Your charity's most powerful story is the one you're not telling
Please note: This week’s article has a trigger warning for suicide.
Nine out of ten of the CEOs I follow on LinkedIn literally post or repost only this type of content:
"We secured £150,000 in funding."
"We delivered 500 support sessions this quarter."
"We're delighted to announce our new trustee."
Updates. Achievements. Milestones.
What they don't post is the answer to the question every funder and supporter is quietly asking:
"Why should I believe you can actually do this?"
Because if nobody knows your story - the moment you witnessed something that shouldn't exist, the pain that made this work personal, the gap you saw that no one else was addressing - how can they truly trust that you'll see this through when funding gets cut and the work gets harder?
Your lived experience is proof that your mission isn't theoretical.
Why most charity CEOs hide their stories
I've talked to dozens of charity leaders over the last year. When I ask them why they don't share their founder story, I hear the same fears:
"I don't want to centre myself instead of the people we serve."
"It feels self-indulgent when our beneficiaries have suffered far more than I have."
"What if people think I'm trauma-dumping or exploiting my own pain?"
"Our comms team handles storytelling—that's not my job."
These fears are valid.
But here's what I've learned after 11 years of sharing the story behind my charity, Naz and Matt Foundation:
When you hide, you miss the opportunity to create the deepest form of trust.
Supporters don't just fund causes. They fund people they believe in.
Funders don't just back missions. They back leaders who they trust will deliver.
And when you share your story - authentically, ethically, without exploitation - you create a magnetic pull that brings people to your organisation when they need it most.
What happened when I started sharing our story
In 2014, my fiancé Naz took his own life. Two days after his family rejected him for being gay.
We'd been together for 13 years. We were planning to get married.
Public and press attention to the tragedy was immense.
I could have stayed quiet.
I could have let the grief consume me and disappeared. I wanted to join him.
But I started sharing our story because I didn't want anyone else to feel the pain I was feeling. I didn't want another person like Naz to believe there was no way forward.
I wanted people to understand they weren't alone.
So I shared our story everywhere:
National press (The Guardian, BBC, Sky News, ITV, LBC, Channel 5)
Central government departments (Home Office, Department for Education, Government Equalities Office)
Frontline police officers, NGOs, domestic abuse charities
Schools, colleges, universities, Pride events, corporate events
Town halls, community halls
TV, national radio, local radio, independent radio, podcasts
Our story was turned into a BBC Folk Award-nominated song ("Be The Man" by The Young'uns, written by Sean Cooney), which has been performed at Glastonbury and other festivals and is now performed by choirs around the UK and the world.
Our story, and what happened to Naz became the inspiration for a major Coronation Street storyline.
Our story was featured in multiple documentaries, including our own Channel 4 documentary My God I'm Queer, which won Best TV Programme of 2021 at the Asian Media Awards.
But here's what matters most:
Sharing our story made other people realise they weren't alone.
It acted as a magnet.
People came to our support services because they'd heard our story and thought, "If Matt can survive this, maybe I can too."
They attended our support groups. They received one-to-one support. They found their chosen family.
Today, they are survivors. Living safer, happier lives because they found us, and the community we had created.
That's what happens when you share your story.
You don't just build trust with funders.
You create a lifeline for the people who need you most.
The cost of sharing your story (and why it's worth it)
I won't lie to you.
Sharing our story has come at a cost:
Safety concerns
Panic attacks
Increased anxiety
Fear
Burnout
There have been moments where I've questioned whether it's worth it.
But every time I've considered stopping, I remember why I started.
The reason we lead charities isn't to keep ourselves safe and comfortable. It's to make a positive change to the world and leave it in a better state than we found it.
And one of the most effective ways to do that is to share our own stories and set an example that inspires others to share theirs too.
These consequences - the anxiety, the fear, the vulnerability - are things we can learn to manage.
But the lives saved because someone heard your story and thought "I'm not alone"?
That's irreplaceable.
The founder story that builds trust
Not all leader stories work.
A founder story that builds trust isn't about you. It's about why the work exists.
It answers five questions:
1. The Witness Moment: What did you see or experience that others didn't?
2. The Gap Recognition: What wasn't there that should have been?
3. The Personal Stake: Why you? Why not someone else?
4. The Mission Bridge: How does your story connect to your organisation's End Vision?
5. The Invitation: What do you need supporters to do now?
The story you're not telling
Your charity's most powerful story isn't in your case studies folder.
It's not in your annual report.
It's not in your funding applications.
It's the story of why you started this work in the first place.
The moment you witnessed something that shouldn't exist.
The gap you saw that no one else was addressing.
The personal stake that made you the right person to fix it.
That story is waiting to be told.
Want the practical tools to tell your founder story?
This article is an extract from Social Impact Storyteller, my weekly newsletter for charity leaders, fundraisers and social impact professionals.
Every Thursday, I send one storytelling idea and three ways to implement it:
One framework
One template
One AI prompt
This week's full edition includes:
The Founder Story Brief template (to map your story before you write it)
An AI prompt that drafts the first version of your 500-word founder story
Early access details for The Founder Story Sprint (4-week hands-on programme launching soon)
Subscribe here to get the full toolkit: www.impactstoryteller.org
Matt Mahmood-Ogston Award-winning impact storyteller, photographer and charity CEO for Naz and Matt Foundation
