Non-profit

Narrative 4

Location:

New York, NY

Tax ID:

81-3268195

Tax-Exempt Status:

501(c)(3)

Budget (2017):

Revenue: $896,657
Expenses: $900,379
Assets: $50,000

Contact InfluenceWatch with suggested edits or tips for additional profiles.

Narrative 4 is a New York-based nonprofit that promotes the storytelling work of educators, artists, and students. 1 The organization was listed on billionaire and left-of-center philanthropist Mackenzie Scott’s list of 116 organizations driving change in July 2020. 2

Background

Narrative 4 was founded in 2012 by a group of writers and activists and describes itself as a global network of educators, students, and artists that use storytelling to build empathy and connections with high school students across the world. 3 The organization says it works in 18 states across the United States and in 16 countries spanning four continents. 4

Narrative 4 was founded by veteran nonprofit executive Lisa Consiglio and Irish author Colum McCann. 5 The Narrative 4 global headquarters is in New York City, and the group maintains a second office in Limerick, Ireland. 6 Narrative 4 supports various events across the world and holds an annual global summit. 7 8

The organization claims to focus on using storytelling to develop empathy and tolerance among high school students through peer-to-peer learning initiatives between students from very different cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds. This includes paring students from major metropolitan areas with students from very rural areas. 9

Story Exchange

The group established the Story Exchange program to help students develop in the arts and creativity. The exchange pairs individuals with one another to share a story that in some way defines them, and the organization claims to have facilitated thousands of exchanges around the world. 10

Through the program, one individual tells the other individual’s story by reading it in the first person. Narrative 4 claims that that the exchange of personal narratives can change the way people see themselves and the world, using the research as a foundation for the exchange initiative. 11

Narrative 4 have paired students from a Bronx high school with students from a rural Kentucky high school and students from a wealthy Connecticut high school with students from a high school in a low-income area of Chicago. 12

Narrative 4 has established partnerships between students across the United States and also in Canada, Colombia, France, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Mexico, South Africa, Rwanda, Tanzania, and the United Kingdom. 13 In 2018, the program reached 17,500 participants around the world with a partnership of 600 facilitators. 14

Aside from storytelling initiatives, Narrative 4 organizes the Empathy into Action program to promote grassroots community activism on environmentalism, interfaith communication, and immigration around the world. 15 16

A University of Chicago study of the program determined that 81% of student participants in the Story Exchange had an increase in empathy while 91% said their perspectives expanded. 17

Major Donors

In January 2021, NBC Universal included Narrative 4 among 10 “social impact” nonprofits to which it donated a total of $100 million in grants. 18 Jackie Bezos, president of the Bezos Family Foundation, is a major donor to Narrative 4. 19

Separately, Mackenzie Scott, the ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, included Narrative 4 among 116 organizations to which she contributed a total of $1.7 billion in July 2020. 20

Political Issues

McCann, an author and co-founder of Narrative 4, weighed into the Israel-Palestine conflict in 2020 with the book Apeirogon, the story of how one Israeli man and one Palestinian man forged a bond after both of their daughters were killed. 21 The organization has also set up conferences between adults on differing sides of major political issues, including immigration, gun control, and the Israel-Palestine conflict. 22

In 2016, Narrative 4 and New York Magazine sponsored a conference in New York on gun violence and brought people from across the country with differing perspectives on the gun control debate. In most cases, a Second Amendment activist or gun seller was paired up with a gun control activist or victim of a shooting for a conversation on gun control. 23

