Before You Plan Your 2026 Storytelling, Answer This One Question First
This is a teaser from this morning's Social Impact Storyteller newsletter. The full edition - including the Story Bridge Framework, Emotional Destination Worksheet template, and AI prompt - is available at impactstoryteller.org
The Emotional Destination
Most charities and impact teams start the year by planning what stories to tell.
A campaign for spring. An impact report for funders or sponsors. Case studies for the website.
This is exactly backwards.
The impact organisations that cut through - that secure funding, build trust, and move people to act - don't start with what.
They start with why.
Specifically: what change do they need to create this year? And then they build backwards from there.
Why this matters now
2025 was brutal for the sector. 151 major charities closed their doors - up 74% from the year before. Oxfam cut 142 jobs. Macmillan axed a quarter of its staff and scrapped its flagship financial hardship scheme. RNIB made over 15% of its workforce redundant. Scope closed 69 shops.
Government grants have declined by around £1 billion annually in real terms since 2020. Four million fewer people are giving regularly compared to 2019.
2026 will be harder.
Some of us will lose team members. Some will lose funding streams entirely. Some will be forced to make impossible decisions about which services to cut.
In this environment, your stories aren't just marketing. They're survival.
The organisations that make it through will be the ones whose stories make the case for their existence undeniable. Not louder. Not more polished.
More essential.
What most organisations get wrong
When I started telling my own story - about losing my fiancé Naz to religious homophobia and 'honour' based abuse in 2014, about founding a charity in his memory, about the work we do supporting LGBTQI+ people and families - I made the same mistake most organisations make.
I told it chronologically.
First this happened, then this, then this.
It took years and the production of a documentary initially rejected by Channel 4 to understand what was missing.
I wasn't starting from the change I wanted to create. I wasn't clear on how I wanted people to feel - and what I wanted them to do with that feeling.
Once I got that right, everything shifted. The documentary won Best TV Programme at the Asian Media Awards. Campaigns reached 54 million people. Policy makers started listening.
Not because the facts changed. Because the story did.
The question to answer before you plan anything
Before you write a single word, draft a single case study, or brief a single photographer, answer this:
What emotion do I want my audience to feel at the end of this story - and what action do I want them to take because of that feeling?
This is what I call the Emotional Destination. It's the first step in the Social Impact Storytelling Framework I've developed over a decade of frontline charity work.
Your story isn't entertainment. It must drive real impact.
Common emotional destinations for social impact stories include:
Empowered to make change
Moved to take immediate action
Inspired to help others
Determined to challenge injustice
Connected to a larger cause
The key is choosing an emotion that naturally leads to your desired action. If you want donations, you might aim for "moved by the human cost and hopeful that change is possible." If you want advocacy, you might aim for "outraged at the system and clear on what to do about it."
Get this wrong, and even beautifully crafted stories fall flat. Get it right, and everything else - structure, details, delivery - becomes easier to shape.
Why is this important for 2026?
Because resources are scarce. You cannot afford to waste them on stories that don't land.
Because attention is fractured. You have seconds to make someone care.
Because the stakes are higher than they've ever been. People are losing support. Services are being cut. The work you do matters - and if you can't prove it in a way that people feel, you risk becoming invisible.
This year, your storytelling needs to be strategic. Not reactive. Not an afterthought.
Start from the change you need to create.
Build backwards from there.
Want the complete framework?
This morning's full newsletter edition includes:
The Story Bridge Framework (the 5-part structure that works)
The Emotional Destination Worksheet (ready to use)
An AI prompt to define your emotional destination
Three storytelling tools I use daily
Head to impactstoryteller.org to read the full edition or subscribe to receive next week's value-packed edition every Thursday at 7:45am.
