Storytelling without exploiting beneficiaries is a real line

Aug 29
3 min read

Updated: 3 days ago

Introduction

Charity communications need real stories, because specifics move people where statistics do not. That creates a tension nobody in the sector can avoid: the story that raises the most money is often the one that shows a person at their most vulnerable.

The line between telling someone's story and using them is real, and it is crossed regularly by organisations with good intentions and a deadline. It is worth setting out where that line sits, because the people in these stories rarely get to complain afterwards.

1. Storytelling without exploiting beneficiaries begins with informed consent

Consent has conditions attached.

The person should understand where the story will appear, how widely, for how long, with what images, and that they may say no with no consequence for the support they receive. Consent obtained while someone is in crisis or dependent on you is not freely given.

2. Make refusal genuinely cost-free

This is the part that determines whether consent means anything.

If somebody receiving your help believes that declining might affect that help, they cannot really refuse. Say plainly that it makes no difference, and make sure the person asking is not the person providing their support wherever possible.

3. Allow consent to be withdrawn

Circumstances change and people change their minds.

Someone who agreed two years ago may now be in a different situation, applying for jobs, or simply no longer wishing to be the face of a hardship. Have a route for withdrawal and honour it promptly.

4. Show people as people, not as need

The most common failure and the least discussed.

A person is not their worst week. Portray them with agency, context and something beyond the problem, and avoid images chosen because they look desperate. The test is whether they would recognise themselves and be content with the portrait.

5. Do not overstate for effect

Accuracy is part of the ethics, not separate from it.

Sharpening details, implying a worse outcome than occurred, or letting a composite read as an individual are all misleading donors as well as misrepresenting the person. Where you combine cases, say so.

6. Protect identity when it matters

Some situations require it regardless of consent.

Domestic abuse, immigration status, health conditions, criminal proceedings and anything involving children carry real risks. Change identifying details, use partial images, or tell the story without the person, and take advice where you are unsure.

7. Follow the rules that apply to you

This is a legal matter as well as an ethical one.

Data protection, safeguarding requirements and rules around images of children vary by jurisdiction and are not optional. Check what applies where you operate rather than relying on what other charities appear to do.

8. Give the person something back

A small principle that changes the relationship.

Show them the piece before publication, give them a copy, tell them what happened as a result, and thank them properly. They contributed something valuable and are usually the only contributor who receives nothing.

9. Ask whether the story is necessary

The question that prevents most problems.

Could this appeal work with an anonymised account, a staff perspective, or a number? If the answer is yes, and the only argument for the personal story is that it will raise more, that is worth pausing over rather than accepting automatically.

Write these principles down as a short policy and apply them to photographs and social posts as much as to appeals. Most breaches happen in quick informal content rather than in a considered campaign, precisely because nobody applied a standard to it.

Conclusion

Treat consent as informed, specific and freely given, because consent obtained from someone dependent on your support is not really consent.

Make refusal genuinely cost-free and separate the asking from the service where you can, allow people to withdraw later, portray them with agency rather than as need, keep the account accurate and label composites, protect identity where disclosure carries risk, comply with the data protection and safeguarding rules of your jurisdiction, give the person the piece and the outcome afterwards, and ask each time whether the personal story is necessary at all.