What Did You Actually Do? Why the Best Story Is the Work Itself

Many organizations have made public commitments to improving well-being for their people, their customers, and their communities. Those commitments are powerful, but often, words alone fall short; they need to create a real, tangible, and measurable  impact. The American Psychological Foundation’s Direct Action Corporate Alliance makes that possible by connecting companies to evidence-based work, rooted in psychological science, that’s already changing lives.

In this first installment of APF Comms Corner, Communications Officer Bethany Giblin digs into the psychology of storytelling: why a good story moves us, and why words without action can cost more trust than they build.

Direct Action is about breaking barriers within the systems, partnerships, and conversations that determine who has access to psychological science, and how that science can improve people’s lives. Now, we’re ready to partner with like-minded organizations to amplify that work.

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What makes a great story? I’m willing to bet your answer isn’t data, tables, or facts – it’s how it makes you feel.

When we get absorbed in a well-told story, something psychologists call narrative transportation (Green & Brock, 2000), we stop judging from a distance and start feeling it from the inside. A good story doesn’t just inform people. It brings them into the experience. 

We all know empty communication when we see it: the solidarity post with no policy behind it, the corporate pledge that never gets a follow-up, the awareness campaign that disappears as soon as the month is over. None of these start out as bad intentions: they start as a need to respond quickly and are often rooted in a genuine desire to take a stand or support a movement. But as our audiences continue to grow savvier and more critical, the need for real, tangible action is only increasing. Customers, employees, and donors are reading past the statement, and looking for accountability. Beyond the words that you put together, what did you actually do to make a difference? This distinction between the words and the action matters.

The same transportation effect that moves people to act can also let a hollow story make them feel good and move on. Empty communication borrows the power of story without paying for it. And when people notice the gap between what was said and what was done, the cost isn’t limited to that one message. Customers, employees, and donors remember, and it costs trust for the next story too.

As APF’s Communications Officer (the person whose job is the words), I’m one of the first to advocate for speaking up and taking a stance – but I’m also the first to say that words on their own aren’t enough. 

At APF, this isn’t a marketing tactic we borrowed from somewhere else. It’s the science we champion. Psychology explains why stories move people, and we see it at work every time a grantee’s research becomes something a donor or partner can picture and feel. The same principle drives the most effective corporate purpose work: a mission statement lands when there’s a real person and a real result behind it. 

This is why APF is building the Direct Action Corporate Alliance: for organizations that care about psychological health and well-being, who want to put their commitments to bettering our world into action. APF Direct Action is already reaching people and communities who need access to psychological care and support now – and we know how to tell the story. 

Direct Action Corporate Alliance – Corporate Commitments in Action

The good news is that moving beyond words doesn’t mean every organization has to build its own programs from scratch. Often, the most direct route from statement to action is partnering with the groups already doing and funding the work. They bring the expertise, the relationships, and the track record. What they need are committed partners. For a company, contributing to an established nonprofit or foundation gets resources into the field quickly, and it gives their communications team something real to point to.

That’s what APF is offering as part of the Direct Action Corporate Alliance. For more than 70 years, APF has funded psychologists and researchers working to improve lives and strengthen communities. Now, we’re offering the opportunity for organizations and individual donors to direct support toward the issues they care about most, backed by APF’s grantmaking expertise, careful vetting, and reporting on results. Partners don’t just get to say they care about mental health. They can show what their investment made possible.

Here’s some of what Direct Action is already supporting:

• Trauma care for children and families. Dr. Yahaira Márquez is expanding access to evidence-based trauma care for children and families in Guatemala through the Child Trauma Learning Program.
• Expanding Mental Health Support & Reducing Suicidality for Latine Families Facing Immigration Stress. Dr. Kiara Álvarez described Direct Action Visionary funding as “transformative in expanding our ability to meet the immediate needs expressed by the communities we partner with.”
• Community-led support. The Jewish Community Mental Health Initiative, created by and for the Jewish community, offers free clinician-led support groups while researching the mental health impacts of antisemitism.
• Trans Youth Support. Trans Mentor Project’s work has expanded through APF funding to reach more trans and nonbinary young people across the country – with real impact on their lives. As one participant said, “Spaces like this give trans people hope that one day, everywhere will be safe for us to be ourselves.”
• Access at the system level. APF partnered with The Kennedy Forum on the launch of the Mental Health Parity Index, aiming to reduce barriers to mental health care through real data that will reduce costs and increase access. 
• Bridging societal divides through work exploring the psychology behind political division – and how we can heal and move forward. Register for our Direct Action Town Hall focused on Propaganda, Dehumanization, & Healing.

The above initiatives are some of what we’re able to accomplish with our current support. There’s so much more to do, and so many spaces where psychology can make a difference, but we need your partnership to get there. When the first Direct Action Visionary Grant cycle opened, APF received more than 1,200 letters of intent and could fund only about 4% of full applications. The ready-to-scale solutions exist. Funding and partnership is what’s missing, and that’s where the Direct Action Corporate Alliance can step in.

We’re ready to help organizations stay accountable to their commitments: reporting back to donors and partners on what their support actually did, closing the loop on the promises we make in public, and sharing what we’ve accomplished, not only what we believe. 

The best communication strategy is having something real to share. 

When the words and the work are the same thing, “What did you actually do?” becomes the best (and easiest) story your organization has to tell.

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Learn more about the corporate alliance here – and take the first step beyond words and towards action by donating at the link below.

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