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Leadership
Your charity's most powerful story is the one you're not telling
Funders back people they trust. Why a charity leader's own story builds that trust, the five parts of a founder story, and a safe, step-by-step way to share it.
Most charity leaders share updates. Funding secured, sessions delivered, a new trustee welcomed. Good news, and none of it answers the question every funder and supporter is quietly asking:
“
Why should I believe you can actually do this?
The answer is often the leader’s own story: what they saw or lived through that made this work impossible to ignore. Funders back missions, but they also back the people leading them. When they know why you started, they read everything else differently.
This guide is for charity founders and CEOs who have a story behind their work and haven’t shared it, or have shared it and aren’t sure how to use it well.
Why so many leaders keep it to themselves
When I asked readers of my newsletter earlier this year, about three-quarters of the charity leaders who answered said they had never shared their founder story publicly.
The reasons I hear are thoughtful ones:
“I don’t want to centre myself instead of the people we serve.”
“The people we support have been through far more than I have.”
“What if it looks like I’m exploiting my own pain?”
“Storytelling is the comms team’s job.”
All of these deserve respect. But hiding the story entirely means giving up one of the strongest forms of trust you have.
What sharing our story did
After the tragic death of my fiancé, Naz, in 2014, I set up the Naz and Matt Foundation. Our story became public very quickly. The first time I told it in public was live on Sky News at breakfast, then on BBC News.
Since then I’ve told it in national newspapers and on radio, in government departments, to police officers, in schools and universities, at Pride events and in town halls. It inspired a song, “Be the Man” by The Young’uns, and a Coronation Street storyline. It’s at the heart of our documentary My God, I’m Queer, which won Best TV Programme at the Asian Media Awards.
What matters most is what it did for the people we exist to serve. People came to our support services because they’d heard our story and recognised their own lives in it. Over time, policymakers and funders came to understand why we existed, not only what we did.
It came at a cost
I won’t pretend it was easy. Sharing our story has affected my safety and my health, and there have been times I’ve questioned whether it was worth it.
So I’m not recommending you do it the way I did. I’m recommending the opposite: a safer, slower route that lets you test your story in rooms you trust before you take it anywhere public.
If you’re hesitating, that hesitation is wisdom. You’re protecting something precious. The question is whether keeping it completely hidden is serving your mission.
The five parts of a founder story that builds trust
A founder story that builds trust is about why the work exists, with you as the way in. It answers five questions:
The witness moment. What did you see or live through that others didn’t?
The gap. What was missing that should have been there?
Your stake. Why you, rather than someone else?
The bridge. How does your story connect to the change your organisation exists to create?
The invitation. What do you need people to do now?
Ask for: a written founder story of no more than 500 words, built around these five parts, kept on file and reviewed with someone you trust before it’s used anywhere.
Share it in safe steps
You don’t need a viral post or a newspaper feature for your story to work. Move up one step at a time, and only when the step before feels manageable.
Your team. Tell them why you started. It changes how they talk about the work.
Your board. Trustees who know your story understand your decisions better.
Major supporters, one to one. Personal, private and easy to adjust.
Funding applications and reports. Two paragraphs: what led you to this work, and why that connection strengthens your approach.
Public speaking. Conferences, events and webinars.
Public media. Podcasts, articles and broadcast.
For most leaders, the best first public-facing step is a funding application. You already have to explain why you’re the right person to do this work. Your story answers that. When I mention in a bid that I founded our charity after Naz’s death, that one sentence changes how funders read everything else.
Ask for: two paragraphs of your story in your next funding application, before you consider sharing it anywhere public.
Look after yourself, and the people in your story
Your story almost always involves other people. Apply the same test you’d apply to anyone else’s story: if they were standing behind you, reading every word, would they feel safe, respected and accurately represented? I’ve written about that test in ethical storytelling and the Naz Rule.
And decide in advance what you won’t share. Having a line you don’t cross makes it much easier to share the rest.
Six questions to ask yourself before you share
What did I see or live through that made this work personal?
Which parts of the story am I ready to share, and which am I not?
Who else is in this story, and would they be comfortable with how they appear?
Who is the first audience I’d feel safe telling?
What do I want people to feel and do after hearing it?
Who can I talk to if sharing it brings up more than I expect?
Where to start this week
Write your founder story in 500 words using the five parts above. Don’t share it yet. Read it to one person you trust, and ask them what they understood about why your organisation exists.
If you’d like help shaping your story and deciding where to share it, it’s something I work on with leaders in my social impact storytelling workshops.
Questions people ask
What is a founder story?
The story of why a leader started or joined the work: what they saw or experienced, what was missing, and why they couldn’t look away. It explains why the organisation exists.
Is it self-indulgent for a charity CEO to share their story?
Not if it’s about why the work exists. Told well, it builds trust with funders, staff and the people you serve.
Where should I share my founder story first?
Somewhere safe and private: your team, your board, or a funding application. Move to public channels only when those feel comfortable.
What if my story is painful?
Decide in advance what you will and won’t share, start with audiences you trust, and make sure you have support. You can tell a powerful story without telling all of it.
Matt Mahmood-Ogston is a London-based social impact storyteller and documentary photographer. He founded the Naz and Matt Foundation in 2014 and has led it for more than 12 years.
