I was a broadcast journalist locally and nationally for 20 years. Now I run Pearl Impact Media. I help nonprofits and purpose-driven businesses raise money, raise awareness, and separate themselves from the rest through meaningful, memorable, and affordable video storytelling. That’s my mission. This podcast, DOT ORG, is an offshoot of that mission. Each episode I chat with a nonprofit leader with a defined, thoughtful, and successful approach to telling their organization’s story.

Let me take you back almost five years. I had just accepted a job with Scripps Media to be a national correspondent. Scripps owns more than 60 local TV news stations. I would travel the country, putting together stories to air on all of those stations. The subject? The issues the news didn’t cover enough, and the people, groups, and communities bringing solutions. My first task was to become as well-read on as many issues as possible facing our towns and cities.

That’s when I discovered Next City, a nonprofit news outlet telling those very stories in print form.

Over the next few years, the perspective and insights I gathered from groups like Next City guided my own storytelling in so many ways. I’m a regular listener to their podcast. I’m happy to have their executive director, Lucas Grindley, on mine. He’s here to talk about storytelling from a nonprofit news model … and storytelling tips any nonprofit can use.