In March of 2020, as lockdowns were implemented all around the world, our team was tasked with creating our biggest fundraising campaign of the year. For years, I have wanted to let our donors and supporters hear directly from a survivor, and after learning about Kashi* and her incredible story, I knew this would be a great opportunity.

Normally, supporters would get a letter and an email from a senior leader at IJM that told the story of a survivor, and that letter would likely include a couple of quotes to drive home the urgency of the appeal. But in 2020, I really wanted Kashi to stand in the spotlight and be able to tell her own story in her own words. And I’m proud to say that she did.

In a series of interviews with Kashi, we had pages and pages of a transcript with her entire story, and we had her permission to use those interviews to develop a short film and a letter using her own words. She even narrated her own story in the animated film.

The result is the most survivor-centric storytelling and fundraising experience in IJM’s 23-year history.

I wrote:

primary fundraising letters
all organic and paid social media
all the emails
and I consulted and provided guidance for the script for our short film.

*A pseudonym