Video grabs viewers’ attention and brings stories to life, making it a perfect complement to your nonprofit’s fundraising campaigns. Whether you want to attract new donors, explain your campaign’s purpose, or thank supporters for their contributions, video helps you engage audiences by putting real faces to your work.

But to create a truly compelling video that drives online fundraising revenue and long-term impact for your nonprofit, you need to get creative. Let’s explore a few foundational ideas you can adapt or use as inspiration for your next campaign video.

1. Tell constituent stories.

Storytelling is one of the most direct ways to bring your mission to life. Your constituents’ stories demonstrate the real-life impact of the contributions that fuel your work, giving donors a better understanding of why their gifts matter. By telling stories in campaign videos, you’ll also help supporters feel more connected to your organization’s community on an emotional level.

Using ethical collection practices is key when gathering potential stories to include in your videos. Be sure to:

• Secure written permission to tell constituents’ stories: Even if you use your fundraising platform or donor database to identify supporters with compelling stories, you must get their permission before including them in your video. Reach out to each constituent to explain the purpose of telling their story, provide details on how you plan to use the video, and gain their permission. If they would rather remain anonymous, honor their request.
• Frame stories respectfully: Be careful not to paint your constituents (especially beneficiaries) as victims or present your organization as a savior. Rather, your constituents should be active participants in the story of overcoming your community’s challenges. Tell stories of collaboration and resilience to emphasize that your organization is driven by individuals coming together to better the community.
• Allow constituents to tell their stories in whatever format they choose: Not every beneficiary or volunteer with a story to tell will want to sit through a long-form interview. Encourage them to submit short-form testimonials in more accessible formats like selfie videos or written quotes instead! 

After collecting relevant stories, distill them into versions for various media. You might create short story clips for social media, longer testimonial videos for your website, and a promotional campaign video that features multiple stories followed by a fundraising appeal.

2. Demonstrate tangible social proof.

You can make your nonprofit’s storytelling even more powerful by incorporating hard data and social proof in your videos. Prospective donors want to know not only that your organization makes an impact but also that it’s backed by the support of trustworthy community members. When you provide social proof, you’ll convince new audiences that your campaign is worth contributing to.

Turn the camera inward to capture the thriving community of support that rallies around your mission. You might gather the following resources to include in your videos:

• Donor and volunteer testimonials
• Supporter quotes about specific programs
• Selfie videos about why donors believe in your organization
• Past fundraising metrics
• B-roll footage of volunteers at work
• Interviews with board members or major donors

These types of social proof are especially powerful when paired with peer-to-peer campaigns. Ask volunteer fundraisers to record their own clips explaining their relationship with your nonprofit and what it means to them. Or, challenge them to create viral video content related to your campaign. Either way, OneCause recommends using a peer-to-peer fundraising platform with personalization and gamification tools to easily engage supporters.

3. Provide deeper context about your mission and challenges.

Most promotional content about your campaigns has to stay short to be effective, but videos provide an opportunity to dive deeper. It’s hard to convince someone to read pages and pages of text about the challenges your organization combats when they’re not already invested. Video, however, is easy to consume and much more engaging. 

Consider using videos to give donors deeper dives into your nonprofit’s work. Along with supporting your campaign’s story, these types of explainer videos can draw audiences in and improve their connections to your cause:

• Documentary-style videos: Documentaries about the issues your community faces can help you spread awareness and convince audiences that those issues must be addressed. You might even show these videos at screening events or partner with other organizations to create them.
• Sit-downs with experts: Interview relevant professionals to give supporters more insight into your cause. For example, a wildlife preservation nonprofit might sit down with local environmental scientists to discuss your area’s changing ecosystems.
• Videos of compiled interviews: Gather short clips of constituents, donors, staff, and experts discussing your mission or a specific program. When compiled, viewers will get a more holistic view of your organization’s work and the people who make it happen.
• A short explanatory video series: Create several short videos to explain different concepts or issues relevant to your cause. Post these videos on social media or use them as drip campaigns to educate new supporters over time.

Any of these ideas can help you effectively promote your campaign to current and prospective donors alike. Current supporters will enjoy getting a closer look at your organization’s work while you pique the interests of new audiences with an affinity for your cause.

4. Create highlight reels from past campaigns, events, and projects.

Highlight reels give your audience a glimpse into your organization’s past achievements and imply that you’ll repeat that success in the future. This idea is similar to leveraging social proof but focuses on recording your activities rather than supporters’ voices.

Depending on the content, your videos could help you promote events, recruit volunteers, or increase donors’ investment in your campaign. For instance, videos that show the excitement of your last silent auction will encourage guests to RSVP this year to get in on the action. On the other hand, highlights from previous tree planting events could give new volunteers an idea of what to expect, lessening their anxieties and boosting the chances they follow through with volunteering. 

To create highlight reels, compile footage from fundraising events, volunteer outings, award ceremonies, and other organizational activities. This content can be extremely valuable to use across socials and your website. You might even share these clips with local publications or news stations to give your campaign a broader reach.

Gauging the success of your fundraising videos

No matter how you share your organization’s videos, be prepared to track and analyze key performance indicators (KPIs). You might track metrics like click-through rates, number of views, and organic traffic sources for your donation page to determine how successfully your videos drive action. Identify the strategies that work well so you can improve your fundraising videos with every campaign you run.