References

  1. Narrative 4. Idealist. Accessed January 15, 2021. https://www.idealist.org/en/nonprofit/fece4516073a45a1b437a45c4e5986fa-narrative-4-inc-new-york
  2. Scott, MacKenzie. “116 Organizations Driving Change.” Medium. July 28, 2020. Accessed January 16, 2021. https://mackenzie-scott.medium.com/116-organizations-driving-change-67354c6d733d
  3. Narrative 4. Colum McCann. Accessed January 15, 2021. http://colummccann.com/narrative-4-main-page/
  4. About. Narrative 4. Accessed January 15, 2021. https://narrative4.com/about/
  5. Narrative 4. LinkedIn. Accessed January 15, 2021. https://www.linkedin.com/company/narrative-4/
  6. About. Narrative 4. Accessed January 15, 2021. https://narrative4.com/about/
  7. Narrative 4. LinkedIn. Accessed January 15, 2021. https://www.linkedin.com/company/narrative-4/
  8. Narrative 4. Cause IQ. Accessed January 15, 2021. https://www.causeiq.com/organizations/narrative-4,813268195/
  9. Narrative 4. LinkedIn. Accessed January 15, 2021. https://www.linkedin.com/company/narrative-4/
  10. Narrative 4. LinkedIn. Accessed January 15, 2021. https://www.linkedin.com/company/narrative-4/
  11. Narrative 4. LinkedIn. Accessed January 15, 2021. https://www.linkedin.com/company/narrative-4/
  12. Narrative 4. LinkedIn. Accessed January 15, 2021. https://www.linkedin.com/company/narrative-4/
  13. Narrative 4. Charles Koch Foundation. Accessed January 15, 2021. https://www.charleskochfoundation.org/story/narrative-4-lisa-consiglio-profile/
  14. Narrative 4. Cause IQ. Accessed January 15, 2021. https://www.causeiq.com/organizations/narrative-4,813268195/
  15. Narrative 4. LinkedIn. Accessed January 15, 2021. https://www.linkedin.com/company/narrative-4/
  16. About. Narrative 4. Accessed January 15, 2021. https://narrative4.com/about/
  17. Narrative 4. Cause IQ. Accessed January 15, 2021. https://www.causeiq.com/organizations/narrative-4,813268195/
  18. Sun, Rebecca. “NBC Universal Awards Grants to 10 Social Impact Nonprofits.” Hollywood Reporter. January 12, 2021. Accessed January 16, 2021. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/nbcuniversal-awards-grants-to-10-social-impact-nonprofits-exclusive
  19. Epatko, Larisa. “The barrier-breaking power of learning someone else’s story.” PBS News Hour. July 13, 2017. Accessed January 16, 2021. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/barrier-breaking-power-learning-someone-elses-story
  20. Scott, MacKenzie. “116 Organizations Driving Change.” Medium. July 28, 2020. Accessed January 16, 2021. https://mackenzie-scott.medium.com/116-organizations-driving-change-67354c6d733d
  21. Davidson, Denise. “Author Colum McCann on politics and the art of peacemaking.” San Diego Union Tribune. March 8, 2020. Accessed January 16, 2021. https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/entertainment/books/story/2020-03-08/author-colum-mccann-on-politics-and-the-art-of-peacemaking
  22. Lussenhop, Jessica. “Can a life-swap exercise stop a community tearing itself in two?” BBC. May 3, 2017. Accessed January 16, 2021. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-39727185
  23. Miller, Lisa. “Can a Gun Victim and a Gun Advocate Change Each Other’s Minds? An Experiment in Empathy.” New York Magazine. December 2016. Accessed January 16, 2021. https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2016/12/gun-violence-radical-empathy.html?mid=nymag_press
  See an error? Let us know!

Nonprofit Information

  • Accounting Period: December - November
  • Tax Exemption Received: November 1, 2016

  • Available Filings

    Period Form Type Total revenue Total functional expenses Total assets (EOY) Total liabilities (EOY) Unrelated business income? Total contributions Program service revenue Investment income Comp. of current officers, directors, etc. Form 990
    2017 Dec Form 990 $896,657 $900,379 $50,000 $7,675 N $766,534 $130,123 $0 $0 PDF
    2016 Dec Form 990EZ $185,000 $138,953 $46,047 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 PDF

    Additional Filings (PDFs)

    Narrative 4

    45 West 73rd Street
    New York, NY 10023