Nothing About Us Without Us
My first job was at the National Down Syndrome Society.
Even before that, the r-word always sounded like nails on a chalkboard to me. In high school I got most of my friends to stop using it. And that was back when both the r-word and chalkboards were much more common.
But it wasn't until I started working at NDSS that I heard "nothing about us without us," which was popularized in the 1990s by disability rights activists, emphasizing the importance of including those who actually have disabilities in the conversation about their own rights.
It seems so obvious that they should be involved in the conversation, but so often in the nonprofit space—even with the best intentions—we think we have it all figured out for those we serve.
"Nothing about us without us" has stuck with me through all of my work, both with people of different abilities and in other areas, especially when it comes to storytelling.
As an organization, the stories we tell don't belong to us, they belong to the person whose story you're telling, so it's crucial that they are involved in the process of telling them.
When that happens, it brings us closer to those we serve, it brings those we serve closer to our work, and it brings our supporters and those we serve closer together. Ethical storytelling benefits your community as a whole.
To quote Michael Scott, it's a win-win-win.
And that's only the beginning when it comes to ethical storytelling. So I'm grateful to MemoryFox for putting together the latest Ethical Storytelling Report, which gathers insight and inspiration from over 30 voices on this topic. I'm humbled and honored to be a part of it.
You can download your free copy here.
After a decade as an in-house nonprofit marketer, Jordana Merkin founded Voice for Good to bring her insider knowledge and outsider perspective to help growing nonprofits like yours clarify their messaging to raise awareness and funds for their missions.
Her work with nonprofits includes messaging guides, communication strategy, and copywriting. (Learn more here!)
Do you want actionable nonprofit messaging and communications tips like this delivered directly to your inbox? Click here.