A key challenge in non-profit marketing is communicating the organization’s mission, vision, and accomplishments effectively.
With only 57% of Americans trusting non-profits, it’s a must for a nonprofit organization to build credibility and share the impact of its work (Independent Sector, “Trust in Nonprofits and Philanthropy”, 2024).
Video content can be a powerful tool for raising awareness and fostering long-term trust, helping deliver a message in a clear and engaging way.
This article explores the impact of video content on nonprofits. It shares tips on how to create a nonprofit video and explains the key stages of making a video for nonprofits.
Summary
- Strength of video in nonprofit narratives
- What makes your nonprofit videos stand out
- Making videos for nonprofit organizations: key stages
- Storytelling expertise for nonprofit videos
- How Blue Carrot can help your business
Strength of video in nonprofit narratives
Studies confirm the high effectiveness of video content on learning-related processes, including reduction of cognitive effort (R. Mayer ,“Cognitive Theory and the Design of Multimedia Instruction: An Example of the Two-Way Street Between Cognition and Instruction”, 2002) and increased attention (S. Alley, “Do personally tailored videos in a web-based physical activity intervention lead to higher attention and recall? An eye-tracking study”, 2014).
While not all non-profit videos are designed for educational purposes, a truly compelling video has the power to captivate, stir emotions, and etch the memory of a nonprofit organization and its mission into the minds of viewers.
Think about it: many people ignore flyers and text-based ads. It’s harder to evoke an emotion with just lines of text, especially at a time when ads from every media outlet surround us. At the same time, a vivid, eye-catching animation-style video combined with a captivating story, fitting music, and powerful messaging make it harder to stay indifferent.
In non-profit organizations, it’s stories that matter. So, why not use a video to help you tell one?
What makes your nonprofit videos stand out
We’ve created a collection of non-profit videos here at Blue Carrot. We’ve even made video content for the United Nations Development Program and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
👉 Let us share a few tips and tricks on how to make a nonprofit video thought-provoking and memorable:
- Pick a compelling story. A genuine and touching story is the backbone of any nonprofit video. Before moving on to visuals, picking a story that will resonate with viewers and convey the message is essential. Organizations can choose between different video types depending on their goals, including testimonials, campaigns, stories, explainers or fundraising videos.
- Create unique animations. Remember that visuals will catch the eye before a viewer can listen to the story. That’s why a vivid, stylish animation is a must. We recommend collaborating with professional animation studios and reviewing artists’ portfolios to choose the one whose style seems like a good match with the nonprofit’s overall branding and tone.
- Think about timing. It’s no secret that TikTok users rarely stick around for a 5-minute video. Before writing the video script, we always ask our clients which platform they plan to share the final video on. For short-form platforms like TikTok, Instagram Reels, or YouTube Shorts, we aim for a video length of 2 minutes or less. