Leading Ethical Storytelling From The Outside with Kristi Scott
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In This Episode
Nonprofit storytellers are tasked with sharing stories that move people to act, yet we also carry the responsibility of protecting the dignity and agency of those whose stories we tell. And when we are working on the outside of an organization, as contractors or consultants, the power to ensure ethical and trauma-informed practices can feel limited.
So, how do we uphold care and consent when we are not the final decision makers?
In this episode, we are joined by Kristi Scott, an email marketing consultant who helps small nonprofits transform email campaigns from ineffective to impactful. Rooted in community-centric fundraising and a commitment to equity, Kristi shares how to write emails that are strategic, relational, and rooted in respect, not exploitation, guilt, or false urgency.
We talk about leading by example, planting seeds for organizational change, and building systems that protect story owners long after the first publication.
About Kristi Scott
Kristi Scott is an email marketing and fundraising consultant who works with small nonprofits to transform email campaigns from ineffective to impactful. She has been in the nonprofit sector for more than 15 years in programs, fundraising, and marketing. Her consulting work is rooted in community-centric fundraising, and she is professionally and personally committed to Black liberation and equity for all. Kristi holds an MBA in Marketing with honors and has worked in small businesses, startups, and corporate sales. She was born and raised in the Los Angeles area, the traditional lands of the Tongva (Gabrieleno) peoples.
Connect with Kristi Scott
Fundraising Email Fix | Website | LinkedIn
Connect with Maria
Speaking & Training | LinkedIn | Email
Transcripts
Maria: On today's episode of When Bearing Witness, we are joined by Kristi Scott, an email marketing and fundraising consultant who helps small nonprofits transform their email campaigns from ineffective to impactful. With over 15 years in the nonprofit sector, Kristi's work is grounded in community-centric fundraising and a deep commitment to Black liberation, equity for people of the global majority, and LGBTQ plus rights. She supports nonprofits in building email campaigns that are not only strategic, but also rooted in care, dignity, and equity. Kristi, what a joy to have you on. Welcome.
Kristi: Thank you so much for having me. I am so happy to be here.
Maria: Thrilled to have you on the show. I first want to know your story. What brought you to focus on email?
Kristi: I have been in the nonprofit space for ages, like since I was a baby essentially. I worked in the sector for over 10 years and was in-house mostly until I started my business a couple years ago. Right before that, I was working with nonprofit accounts over at Salesforce. I just had this feeling, especially speaking to folks about their tech needs and strategy, that so many did not know the basics of email marketing. It was shocking because I had always done some form of email marketing in-house as a fundraiser. I supported that work when I worked at a shelter for unhoused families and saw that people were focusing too much on social media more than email.
I was disheartened because so much of social media cannot be controlled, but email marketing allows you to control whether someone sees your message in their inbox. You have a lot more influence over your fundraising if you have a good email marketing system. I was ready to leave in-house work. I had just had my baby and needed something flexible. I decided to finally start a business. I had been thinking about it for years and studied marketing for my MBA. These tools needed to be translated to small nonprofit teams that do not have a whole marketing department but need to prioritize email marketing.
So I became an evangelist for email marketing for nonprofits. Now I primarily support with copywriting because a lot of nonprofit emails are written like grant applications. So folks will hire me to simplify emails and support their strategy, the tech side of deliverability, auditing their lists, things like that. The focus is writing better emails because if you are not writing good emails, it does not matter if it gets into someone's inbox.
I also do workshops to teach these concepts and am so grateful to support these small teams. In two days it is actually my two year business anniversary. And yes, social media has a role, but if you are not using it to grow your email list, it is not as helpful.
Maria: For the longest time we lumped social media and email marketing together, and I am so glad you are championing this. I am starting to see positions that are specifically email marketing manager roles and I am like, finally. You are very clear that your work is rooted in community-centric fundraising. Tell us a little bit about that. What does this mean in practice, especially in email marketing?
Kristi: I am going to start with a little story. My first fundraising job, I thought the way we were doing fundraising felt really racist. That was my first thought. Why is this so racist and why does no one see it? I tried to push back a little but I was new. I Googled why nonprofit fundraising is racist and found Vu Le’s blog on Nonprofit AF. I subscribed and wanted others to read it. Shortly after, he and the founding members started the community-centric fundraising movement. There are 10 principles that focus on equity and liberation in our sector, especially in funding. For a long time, our sector has made it seem like a requirement to exploit people receiving services in order to fundraise.
I got involved early on, and since starting my business I have had more flexibility to help organize our local chapter here in Los Angeles. The way I incorporate this into email marketing is primarily through language because I write emails. It is not using exploitative language. It is making sure we are not doing false urgency or tricking donors into giving. It is helping clients have systems in place that make it easy to not only get consent but also confirm consent when sharing a story. I think about this constantly because traditional fundraising tells you to use those stories. I am always working to make sure stories are gathered ethically. Photos are a huge part of what I do, so I am always talking to clients about how to improve that.
