Narrative frameworks, part 2
Part 2 in our narrative frameworks series explores a simple structure that helps mission-driven organizations turn complex programs into compelling stories.
Few storytellers have captured the public imagination better than Pixar. For the past three decades, Pixar has produced smash hits that became cultural icons, from Toy Story and Finding Nemo to Inside Out and Soul. But prior to their breakout success in 1995, they experienced 20 years of struggle and near collapse.
The story of these storytellers began in an unlikely place: a computer school.
Around 1975, a group of computer scientists at the New York Institute of Technology (NYIT) got together with a shared vision: to create “The Movie,” a full-length digitally animated feature film. Several years later, they were hired by Lucasfilms, where developed 3D modeling tools, rendering systems, and other hardware and software needed to bring this vision to life.
However, they soon hit the first major roadblock. When George Lucas divorced his wife in 1983, Lucasfilms had to sell off several divisions of the company. Their team was put on the chopping block.
Two of the original members of the NYIT group, Ed Catmull and Alvy Ray Smith, realized they would have to go far outside their computer science comfort zone if they were to continue their dream. They decided to start their own business. After pitching the idea to the rest of their computer graphics team at Lucasfilms, they got to work on fundraising.
35 out of 35 venture capitalists rejected them.
They turned to corporate partnerships, improving slightly, with eight of 10 rejections. But then even those two deals fell through.
Running out of ideas, they threw a hail mary: they reached out to Steve Jobs, who had recently been ousted from Apple. Jobs bailed them out several times over the next five years, pouring in around $50 million. This injection of cash allowed them to keep developing their animation approach, until computer hardware capabilities finally caught up with their vision.
Disney agreed to take a risk on them, and financed their first full-length film. Toy Story premiered in 1995, going on to achieve massive critical acclaim and launched them into the limelight. The success of Toy Story fueled the success of their company, allowing them to produce “The Movie” around 30 times over the past 30 years, capturing the hearts of multiple generations of audiences while redefining animated storytelling.
The story of Pixar features a different set of challenges than mission-driven organizations face. However, just like Pixar, nonprofits often struggle to secure funding. Convincing people to contribute their hard-earned money typically requires a good story. Compelling impact stories build donor trust and motivate support — but most mission-driven organizations struggle to tell them well.
Pixar offers a practical way to solve this with their signature storytelling framework, another contributor to their success: the Pixar Story Spine.
The story spine
The Pixar story spine is the guiding structure behind many of their movies. It follows this pattern:
Once upon a time…
Everyday…
Until one day…
Because of that, X happened…
Because of that, Y happened…
Until finally…
And ever since that day…
This basic structure builds on a typical three-part narrative like the And, But, Therefore framework, adding a series of twists and turns before reaching a resolution.
Here’s how each element adds to the narrative.
Once upon a time…
Set the context and introduce the characters in your story. Who is the story about? Where are they? Keep it simple though — you don’t want to include exhaustive details at this point.
And every day…
Describe what their life is like now, and perhaps what they wish their life could be like.
Until one day…
Introduce the conflict or circumstances that cause the characters to change or take action of some sort.
Because of that, X happened…
Once the characters are in motion, they will encounter other challenges, people, or events that cause them to react. This part initiates the main body of the story.
Because of that, Y happened…
As their journey continues, they might achieve some success, only to be met with another setback. Some stories cover several “rise and fall and rise again” moments like this. Others might use only one.
Until finally…
This point marks the climax of the story, where the characters achieve their goals. We find out how their story will be resolved.
And ever since that day…
The conclusion wraps up the story showing how the character has been changed, what they’ve learned, and where they go from here.
You might be thinking, “ok sounds great for an animated movie, but what’s this got to do with my nonprofit?” Let’s look at how we can apply this approach in mission-driven work.
Bringing the Pixar magic to advance your mission
Clearly, we’re not trying to entertain people with fanciful tales of adventure. But our audiences are still wired for story. We have been telling stories as a means of sharing knowledge since humans could speak.
In contrast, many nonprofit impact stories follow the same pattern: here’s what we did, here’s how many people we reached, here’s a quote. The facts are there, but the facts rarely move people.
