From nonprofit storytelling to identifying your ideal donors, this guide to fundraising videos will help you personalize a strategy to increase donations for your cause.

If you’re reading this, you’re most likely looking to get more out of your fundraising efforts. Whether it’s for a nonprofit, charity, or for-profit company, fundraising videos are a fantastic way to bring your donations to a new level. In fact, Indiegogo reports that campaigns raise four times more funds when they include a video than those that don’t.¹ So, it’s clear that donors love to see who and what they’re contributing to, but an average “ask” video or unfocused distribution approach won’t get you there.

A great fundraising video shows the details of your mission and communicates your initiatives in a way that brings your campaign to life and relates with your target donors. We put together a list of suggestions below to help you create such a video. It will take some time and effort on your part but get ready to see a great return for the hard work. Let’s jump in.

How to Create Fundraising Videos that Will Scale Your Donations:

• Who are You & What’s Your Story?

• Be Real & Honest

• Who are Your Donors?

• Distribution Strategy

• Make it Quality, Keep it Short

• The Ask

Who are you & What’s your story?

It’s important that you introduce who you are and your mission because it may be the first time your viewer is learning about you. Additionally, let your viewers know why they should care about who you are and what you’re doing. Think about the following questions and write out your answers:

• What are you doing that matters?

• Why?

• What makes your organization different or special?

• If you’re are fundraising for a specific campaign, what are the details?

These questions will often spark your story! Visual storytelling is one of the best devices in video production because it’s attention-grabbing and sparks emotion in your viewers. Facts and stats can only get you so far, whereas storytelling helps people to remember and relate to your organization. Moreover, just using a talking head to introduce yourself and tell your story is not memorable or interesting enough to keep viewers watching. Get creative, SHOW your story and mission, and be authentically you! If you’re not technically prepared for this, consider hiring a video production company to help you tell your story in a unique and standout way.

Be Real & Honest

Your donors are real people, and you should talk to them that way. Using industry jargon or formal verbiage creates a disconnect between you and the audience. Anything that seems clunky or wordy probably is. Be concise and clear. In addition, don’t fear that speaking casually will come across as unprofessional. Instead, it makes you more relatable and trustworthy.

Honesty is key! Not only will it get you that initial donation but can build the trust to capture recurring donations and future campaign supporters. This is especially important for nonprofit organizations.

Many nonprofit organizations aim to solve a problem, but nonprofits exist in the first place because our society has yet to figure out the solution. In truth, your next contribution won’t completely resolve the overarching issue your organization is aimed at. There’s a really great interview with bestselling author and entrepreneur Seth Godin where he talks about this.

In it, Godin explains that we need nonprofits to be like scientists applying a series of steps to a problem until the problem is solved. And therefore, emphasizes that nonprofits shouldn’t make promises that their donations will solve the problem.² Confidently let your donors know that they are going down this path with you. Be honest about the bigger picture, and trust that people who believe in the same causes you do will invest in those working towards real solutions.

Who Are Your Donors?

Identifying your ideal donor is arguably the most important aspect to create effective fundraising videos. People are more likely to contribute to causes and missions that appeal to them, and through thoughtful consideration of who your ideal donors are you’re more likely to create a video that deeply resonates with them. Instead of persuading random viewers to donate to your organization or campaign, you’re taking the time to learn about the people who would LOVE to donate to your cause. This point leans into distribution strategy as well (we’ll talk about that next).

Businesses do this to enhance their marketing efforts and often refer to it as an ideal customer profile or personas. However, there’s sort of an advantage for nonprofit organizations and charities because they often relate much more to their donors than a business might with their customers.

If you put yourself in the shoes of your potential donors, then you can speak to them with candor.

Your viewer needs to feel like you’re speaking directly to them, like you’re reading their mind. So, really, who are they and how do you come to know them so well? Take the time to answer the following questions about your ideal donor:  

• How old are they?

• What do they do for a living?

• What are their interests and how do they express those interests?

• What are their fears? Values? Goals?

• What Facebook groups are they in?

• What social media accounts do they follow? 

• Do they volunteer or participate in certain programs?

Get as detailed as you can when answering these questions. The more you can put yourself in your donors’ shoes, the better. You may be thinking, “My donors or contributors are an array of people. How can I narrow them down into a single person? Won’t I leave people out?” No. Getting this personal about your ideal donor who would be thrilled to contribute to your cause will inform your communication strategy. And in the end, the right people will want to donate to your mission if what you’re saying deeply resonates with their interests and values.

Distribution Strategy

Have you ever posted online only to get crickets? Nothing is worse than investing your time and resources in content that gets little to no attention. One of the keys to more engagement is a distribution strategy that values quality over quantity. In that same interview with Godin, he talks about the importance of organizing groups who “want to hear from you and each other.” Rather than blasting your messaging to a slew of people in irrelevant spaces, share it specifically with the people who care about your cause.

When you distribute your video wisely and spread your mission to those who want to hear it, Godin says that it becomes a “privilege” for them to donate. Again, people want to invest in the communities that resonate with their interests and values.

You can discover these like-minded, communal spaces through the exploring and research you do while identifying your ideal donor. Consider organizing your own community as well, especially if the ones out there aren’t as focused on the specific mission of your organization or company.

Make it Quality, Keep it Short

We talk a lot about the importance of quality in video content because it’s often the first thing people notice when they start a video. A high-quality video quickly conveys your professionalism and fosters trust in your viewers.

So, what do we mean when we say high-quality video? The main points to hit are a crisp picture, clean audio, and good lighting. If you choose to produce your videos in-house, there are certainly some great guides out there that detail the essential equipment and tips for DIY video production. However, there’s real expertise that goes into a professional-looking video. By hiring a skilled video production company your fundraising video is guaranteed to look much more elevated and impress your viewers. Again, this helps build your image as an organization or charity and instills confidence in people who want to donate to your cause.

Length is a crucial element in holding your viewers’ attention. Fundraising videos should really be no longer than two minutes. The viewership and engagement on short videos tend to be much higher than long-form content. So first, consider how you can begin with an interesting hook that draws in your views (this tends to get developed while drafting your nonprofit’s story). Brainstorm and storyboard with your production team to make sure these two minutes really count. It’s extremely important to ensure your audience watches until the end because they need to get to your call to action (the ask) to make that donation.

The Ask

In the end, every fundraising video must conclude with a call to action – the ask. It’s best to be direct about the amount you’re asking for and to give an action cue, such as “click the link to donate x amount.” You can source your ask from your mission: why do you need donations and where will they go? Remember to be honest and genuine about the details. Finally, keep in mind that you’ll be speaking to people who care about the same causes if you follow the tips on identifying your donors and distribution strategy. These are your people, like-minded people — you got this!

  We hope our guide to fundraising videos has you feeling excited and confident about telling your story, connecting with your community, and getting more donations for your cause. Noble Bison Productions is dedicated to all of our clients’ success. We’re here to help! Click the link below to ask questions or get a free estimate on your next video project:

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References

¹ New research Study: 7 stats from 100,000 crowdfunding campaigns. (n.d.). Retrieved April 01, 2021, from https://go.indiegogo.com/blog/2015/10/crowdfunding-statistics-trends-infographic.html

² Eisenstein, A. (2015, May 13). Seth Godin on successful fundraising - Ask the Fundraising Expert. Retrieved April 01, 2021, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qsnap5Oh8S8