Maria: I have had a lot of consultants go through the When Bearing Witness program. In some ways it feels like the power imbalance is different. We can model being ethical and trauma informed in a way that feels good, but sometimes it feels like we have less control. What is that like as a consultant when something comes your way and you think, was there consent? How do you model this and are you seeing any wins in doing so?
Kristi: One of the biggest things is when I gather stories, I ask about consent processes. I have had difficult conversations around that because it is not something a lot of folks are thinking about. We are stretched thin, doing many things, rushing emails. That is why I offer writing services. I do not gather the stories myself. I ask about their processes and suggest improvements. I have encouraged some clients to have a story bank that tracks when stories were gathered, contact info, and any details needed to reach back out before using a story again. But there are times where I leave a client with the email and say, you will confirm with this person. And then it is out of my hands. The most I can do is make the strategy suggestion.
I have seen those lightbulb moments when someone realizes they should check in again. It plants a seed. That seed is helping move our sector forward so more nonprofits are ethical in their storytelling.
Maria: Whether you are a consultant or in-house, if you are feeling disheartened, know that what Kristi is saying makes a deeper impact than she even knows. Slowly we are normalizing that if you used a story two years ago for an annual appeal and now for an email, you still must ask for consent again. There is a lot of seed planting happening and we need grace while organizations make the shift.
Kristi: It is a boundary thing. I would love to fix everything but they are not paying me for that. I make the suggestion and move on. And you are right. It is making an impact. Those who never considered having a system are starting to. I started in programs like a lot of fundraisers did. There is tension between fundraising and programs. Program folks want to protect people who are often vulnerable. So there can be a belief that fundraisers just want to use them for money.
People want more equitable storytelling. They want respect baked into fundraising. We have goals and board pressure, and those are systemic issues. It is hard as an individual to acknowledge something is not healthy. But awareness is growing. People are thirsty for this. If we share difficult things ethically, it will transform organizations and our sector. If we align with that value across the industry, we can move mountains.
Maria: We have been taught to use urgency, guilt, and shame. How are you mitigating this? We know they work. You do not have to water down storytelling. How can we communicate urgency differently and still get donors to act?
Kristi: The way I write emails, and how I teach others, is being honest without exploiting emotions. Our industry has been steeped in guilt and shame messaging like look at this suffering child. Give. People think new ways will not be as effective. I wish I had all the data to prove it. Maybe you do. But I know that if we rely on shame to urge support, we are not truly making society better. The mission should not be rooted in guilt. That is my philosophy.
Practically, I refuse to use shame-based language or images. The language piece is actually the easiest for clients to embrace. Maybe I attract the folks already aligned with that idea. But it is working. I have gotten better over time. We are all learning. If we are aware of an issue, we will keep improving.
Maria: When I first started teaching trauma informed storytelling, I talked about those Christian Children’s Fund commercials with Sally Struthers. She’d stand on a pile of garbage next to a child with flies on their face saying for the price of a cup of coffee you could save a life. So manipulative. And yes they raised money, but someone once told me not only was it wrong, it might have been less effective than we think. I had to Google the name of the organization. Those tactics may get small one-time gifts but do not build lasting support.
People are hungry for authentic storytelling. Folks are more values-driven than ever. Just because you are a nonprofit does not mean people trust you automatically.
Kristi: Yes. What I did study a lot is the marketing concept of connection. Cultivating partnership. Having folks who talk about your organization every chance they get. That comes from respect. When donors see you respecting people in your programs, they trust you. Respect leads to long-term engagement. It matters. People can sniff out dishonesty quickly now.
Maria: For those listening who feel excited but overwhelmed, what is one step they can take toward more ethical and trauma informed email marketing?
Kristi: The most important step is getting organized on the backend with your stories. Language is important but easier to change. The structure of how stories are gathered and managed will make everything else easier. Create a system, even a simple spreadsheet with dates and contact info. Ultimately having an organizational policy around story use should follow, but starting with tracking what stories you have and when consent was given is the best first step.
Maria: So do an audit. Track your stories.
Kristi: Yes. And if you have good stories and clear tracking, email marketing becomes so much easier to execute.
Maria: And for Kristi specifically, make her life easier. How can listeners connect with you and learn more?
Kristi: I am on LinkedIn. My website is kristipscott.com. I also have a free newsletter at fundraisingemailfix.com. I send a weekly email every Thursday, and if I offer free workshops, I promote them there first.
Maria: Awesome. We will have those in the show notes. Thank you so much for your honesty. This work is not easy. Sometimes it is one step at a time. What I am hearing from you is that sometimes we just have to model the work until the sector takes notice. Thank you for modeling in your corner of the world.
Kristi: Thanks, Maria. So good talking with you.