This framework provides a practical way to tap into the arc of good storytelling to show your audience the value of your work.
For mission-driven organizations, we can apply the story spine to improve our impact stories for donor reports, case studies, short-form videos, and other public-facing stories about the people (or ecosystems) we serve.
The story spine works well for a wide range of programs and goals. Here’s a couple of examples of what this might look like in practice.
Cacao farmer in Peru
This story comes from my direct experience working in Peru, written from the perspective of ACCA, the NGO who led the program:
(Once upon a time) Eriberto Huaranca lived on a small farm in Madre de Dios, Peru with three generations of his family. They grew plantains, yuca, and a variety of other seasonal crops.
(Every day) They grew enough food to support the family, but just barely. During many seasons, the rainforest animals ate better from their farm than his family. Planting seasonal crops meant repeating the same back-breaking labor each season — and unfortunately, those seasonal crops also didn’t fetch high prices, given the competition with countless other farms.
(Until one day) Our agroforestry team at ACCA approached Eriberto and others and his community with a potential solution: by planting cacao trees with our support, they would have perennial crops with a much higher market price.
(Because of that) After several months of community discussion, we got the first cacao saplings in the ground. The first few years were hard. Since it takes between two to five years for the first cacao harvest, Eriberto had to trust that this cacao experiment would pay off, while still struggling to provide for his family.
(Because of that) While the trees grew, we had to cultivate another kind of soil: the market conditions to sell the cacao. Working with the local community, we created a regional cacao cooperative and negotiated with national and international buyers.
(Until finally) And then, three years later, the first harvest began. The work wasn’t easy, as Eriberto needed to learn how to process the cacao for sale, involving fermenting, drying, and storing the beans. In 2024, he finally sold his first batch through the cooperative.
(And ever since that day) Eriberto is happy each day to see those cacao trees on his farm, knowing that they will continue to produce crops for many years to come. While the work of a farmer is never done, adding those trees helps him provide a better life for his family.
Pay-as-you-go solar in Ghana
The following story is a fictitious example I created based on research into similar kinds of programs — this time without the labels:
Priscilla Owusu ran a small hair salon out of her home in a peri-urban neighborhood of Accra, Ghana, where power cuts lasting 12+ hours a day were simply a fact of life.
She frequently had to turn away customers when the power was out, losing income she couldn’t afford to lose. Diesel generators were too expensive. She watched her business stagnate while her costs crept up.
Recognizing how widespread this issue was, we published a landmark study documenting exactly what was happening in neighborhoods like Priscilla’s. The report quantified lost economic output, mapped the financing gap, and identified the specific regulatory conditions that would make pay-as-you-go solar viable at national scale.
The research gave policymakers, development finance institutions, and private solar companies a shared evidence base to work from. It didn’t change policy overnight, but it shifted the conversation. It gave advocates and investors the data they needed to push for a public-private partnership model built around pay-as-you-go solar.
Over time, the enabling conditions began to improve. Solar companies gained clearer regulatory footing and expanded their reach into underserved urban and peri-urban neighborhoods — including Priscilla’s.
An affordable rooftop solar-plus-battery system reached her door. She signed up, her power became reliable, her business grew, and she paid off the system ahead of schedule.
Stories like Priscilla’s — multiplied across thousands of households — are the living proof behind the research. We continue to document outcomes, refine the model, and make the case for replication across the region.
Putting the story spine into practice
One thing to note in these examples is that the story spine prompts aren’t necessary. I added in the prompts for reference in the first example, but notice that they are just implied. Naturally, we wouldn’t want to start a story in a donor report with “once upon a time”!
These examples are also both reasonably short, which can be a useful format in itself. But just like Pixar movies are nearly two hours long, the story spine provides a framework to tell longer stories as needed. You can apply the format in a social media post, a 1,200-word article, or as part of an extended story.
The important point is that the structure creates a progression of context-conflict-resolution with a natural flow of ups and downs — critical parts of an engaging story.
The story spine helped Pixar tell stories that moved millions of people. Likewise, this format can help you make your nonprofit impact stories even better and move your audience to support your mission.
Think about one of your programs right now — can you tell its story in seven sentences? Try it out and let us know how it goes.