When Bearing Witness® and MemoryFox Are Partnering to Support Trauma-Informed Story Gathering
I’m so excited to share a new chapter in the story of When Bearing Witness®.
Beginning with the Summer 2026 cohort, MemoryFox will be officially integrated into the When Bearing Witness® Trauma-Informed Storytelling Certification Program as a practical, modern story gathering tool for nonprofit storytellers.
This partnership feels deeply aligned because both When Bearing Witness and MemoryFox are rooted in a shared belief: how a story is gathered matters.
The process matters. The consent matters. The emotional safety of the person sharing matters.
And if we want to tell stories with more care, dignity, and integrity, we need both the values and the tools to make that possible.
Why this partnership matters
When Bearing Witness® has always focused on helping nonprofit storytellers understand the deeper “why” behind trauma-informed storytelling. Inside the program, we explore consent, story readiness, emotional safety, asset-framed language, story review, retraction, harm repair, and the well-being of the storyteller.
But as I’ve continued teaching this work, I’ve noticed a very real gap.
Many nonprofit teams are no longer gathering stories only through traditional interviews. They are using digital forms, video prompts, and online story collection tools to invite people to share their experiences.
Those tools can make story gathering more accessible and efficient. But they also raise important questions:
How do we make consent clear?
How do we avoid rushing people into sharing before they are ready?
How do we give story owners agency over what they share?
How do we use digital tools without losing the humanity at the center of the process?
That is exactly where this partnership with MemoryFox feels like such a strong fit.
MemoryFox has long been my go-to recommendation for organizations looking for a more modern and thoughtful way to gather stories. Through this partnership, that support will now be built more directly into the When Bearing Witness program experience.
What’s being added to the program
As part of this collaboration, When Bearing Witness will now include a new MemoryFox learning component within the Story Gathering section of the course.
This new submodule will help students think through how digital story gathering tools can be used in ways that are practical, trauma-informed, and human.
Students and alumni will also receive access to additional MemoryFox resources, including guidance for using the platform with care, onboarding support, and practical templates to help bring trauma-informed story gathering into their day-to-day work.
For students and alumni who choose to invest in MemoryFox, this partnership will also include an exclusive discounted rate created specifically for the When Bearing Witness community.
These resources will be available to both future students and past students, because this is not just an update for one cohort. It is an ongoing investment in the community of storytellers learning and practicing this work.
A shared commitment to care
What I appreciate most about this partnership is that it is not just about adding another tool to the program.
It is about deepening the bridge between learning and practice.
Trauma-informed storytelling is not only about what we believe. It is about what we build into our workflows, our timelines, our consent processes, our platforms, and our everyday decisions.
MemoryFox offers practical ways to bring those values into the story gathering process, especially for teams that want to collect stories more consistently without sacrificing care.
Looking ahead
I’m so grateful for the care and alignment behind this collaboration.
To me, this partnership feels like a natural extension of what When Bearing Witness has always been about: helping nonprofit storytellers build practices that are not only effective, but deeply intentional.
If you are a past student, more details will be shared about how you can access the new MemoryFox resources.
And if you have been looking for a more thoughtful way to strengthen your storytelling practice, I would love to invite you into the Summer 2026 cohort of When Bearing Witness.
Together, we’ll explore how to tell stories with more consent, dignity, safety, and care. And now, through this partnership with MemoryFox, students will have even more practical support for bringing that learning to life.