In this week's edition
THIS WEEK’S BIG IDEA
The Emotional Destination
Most charities and impact teams start the year by planning what stories to tell.
A campaign for spring. An impact report for funders or sponsors. Case studies for the website.
This is exactly backwards.
The impact organisations that cut through - that secure funding, build trust, and move people to act - don't start with what.
They start with why.
Specifically: what change do they need to create this year? And then they build backwards from there.
Why this matters now
2025 was brutal for the sector. 151 major charities closed their doors - up 74% from the year before. Oxfam cut 142 jobs. Macmillan axed a quarter of its staff and scrapped its flagship financial hardship scheme. RNIB made over 15% of its workforce redundant. Scope closed 69 shops.
Government grants have declined by around £1 billion annually in real terms since 2020. Four million fewer people are giving regularly compared to 2019.
2026 will be harder.
Some of us will lose team members. Some will lose funding streams entirely. Some will be forced to make impossible decisions about which services to cut.
In this environment, your stories aren't just marketing. They're survival.
The organisations that make it through will be the ones whose stories make the case for their existence undeniable. Not louder. Not more polished.
More essential.
What most organisations get wrong
When I started telling my own story - about losing my fiancé Naz to religious homophobia and ‘honour’ based abuse in 2014, about founding a charity in his memory, about the work we do supporting LGBTQI+ people and families - I made the same mistake most organisations make.
I told it chronologically.
First this happened, then this, then this.
It took years and the production of a documentary initially rejected by Channel 4 to understand what was missing.
I wasn't starting from the change I wanted to create. I wasn't clear on how I wanted people to feel - and what I wanted them to do with that feeling.
Once I got that right, everything shifted. The documentary won Best TV Programme at the Asian Media Awards. Campaigns reached 54 million people. Policy makers started listening.
Not because the facts changed. Because the story did.
The question to answer before you plan anything
Before you write a single word, draft a single case study, or brief a single photographer, answer this:
What emotion do I want my audience to feel at the end of this story - and what action do I want them to take because of that feeling?
This is what I call the Emotional Destination. It's the first step in the Social Impact Storytelling Framework I've developed over a decade of frontline charity work.
Your story isn't entertainment. It must drive real impact.
Common emotional destinations for social impact stories include:
Empowered to make change
Moved to take immediate action
Inspired to help others
Determined to challenge injustice
Connected to a larger cause
The key is choosing an emotion that naturally leads to your desired action. If you want donations, you might aim for "moved by the human cost and hopeful that change is possible." If you want advocacy, you might aim for "outraged at the system and clear on what to do about it."
Get this wrong, and even beautifully crafted stories fall flat. Get it right, and everything else - structure, details, delivery - becomes easier to shape.
Why is this important for 2026?
Because resources are scarce. You cannot afford to waste them on stories that don't land.
Because attention is fractured. You have seconds to make someone care.
Because the stakes are higher than they've ever been. People are losing support. Services are being cut. The work you do matters - and if you can't prove it in a way that people feel, you risk becoming invisible.
This year, your storytelling needs to be strategic. Not reactive. Not an afterthought.
Start from the change you need to create. Build backwards from there.
THIS WEEK’S FRAMEWORK
The Story Bridge
Once you know your Emotional Destination, use this structure to build your story:
1. The Hook (10% of your story)
Open with tension
Present the challenge
Make it impossible to look away
2. The Stakes (20%)
Show why this matters
Highlight the cost of inaction
Create emotional investment
3. The Journey (40%)
Share key moments
Show obstacles overcome
Reveal unexpected help
4. The Change (20%)
Demonstrate transformation
Provide evidence
Share human impact
5. The Invitation (10%)
Connect to your audience
Present clear next steps
Make action easy
This structure works for funding applications, impact reports, social media posts, and public talks. The percentages are guides - adapt them to your format.
THIS WEEK’S TEMPLATE
Emotional Destination Worksheet
Before writing your next impact story, copy and paste the following into your favourite notes app, and do your best to complete this:
Story Title: [Your story's working name]
Target Emotion: [Primary emotion you want to evoke]
Supporting Emotions: [Secondary emotions that support the primary]
Desired Action: [What should they do with this feeling?]
Success Looks Like: [How will you know you've succeeded?]
Promotional Description: [Your story summarised in two sentences - as if it were a TV listing]
The promotional description is surprisingly powerful. When I wrote the Radio Times listing before filming my documentary "My God, I'm Queer," it forced me to simplify what I was trying to achieve. That clarity shaped every decision that followed.
Don't worry if you can't complete all of this right now. Use the AI prompt below to help you.
THIS WEEK’S AI PROMPT
Define Your Emotional Destination
Edit the placeholders below, then copy and paste the entire prompt into your preferred AI tool, such as Gemini, Claude or ChatGPT.
**Note: To get the best results, first download my Social Impact Storytelling Framework, then upload the file along with the following prompt.
PROMPT:
Act as a top 1% social impact storyteller.
I work for a [CHARITY / SOCIAL IMPACT TEAM FOR COMPANY Y]. I'm developing an impact story for my organisation. Help me define the Emotional Destination - the feeling I want my audience to have and the action I want them to take.
Refer to Matt Mahmood-Ogston’s Social Impact Storytelling Framework for guidance which I have attached.
Context:
Organisation: [Your organisation name and what you do]
Story subject: [Brief description of the story you want to tell - a project, person, programme, or campaign]
Target audience: [Who needs to hear this - funders, supporters, policymakers, general public]
Primary goal: [What do you want this story to achieve - funding, awareness, behaviour change, advocacy]
Please help me:
Identify 2-3 possible emotional destinations (emotion + action pairs)
For each, explain why it might work for my audience
Recommend the strongest option and explain your reasoning
Write a two-sentence "promotional description" for my story based on that emotional destination (as if it were a TV or streaming service listing).
If you are unsure of something, ask me a question to help clarify your understanding.
Be specific and practical. Avoid vague emotions like "inspired" without connecting them to concrete actions.
Use the output to guide your next storytelling project.
WEEKLY POLL
BARRIERS
What's the biggest barrier stopping you from telling better impact stories?
* Poll results will be shared in next Thursday’s edition.
🛠️ 3 Storytelling Tools I'm Using Right Now
Notion: My second brain. I use it to manage story content production, capture storytelling ideas, brainstorm, capture meeting notes and collaborate with team members. Everything in one place.
Kondo: My one-to-one storytelling tool. It helps me manage LinkedIn DMs at scale - without it, I couldn't maintain the volume of conversations I have each month.
Wispr Flow: Dictation that actually works. Speak your story ideas out loud, and it transcribes them with correct grammar, punctuation, and spelling. No editing a transcript afterwards. Just talk. It’s how dictation should be on every device.
I genuinely use the services I promote. I may earn a small commission if you sign up using one of these links.
Bonus: Spotify Playlist - Deep Work Music for Changemakers
I’ve carefully curated 60+ tracks of binaural beats and vocal-free music for focused work on Spotify. I listen to this playlist most days - headphones on, distractions out. It's helped me write more, think clearly, and stay in flow longer.
Subscribe to the playlist
If you enjoyed reading this newsletter and found it useful, please forward this email on to your colleague and ask them to subscribe here: https://www.impactstoryteller.org/
Until next week, sending you safe and peaceful energy
Matt Mahmood-Ogston
Award-winning impact storyteller, photographer and charity CEO.
