Podcast Summary: Nonprofit Nation with Julia Campbell

Episode: How to Tell Powerful Stories, Ethically with Carly Euler
Date: September 17, 2025
Guest: Carly Euler, Marketing Director at Memory Fox, Creator of the Ethical Storytelling Report
Host: Julia Campbell

Overview

This episode explores how nonprofits can tell compelling, effective stories that inspire action—without exploiting or diminishing the dignity of the people and communities they serve. Julia Campbell and guest expert Carly Euler discuss practical strategies, real-world examples, and new frameworks for ethical storytelling that build community, honor agency, and still achieve fundraising goals.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Ubiquity and Challenge of Storytelling in Nonprofits

• Storytelling as a Constant: Carly shares that in every nonprofit role she’s played—large or small, fundraising or communications—storytelling is integral.
  • "Really, at every single point of being a part of a development department really does come some form of storytelling." (03:16, C)
• Early Career Experiences: She recounts uncomfortable moments being asked to elicit tears from beneficiaries for fundraising, underscoring how such practices can feel exploitative rather than authentic.
  • "If they don't cry, this isn't going to work for us." (05:01, C)

2. Ethical Dilemmas and Power Dynamics

• Questioning Harmful Narratives: Both Julia and Carly recall past discomforts—being put in positions where trauma was foregrounded, especially across lines of race and privilege.
• Avoiding ‘Open Wounds’ Interviews: Julia highlights the importance of not interviewing individuals in crisis, aiming instead to speak with those with “scars, not open wounds,” underscoring consent and timing.
  • "You don't want to interview people with open wounds, you want to interview people with scars." (08:13, A)

3. Why ‘Trauma Forward’ Persists—and Why It Must Change

• Old Habits That Worked… For a While: Carly explains it plainly—trauma-forward storytelling works, or has worked, for fundraising, and alternative methods haven’t always been taught.
  • "It has worked for fundraising in the past." (09:44, C)
• Ethical Storytelling Is Possible AND Effective: Carly references her Nonprofit Hub article and her growing awareness that it’s both possible and necessary to tell ethical stories that raise funds.

4. Agency and Consent—Concrete Steps for Any Organization

• Consent is Not in Perpetuity: Carly emphasizes consent must have time limits and be periodically renewed—operationalizing this via policy and regular check-ins.
  • "Consent is actually not in perpetuity." (11:18, C)

Tips for Implementation:

• Set annual or biannual story review cycles
• Retire outdated stories and check for storytellers’ ongoing consent
• Maintain organized consent records

5. Asset-Based and Strength-Based Storytelling

• Shift the Frame: Julia and Carly discuss the move toward ‘asset framing’ or ‘strength-based messaging’—putting the individual first, not their challenges.
  • "It's focused on reading skills… They were only going to ask strength-based prompts." (15:19, C)
• Case Study: Carly highlights ‘I Would Rather Be Reading,’ a small Kentucky nonprofit that asked children about their dreams and joys, not their trauma, and saw a 75% increase in fundraising at an event.
  • "They raised 75% more than they originally had thought they were going to." (17:26, C)

6. Crafting an Ethical Storytelling Standards Guide

• Recommended Elements:
  • Adopt and practice strength-based, person-first language.
  • List and replace outdated or stigmatizing terms (e.g., “victim” → “survivor”).
  • Include exercises and scenarios for staff/volunteers to rehearse messaging.
  • "Why not put something on paper that says these are things we are committed to in terms of an ethical storytelling standpoint?" (21:21, C)

7. Digital Tools, Social Media and the Ethics of Imagery

• Platforms & Consent: Ethical storytelling must extend to all channels—track consents for digital use, and allow for withdrawal of consent (as offered by Memory Fox).
• Anonymity & Generative AI: Carly recommends full transparency if using AI-generated images, though she prefers creative workarounds—like ‘A Day in the Life’ stories from the perspective of objects (e.g., a food bank delivery truck).
  • "Telling the story of an object at your nonprofit that kind of represents your nonprofit." (29:38, C)

8. Practical First Steps for Overwhelmed Nonprofit Staff

• Don’t Let Perfection Paralyze Action: Carly encourages starting small—
  1. Always get written or electronic consent (not implied/verbal).
  2. Before publishing, check back with storytellers for a final ‘yes’ on their stories.
  • "If you are able to implement just two things that can really get you started today..." (32:40, C)

Notable Quotes

• Carly Euler on ethical discomfort:
  "There have been just a lot of ways that I've come up… with obstacles that have to do with ethical storytelling before I even really knew what that meant." (07:53, C)

• Julia Campbell’s interview guidance:
  "You don't want to interview people with open wounds, you want to interview people with scars." (08:13, A)

• On agency and consent (Carly Euler):
  "Consent is actually not in perpetuity… There should be really a time restriction on that consent form, and then we need to check back in with that storyteller." (11:18, C)

• On asset framing (Julia Campbell):
  "It never starts with, 'I'm from a poor district…' It usually starts with, 'My kids are passionate about art… Here's a way you can help.'" (13:24, A)

• On creative anonymity (Carly Euler):
  "Telling the story of an object at your nonprofit that kind of represents your nonprofit… they put a phone right on the dashboard of the delivery truck and filmed the journey the truck took." (29:38, C)

• Practical first steps (Carly Euler):
  "Make sure when you are collecting stories there is some sort of consent collection… What I'm not advocating for is implied consent or verbal consent." (32:40, C)

Highlighted Segment Timestamps

• Storytelling in Fundraising Roles — [03:02]–[03:49]
• Exploitative Interview Requests — [05:01]–[07:02]
• Power Dynamics in Development — [08:13]–[09:44]
• Why Trauma Forward is Prevalent — [09:44]–[10:59]
• Time-Limited Consent — [11:18]–[13:18]
• Case Study – Asset Framing's Results — [15:14]–[17:43]
• Strength-Based Standards Guide — [21:21]–[24:20]
• Ethical Storytelling Report Data — [24:56]–[27:04]
• Ethics & AI in Storytelling — [28:14]–[31:34]
• Actionable First Steps — [32:40]–[34:53]

Resources & Where to Learn More

• Ethical Storytelling Report: Available at Memory Fox IO Ethical Storytelling
• Carly Euler: Find her on LinkedIn, TikTok, and Memory Fox on all major platforms.
• Memory Fox: A digital tool providing ethical story and consent collection for nonprofits.

Final Takeaways

Ethical storytelling is not only possible for nonprofits but essential—to both honor the people at the heart of your mission and to build sustainable, donor-engaged communities. Starting small—gaining explicit, renewable consent and focusing on individuals’ strengths—can make a real difference. Tools and frameworks like those shared by Carly Euler are available to help, and ethical standards can be integrated into any nonprofit’s culture and communications.

As Julia says, "This is how nonprofits are going to stand out in the AI sludge—it's with their stories." (31:37, A)