AWAKE STORYTELLING: MOVEMENT-BUILDING THROUGH STORY

Fueling Fundraising & Advocacy with Liberatory Storytelling

Nonprofit storytelling is often shaped by the constraints of the capitalist charity model—a model that prioritizes donor satisfaction over systemic change, individual success stories over collective struggle, and immediate funding goals over long-term liberation. But storytelling can do more than raise money—it can build movements that dismantle the systems making nonprofits necessary in the first place.

At Awake Storytelling, we partner with nonprofits and grassroots organizations to create emotionally powerful, movement-building videos that do more than just generate donations. Our work:

• Mobilizes resources for systemic change, framing fundraising as an act of redistribution, not charity.

• Centers impacted communities, amplifying their voices as the leaders of their own liberation.

• Names systemic oppression explicitly, refusing to sanitize injustice for the comfort of funders.

• Inspires action and deepens commitment, connecting audiences to a broader movement for justice.

What We Believe

• Storytelling is a force for truth, healing, and collective liberation.

• Fundraising should serve movements, not just organizations.

• Nonprofits must challenge oppressive systems, not just navigate them.

• Every story we tell should move us toward a world rooted in care, justice, and dignity.

How We Work

Awake Storytelling takes a human-centered, movement-aligned approach to nonprofit video storytelling. We work closely with organizations to craft narratives that reflect their values and push their work forward. Whether you’re launching a campaign, strengthening donor relationships, or rallying people around a cause, we create stories that make an impact.

We offer:

• Fundraising & advocacy campaign videos

• Compelling stories that turn supporters into long-term allies

• Movement-aligned narrative strategy

• Training & workshops on liberatory storytelling

Let’s Build Together

If you’re ready to move beyond transactional fundraising and use storytelling to build power, we’d love to collaborate.

How I Shared My Story On Stage (even while scared)

I remember the nauseous feeling I had as I paced backstage before giving my TEDx talk Your Story Can Change the World in 2012.

My script hadn’t been finalized until that morning and I didn’t have it fully memorized. Backstage, I repeated the order of words over and over, creating mental maps of how each idea led to the next. My anxiety was only heightened after sitting in the audience and hearing men with PhDs give highly researched talks. I felt worried my talk would feel too different, unprofessional and emotional. Basically, patriarchy was alive in my psyche.

I took as many deep breaths as I could and told myself that communicating my message mattered more than delivering some perfect script. 

When I got on stage, I remember the brightness of the lights and the sea of people in front of me.

My abusive boyfriend who had told me that it was selfish of me to do this, stared blankly back at me. 

I began. 

There were moments of shakiness, and I randomly added a mispronounced reference to one of the male speakers’ talks, but once I got into my flow, I gave myself fully to the unfurling narrative journey. 

I spoke of my family. Of Palestine. How dominant narratives sustain oppressive systems. I spoke about breaking lineages of harm and shame that we’ve inherited. Of how our stories have power. Of how we can create new narratives and new systems, together. 

At the heart of the story, I opened my arms wide and shared about a woman who I had met, Manal Tamimi, a Palestinian freedom fighter and mother, whose vision for her people’s liberation compels her to open fully to as much joy as possible, even while surviving continuous violent attacks from Israel. 

When I stepped off the stage, I felt such incredible relief, yes. But I also felt like I had crossed such an important threshold. I had given my whole soul to sharing that story. I had laid it out on the line. My visions. My experiences. My deep longings for the world. And what would become of that from the audience, I didn’t know. But I knew I was so proud of myself. For facing the nausea and showing up anyway. For not letting the patriarchal voices in my head stop me from using my voice. For offering the wisdom I’ve harvested and sharing it as an offering. 

When I look back at this experience, it’s wild to see how the story I would tell today is different than what I shared on that day. 

There were whole dimensions of my story that I could have shared, but I hadn’t reckoned with them yet. There were seeds that hadn’t yet sprouted, ingredients brewing in my cauldron, not yet ready to be tasted. My story continues to evolve. The seasons of my life bring different sprouts and blooms. 

But I still believe what I said that day, that sharing our stories breaks shame, builds power, and creates new possibilities for our collective liberation. 

I’m sharing this because I hope you know that your stories matter. You don’t need to have perfectly crafted and memorized scripts. You can start where you are, by connecting to your heart and letting your experiences reveal their messages. Sharing what you care about is an exercise in connection, not perfection. 

There is magic when you open your arms to your dreams for collective liberation and share that longing with other humans. 

Your stories will change, but sharing them is an act of creation for the world you want.

If you would like to share your personal stories, check out these resources. If you’d like to collaborate in filming & sharing your stories, here are some options.