With the new tax laws in place, many people will no longer be itemizing their taxes. There are concerns that this will affect charitable giving, since most individuals will not be deducting individual donations.

As reported at NonProfitPro:

There has been speculation that the tax plan could reduce giving between $5 to $13 billion per year (or 4.6 percent). It won’t kill all charitable giving, about five percent of people will continue to itemize, specifically those in a higher income bracket.

What does this mean? Without the motivation of tax deductions, organizations will be competing harder for donors’ attention. Here is how to combat it:

Tell a good story

How can you stand out in the sea of appeals? We recommend focusing on an impact-driven approach.

What this boils down to is good storytelling. Sharing content that shows how you’re saving lives, improving your community, enriching the world we live in…all the positive contributions that would not be possible without your organization.

And don’t just say, “We served this many people in 2017.” Instead, pick a specific individual or situation that benefitted from your organization, and demonstrate how you changed their life for the better.

The more personal stories are the ones that will build relationships with your supporters and turn them into multi-channel, multi-year supporters. They won’t remember the big numbers you share, but they’ll remember the story of that one individual—a child, an animal that was rescued; a family that now has a home. Stories touch the heart in ways numbers simply can’t.

Develop a composite story

If the nature of your organization means that you cannot disclose names, then break down the impact that your organization has for an individual.

A non-profit professional at a food bank describes how she put this into action:

All we had to go on was that $1 equals six meals. And knowing you provided six meals is great, but knowing one of those meals went to a child in an after school program and they’d be sent home with food they most certainly would not be getting otherwise, this paints a very different picture. This, among other composite stories, was very common among the people we served. A composite story preserves the dignity and privacy of your subjects, while telling a story that rings true to your mission.

Best of luck in your 2018 fundraising efforts!