As part of a board trainings committee exercise for Rebuilding Together South Sound, I put together a brief presentation on how to tell stories centered around folks we serve in an ethical way that builds community - what it is, why it matters, and how we can approach it as a team.
We’ve all seen storytelling used to raise funds or awareness—but if we’re not careful, we can build shaky structures. Ethical storytelling ensures we build with our communities, not on top of them. It’s not just “doing the right thing,” it’s about creating something sustainable, inclusive, and just.
Here’s our ethical blueprint:
Dignity: Respect for every storyteller’s full humanity.
Consent: informed, ongoing.
Co-Creation: Invite people to tell their story, not just be featured in yours.
Nuance: Celebrate the small stuff, not just ‘success.’
Support: Emotional safety throughout the process.
These are the most common issues:
Oversimplifying a story into a transformation arc.
Only telling stories when it benefits development.
Implicit pressure on people to share painful experiences.
Leaving out the voices of board, volunteers, or staff.
Each of these weakens the story—and the house we’re trying to build.
Ethical storytelling serves a double bottom line:
It lifts up the voices of storytellers. It also supports your mission and strategy. The goal is alignment, not tradeoff. When we do this right, stories are both more powerful and more honest.
We tend to lean heavily on client stories—but we have so many rich, authentic voices in our ecosystem. What about the board member who overcame doubts to get involved? Or the volunteer who found purpose in giving back? These stories build a fuller, more connected narrative. We’re all responsible for the story we build—board members included. Ethical storytelling is a tool, a responsibility, and an opportunity to make our work more just, more human, and more impactful. Let’s build something worth standing in.
Social Media Checklist for Ethical Storytelling
