Telling stories is exciting and compelling work—an essential piece of communicating mission and impact for any non-profit. I recently had the pleasure of attending the virtual Ethical Non-Profit Summit where the focus was on Ethical Storytelling.
Though the presenters didn’t use this language, you could say that we were considering the question of how to honor the Imago Dei in each person when sharing their personal stories. At SVdP, we place a high value on the individual and see all of our neighbors as reflecting Christ. So how do we most honor that image in our storytelling?
Here are some tips from the conference (though certainly not a complete best-practices list) that are relevant to our work as we gather and tell stories through words, photos, and video:
1) Always get consent from the story-owner before sharing a story.
The organizer of the summit, Diana Farias Heinrich, shared a powerful experience that led her to explore sharing stories as ethically as possible. When she was a young professional working in the non-profit development space, she freely shared the stories of 10 graduates from her organization’s programs—detailed, personal information. She later overheard a co-worker mention that one of the graduates that had been featured far and wide online had been a survivor of domestic violence, and her abuser was being released from prison in the coming days. Diana experienced panic, fear, and shame. She had shared identifying information that could come back to impact this program participant.
Diana shared about trying to undo the damage through deleting social media and internet posts while also knowing that, once something is shared online, it can never completely be recalled. Thankfully, I don’t believe any harm came to that graduate due to Diana’s actions. The experience ultimately set Diana on a path of seeking a better way to share stories. How can we share in ways that value and honor our neighbor with clarity on how, where, and for how long those stories will be shared?
At SVdP, we have a media form that we use regularly as an agreement to record consent for sharing photos and video media. This is a starting point for sharing any visual story.
2) Change details—no identifying information (unless previously arranged)
It is best practice, even when sharing stories within your Conference, to protect the story-owner’s identify. If you are sharing out a list to just your Conference for informational purposes, it is best not to use last names or to just use initials. You never know who may know someone on the list, and we want to always protect confidentiality.
Unless you have express permission to share someone’s story using their real name and full detail, when sharing stories publicly, it is recommended to change names and any identifiers. Composite stories are also an option, where you are changing names and identifiers but also combining several stories as an extra measure of protection of confidentiality.
Even when we change names and details, we should still gather consent to share a person’s story in any capacity.
3) Dignity over deficit
Have you ever read an impactful story from a non-profit and then stepped back and wondered if the person highlighted in the story might end up feeling like the darkest seasons of their lives were just put on display for the whole world? Likely, few of us would want our most personal lows highlighted so that an organization can be elevated. Traditionally, many non-profits have used deficit-based narratives that focus on the hardship of someone’s circumstances and how the organization came in to save the day.
At this conference, we explored another way of honoring our neighbors and telling the story of our work: dignity-based narratives that focus on the strengths, resilience, and innate worth of the person. But how do we do this?
A starting point is to involve the story owner in the process of telling their story. Let the owner guide the process and shape the final product. We can share why we are writing the story, what we hope to do with it, and where it will be distributed. But let’s leave room for the story owner to shape how they tell their story. Then, before publishing a story, let’s loop back to the story owner to make sure we are reflecting their experiences and story accurately and to their liking.
Here are a few questions from Maria Bryan (who focuses on trauma-informed storytelling) that can get us on the right track with dignity-based interviewing:
-What parts of your journey with us are you most proud of?
-What was your goal for taking part in the program? What were you hoping to get out of it?
-How has the program impacted your life?
-What’s the best part of your life right now?
4) Consider how you would want your story shared
Diana Farias Heinrich’s life was forever changed by her experience of over-sharing without consent, only to find out that the story-owner could be in danger due to her actions. She has dedicated her life’s work to helping others to avoid that same mistake.
One presenter at the conference encouraged us: “Remember, when you are telling stories, it could be your story. Treat people the way you would want to be treated. At any point in time, it could be your story.”
How would Diana’s initial story sharing have been impacted had she considered how she would want her story shared if the roles were reversed and she was the program participant being highlighted? How will our story sharing be impacted by that same question? If each of our neighbors in need reflects Christ in real and unique ways, they deserve intentionality, care, and safety when partnering in the sharing of their stories.
At SVdP-ASF we have a network of 800 Vincentians. We all do the regular work of meeting people where they are--often in their homes--to hear their stories, provide support and comfort, and pray. We all hold precious, sacred stories in our minds and hearts because of the trust established through a compassionate visit. While SVdP has officially been involved in the Archdiocese of Santa Fe for 35 years this coming September (!), we are taking new steps towards telling our story—which involves sharing about Conference work, Special Works, and, when permission is granted, neighbors’ stories as they intersect with SVdP. Let us continue to work to share our neighbors’ stories in a way that highlights Christ in them—dignity, honor, and the fullness of grace.
