Fundraising with Stories with Matt Paprocki

Fundraising with Stories with Matt Paprocki

From 7-Figure Fundraising Podcast by 7-Figure Fundraising

May 21, 2026 · 56 min

About this episode

Trevor Bragdon and Matt Paprocki discuss the importance of storytelling in fundraising and common pitfalls fundraisers face.

On this episode of 7-Figure Fundraising, Trevor Bragdon sits down with Matt Paprocki, President and CEO of the Illinois Policy Institute, to break down one of the most important skills in fundraising: storytelling. Matt explains why most fundraising stories fail before they even begin. Instead of creating emotional connection, many fundraisers summarize facts, report outcomes, or speak in vague language that donors quickly forget. In this conversation, Trevor and Matt unpack a practical stor...

People in this episode

Host: Trevor Bragdon

Guest: Matt Paprocki

Topics covered

  • fundraising
  • storytelling
  • non-profit
  • emotional connection
  • communication skills

Keywords

  • fundraising
  • storytelling
  • emotional connection
  • Illinois Policy Institute
  • communication

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Illinois Policy Institute

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