How A Fundraising Video Can Be A Powerful Tool

A fundraising video is one of the most powerful tools you can use to make an emotional connection with potential donors, heighten awareness of your cause, and boost donations. A great fundraising video can go a long way toward making your fundraiser stand out. While a picture is worth a thousand words, a video can touch the hearts of your supporters and tell your story in a way images simply can’t. Fundraiser videos also give your crowdfunding fundraiser a chance to go viral, especially when combined with a great social media strategy.

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women being interviewed with video camera

You don’t have to be a pro or own an expensive video camera to capture and edit a high-quality video. Sure, if you’re well-versed in video or know someone who is, you’re one step ahead of the game. But if not, you can simply use your camera, smartphone, iPad, or computer camera. Follow the tips below to create one of the best campaign videos.

Enlist helpers

To boost the quality and creativity of your fundraising video, consider enlisting the help of friends with experience shooting and editing video, or college students who have honed their video skills.

Keep it stable

The best crowdfunding videos are filed using a tripod, monopod, or other stabilization method to avoid “shaky cam.”

Film horizontally

With phones, record your fundraising video horizontally rather than vertically. It makes for better playback on YouTube and other platforms.

Remember the lighting

Record in a well-lit room, or outdoors with the light behind the camera person and on the subject(s). Try to avoid direct sunlight on subjects’ faces—it can cause them to squint and create a visual “hotspot.”

Double check audio levels

Make sure you’re close enough to the subject to get good audio. For best audio quality, consider buying a wireless lapel mic that you can plug into your phone or camera and clip on to the subject’s shirt.

Focus on the rule of thirds

Don’t center your subjects. Instead, follow the rule of thirds; mentally divide the screen into a nine-square grid, and position them so their eyes are where the grid lines intersect.

Get everyone on the same page

Whether you or other people are the subject of the fundraising video, it’s best to have some sense of what will be discussed beforehand. Everyone should also have some general idea about the style of video you’re making.

Practice your lines

Use a script or outline and practice telling your story until it looks natural on video. Sometimes the first recording will look the most natural. Record your rehearsals so you can use them if they end up being the best versions.

Prep your interviewee

For interviews, prepare questions and go over them beforehand so the person answering the questions knows what’s coming.

Try an audio overlay

Use the audio of someone speaking with video of scenes taken elsewhere. When we’re seeing and hearing different things, it makes the video more engaging because our minds become involved in creating meaning.

Use graphics

Think about adding infographics like charts and other visual representations of data, or key numbers related to your story. These can be as simple as you drawing on a piece of paper or whiteboard as you speak, or as complex as animated graphics inserted using a video editing program.

Speak from the heart

Great fundraising videos are more about unique, human stories than production values. They should tell an honest, heartfelt story that resonates with donors and inspires them to contribute to the cause.

Focus on the beneficiary

Help viewers know the beneficiary. If possible, record the beneficiary at home, in the community, and/or with loved ones. Record family and friends speaking about their relationship with the beneficiary and what makes them so special.

Illustrate the need

Record subjects and scenes that communicate the beneficiary’s need for help.

Outline how you’ll use the funds

Be clear about how donations will make a huge difference for the beneficiary.

Be heartfelt

Don’t forget to ask for donations in a sincere way that creates a sense of urgency and action.

Edit for impact

Many smartphones have built-in basic editing capabilities. video editing software such as iMovie is more powerful and relatively easy to use.

Keep each fundraising video short and sweet

Videos of three minutes or less are ideal. You can always make more than one video.

Be creative and imaginative

Take photos or find compelling images that illustrate your story. These can be added to the video during editing in programs like iMovie.

Add music

Sound is half the value of the video. iMovie and GarageBand come with libraries of royalty-free music that you can use in your videos.

Make it personal

Include the beneficiary, nonprofit or cause’s name in your video title to make the video easily searchable. School fundraising videos can include all the students asking supporters for a call to action to help their organization or nonprofit.

Encourage action

Going along with making the nonprofit video personal. You should inspire viewers with a call to action and donate by featuring your fundraiser URL and campaign hashtag at the end of your fundraiser video.

Share your finished video

Post your video to YouTube and Facebook to tap into the power of social media by encouraging other people to share your video. You might be able to catch the eye of other people with your nonprofit video. You can even create a video for an organization you support or maybe multiple nonprofits. Then, that organization can use your content and share it on their platform.

Get inspired

Saving Mila

Mila was six years old when she was diagnosed with a rare, fatal disease called Batten Disease. Her parents Julia and Alek have dedicated themselves to finding a cure for their daughter, and when they started a GoFundMe to raise money for life-saving research, they included a heart-wrenching video that told their story. Most importantly, they communicated their love for Mila and how any family could go through what they’re going through, inspiring empathy in their audience.

Braden’s hearing aid Awareness

Braden is a typical elementary school kid, and he uses hearing aids to help with his hearing loss. When his dog accidentally chewed up a pair of his hearing aids, Braden learned that not all kids are as lucky as he was to get another pair quickly. That’s when he started a GoFundMe to help other children with hearing loss or impairment. His fundraiser included a short video that explained exactly why he was raising money and how much the cause meant to him—and he ended up receiving more than $80,000 in donations.