Beneficiary story for a donor report: a tailor’s workshop
Who wrote it
A livelihoods programme in the Bekaa Valley writes about one grant recipient for its newsletter. He agreed to the story with his name changed.
The writer and every detail about them are fictional.
What went into the template
- Who is the story about?
- Hassan (name changed), a tailor in his fifties living in the Bekaa Valley
- What did they agree to?
- Name changed
- Their situation before
- Had his own workshop in Homs for 20 years; left it in 2013; since then day work on farms when available, and small repairs at home on a borrowed machine
- What the project provided
- A $600 small-business grant and a four-day course on pricing and record-keeping (spring 2026)
- What changed
- Bought a used industrial sewing machine and a small solar battery; now repairs and alters uniforms for three schools nearby; pays his rent from his work most months; keeps a notebook of every order since the course and raised his prices for alterations after working out what each one cost him. He said: “People come to me now. I don’t go looking for work.”
The writer’s facts, as typed into the template’s form. The example uses nothing else.
The example
Beneficiary success story: Success story
Numbered notes in the margin explain each choice.
For twenty years, Hassan ran his own tailoring workshop in Homs.1 Since 2013, when he left it, he has taken day work on farms in the Bekaa Valley whenever it was available, and done small repairs at home on a borrowed sewing machine.
Before
Note 1: The story opens with his skill and experience. Readers meet a tradesman, not a victim.
In the spring of 2026 he received a $600 small-business grant and took part in a four-day course on pricing and record-keeping. He chose to spend the grant2 on a used industrial sewing machine and a small solar battery, so that he could work through power cuts3.
What the project provided, and his choice
Note 2: He is the subject of the verbs: he chose, he works, he raised his prices. The programme helps; he acts.
Note 3: The reason for his choice shows judgement, which pity stories leave out.
Today he repairs and alters school uniforms for three schools nearby. In most months, his work now pays the rent. Since the course he has kept a notebook of every order, and he raised his prices for alterations after working out what each one cost him4.
What changed
Note 4: A detail that links the course to a real change in how he works.
“People come to me now,”5 he says. “I don’t go looking for work.”
In his words
Note 5: His own words, which he agreed to share, close the story. No feelings are invented for him.
Structure
How it is built
Each part in order, with its share of the words.
Checklist
Before you send
Go through your own draft line by line.
Before and after
Common mistakes and how to fix them
Lines like these turn up in many drafts by Arabic speakers. Each fix keeps the meaning and changes only the English.
Hassan was a poor refugee who lost everything and was living in very bad conditions.
For twenty years, Hassan ran his own tailoring workshop in Homs.
Thanks to our project, Hassan’s life was saved and he is now very happy and grateful.
In most months, his work now pays the rent.
Please donate so we can help more people like Hassan.
“People come to me now,” he says. “I don’t go looking for work.”
Questions people ask
Do I need consent to share a beneficiary’s story?
Yes, informed consent for the story, the name (or a changed name), any photo and any quote, and the right to withdraw. Record what was agreed, and leave out any detail that could identify someone who asked not to be named.
How do I tell the story with dignity?
Make the person the one who acts and decides. Describe skills and choices, not only losses. Avoid “saved”, “rescued” and “grateful”, and never add feelings they did not express.
Can I improve a quote so it reads better in English?
Translate faithfully and keep the meaning; do not add to it. If you shorten a quote, check that it still says what the person meant, and ideally read it back to them.
Every writer in this library is fictional, and so is every detail about them. Universities and companies appear only as places someone applies to; the professors, papers and facts mentioned around them are invented for teaching. Use the examples to learn the moves, never as text to copy: committees notice, and your own facts are stronger.