Written by Valentina Ughetto, Communications Project Lead

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On 17th August 2024, SDSN Youth held an engaging online session featuring Janina Peter, founder and CEO of Bridging Gaps, a non-profit organization that provides microloans to entrepreneurs from the Global South to establish their own businesses.

During the session, Janina shared her experience and expertise on the impact of storytelling in fundraising. The discussion centered around how personal stories can be a powerful tool to connect donors with the individuals and communities they are supporting. By humanizing large-scale issues and illustrating them through real-life experiences, storytelling helps make complex challenges more accessible, inspiring meaningful contributions and long-term engagement from supporters.

Janina emphasized the power of personal narratives in engaging donors. She shared the story of Amito, a refugee from South Sudan living in the Bidibidi Settlement in Uganda. Amito’s journey from fleeing conflict to establishing a small business with the help of a microloan was a compelling example of how storytelling can humanize statistics. Her success not only transformed her own life but also had a positive ripple effect within her community.

While narratives like Amito’s are powerful, Janina stressed the importance of pairing stories with data. Bridging Gaps addresses the financial exclusion faced by 1.4 billion adults worldwide. Combining these figures with personal stories helps contextualize the scale of the problem while demonstrating the tangible impact of donations.

We also discussed the Pay-It-Forward model, through which repaid loans are redistributed to others in need, creating a cycle of ongoing support. With partnerships like the UNHCR Refugee-led Innovation Grant, Bridging Gaps continues to expand its reach, supporting refugee-led businesses across multiple countries.

The session offered key insights on balancing emotional storytelling with solid data, and the importance of sustainability in funding models. The reflections underscored the potential for storytelling to foster lasting social change by connecting individual lives with larger global challenges. At the end, we had the chance to conclude with an engaging Q&A, where participants had the opportunity to delve deeper into the themes discussed and explore additional insights. 

SDSN Youth was thrilled to host this inspiring session. The discussion on the power of storytelling in fundraising and its role in driving social change offered valuable insights and practical strategies. This session exemplifies our commitment to fostering meaningful conversations and innovative solutions to global challenges.

If you missed the session or would like to watch it again, you can find it here. Let’s continue to amplify voices, inspire action, and make a real difference - one story at a time.