaced expensive video cameras, and flat screens are dropping in

price. Apple products in particular stay current for approximately five years, Alfiero said.

She said digital storytelling is “a first-person narrative created by combining recorded voice, still and

moving images, and music and/or other sounds.”

A participant observed that simple equipment does not yield great sound results. Alfiero recommended

using a voice-over rather than recording while filming. In some cases, however, authentic background

noise works well to establish atmosphere and context.

A participant said digital storytelling is just the platform, and video is not the only means to convey a

story: a PDF is also a form of digital storytelling.

Alfiero showed a Z-pattern diagram for a website, which shows how people interact with the computer

screen, targeting optimum areas for video placement.

She offered another example of storytelling from GMN members: for the Harold K.L. Castle Foundation’s

Windward Youth Leadership Fund, people who received the grant were required to videotape their project

and put it online.

There are more than 141 billion searches on Google each month, and nonprofits should aim to come up on

the first page of searches, Alfiero said.

GMN 2013 Conference Session Summaries © 2013 Grants Managers Network

Sponsored by

She endorsed the website TechSoup as a cost-effective help for organizations on a budget. Nonprofits and

grantees can utilize TechSoup for software and technical support.

Alfiero stressed the importance of review when grantees use the grantmaker’s logo in video production.

Make sure the grantee’s product supports the grantmaker’s image and mission, she said. She added that

photo release forms are important and should be used as they will protect from future legal action, and a

written agreement is always stronger than a verbal agreement.

Grantees and grants managers need royalty-free music choices for their videos. However, this is a great

way to involve local musicians who may want exposure.

Alfiero gave examples of scripts and storyboards to assist the video composition process, stressing the

importance of keeping notes on what the end message should be. The best length for a promotional video

is one to three minutes.

She said she uses iMovie and iPhoto to produce video, adding that both are easy to use and have powerful

output that can be created on a laptop.

Alfiero suggested that photos of 300 to 600+ dpi are optimal. They can be sent over the Internet,

uploaded to Dropbox, or put on a jump drive. Smartphones have camera applications that are perfectly

acceptable for capturing images.

Editing video is time-consuming, perhaps taking hours, but Alfiero promised it gets better and faster with

experience.

Stressing professionalism, saying the quality of images reflects the professionalism of the storyteller,

Alfiero outlined photographic points of view:

o Macro—Provides detailed close-up shots.

o Motion blur—This is good for transition.

o Infrared—Gives a surreal look to natural elements and is good for environmental shots.

o Tilt shift—Gives a different perspective. For instance, New York City is shot from an aerial

perspective to convey a magical, glossy feeling.

o High speed—Can show a drop of water falling, capturing a moment in time.

o Photojournalism—Tells a story without words.

GMN 2013 Conference Session Summaries © 2013 Grants Managers Network

Sponsored by

o Documentary—Captures something that happens on a regular basis in a cultural context.

o Forced perspective—Digitally manipulated images used to make a point, such as a big foot

stepping on cityscape.

Alfiero said there are a few choices for multimedia production. Grantors can produce their own videos,

they can have grantees produce video, they can hire a professional production firm (at $1,000 to $10,000

per minute of film), or they can use a combination of methods.

Turning to the subject of accessibility, Alfiero mentioned the website www.Section508.gov as a resource.

She recommended using voice over, large text, closed captioning, smooth transitions, and language

translations.

Alfiero provides a digital storytelling template on her website, and she is also available for two-day

storytelling workshops. For further resources, she mentioned the Center for Digital Storytelling.

Alfiero issued a challenge to participants for the 2014 GMN conference: “Take this information back to

your organization, create a one- to three-minute video, and show it next year at a conference film festival.”