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Please note: This week’s edition has a trigger warning for suicide.

Nearly three-quarters of respondents to last week’s poll barely developed one full story or case study per month. This is why last week's Story Triage Framework matters - you can't afford to waste time developing the wrong stories.

This week, I want to talk about the story most charity CEOs have but won't tell: their own.

Literally 9 out of 10 of the CEOs that I follow on LinkedIn post or repost these:

"We secured £150,000 in funding."
"We delivered 500 support sessions this quarter."
"We're delighted to announce our new trustee."

Updates. Achievements. Milestones.

What they don't post is the answer to the question every funder and supporter is quietly asking:

Because if nobody knows your story - the moment you witnessed something that shouldn't exist, the pain that made this work personal, the gap you saw that no one else was addressing - how can they truly trust that you'll see this through when funding gets cut and the work gets harder?

Your lived experience isn't a vanity project.

It's proof that your mission isn't theoretical.

I've talked to dozens of charity leaders over the last year. When I ask them why they don't share their founder story, I hear the same fears:

"I don't want to centre myself instead of the people we serve."

"It feels self-indulgent when our beneficiaries have suffered far more than I have."

"What if people think I'm trauma-dumping or exploiting my own pain?"

"Our comms team handles storytelling - that's not my job."

These fears are valid.

But here's what I've learned after 11 years of sharing the story behind my charity, Naz and Matt Foundation:

When you hide, you miss the opportunity to create the deepest form of trust.

Supporters don't just fund causes. They fund people they believe in.

Funders don't just back missions. They back leaders who they trust will deliver.

And when you share your story - authentically, ethically, without exploitation - you create a magnetic pull that brings people to your organisation when they need it most.

In 2014, my fiancé Naz took his own life. Two days after his family rejected him for being gay.

We'd been together for 13 years. We were planning to get married.

Public and press attention to the tragedy was immense.

I could have stayed quiet.

I could have let the grief consume me and disappeared. I wanted to join him.

But I started sharing our story because I didn't want anyone else to feel the pain I was feeling. I didn't want another person like Naz to believe there was no way forward.

I wanted people to understand they weren't alone.

So I shared our story everywhere:

Our story was turned into a BBC Folk Award-nominated song ("Be The Man" by The Young'uns), which has been performed at Glastonbury and other festivals and is now performed by choirs around the UK and the world.

Our story became the inspiration for a major Coronation Street storyline.

Our story was featured in multiple documentaries, including our own Channel 4 documentary My God I'm Queer, which won Best TV Programme of 2021 at the Asian Media Awards, and was shortlisted for the prestigious Iris Prize.

But here's what matters most:

Sharing our story made other people realise they weren't alone.

It acted as a magnet.

People came to our support services because they'd heard our story and thought, "If Matt can survive this, maybe I can too."

They attended our support groups. They received one-to-one support. They found their chosen family.

Today, they are survivors. Living safer lives because they found us.

That's what happens when you share your story.

You don't just build trust with funders.

You create a lifeline for the people who need you most.

I won't lie to you.

Sharing our story has come at a cost:

There have been moments where I've questioned whether it's worth it.

But every time I've considered stopping, I remember why I started.

The reason we lead charities isn't to keep ourselves safe and comfortable.

It's to make a positive change to the world and leave it in a better state than we found it.

And one of the most effective ways to do that is to share our own stories and set an example that inspires others to share theirs too.

These consequences - the anxiety, the fear, the vulnerability - are things we can learn to manage.

But the lives saved because someone heard your story and thought "I'm not alone"?

That's irreplaceable.

Not all leader stories work.

Here's what separates a founder or CEO story that builds trust from one that feels self-centred:

What did you see or experience that others didn't?

This is the moment you realised "someone needs to fix this."

Not a vague feeling. A specific moment.

For me: watching Naz struggle with his family's rejection. Seeing the impact of him believing there was no future for someone like him.

What wasn't there that should have been?

What system failed? What support was missing?

For us: we weren’t aware of any organisation specifically addressing religious and cultural homophobia within South Asian communities. No support for LGBTQ+ people navigating family rejection rooted in faith. No visible LGBTQ+ or parent role models from a background similar to Naz's.

Why you? Why not someone else?

What about your lived experience made you the right person to start this work?

For me: I'd lived it. I grew up in a mixed Church of England and Hindu family. I spent 13 years living with Naz, who was from a Muslim background. I didn’t have any answers, but I thought I understood the complexities of culture, religion and ‘shame’ just enough to start these difficult conversations. I knew the pain of watching someone I loved be rejected by their family.

How does your story connect to your organisation's End Vision?

Your story isn't about you. It's about why the work exists.

For us: Our End Vision is "LGBTQI+ people living openly without fear of family rejection." My story proves that vision is necessary - and shows what happens when that support doesn't exist.

What do you need supporters to do now?

How does understanding your story help them trust the work?

For us: If you understand why we exist, you'll understand why our work can't stop. You'll trust that we'll be here for the next person who needs us.

Use this to help you draft your story:

Note: To get the best results, first download my Social Impact Storytelling Framework, then upload the file along with the prompt below.

Copy and paste this into ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini. Personally, I recommend using Claude for this. Then replace the [placeholder content] with your own words.

AI PROMPT:

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https://www.impactstoryteller.org/

Until next week, sending you safe and peaceful energy

Matt Mahmood-Ogston
Award-winning impact storyteller, photographer and charity CEO.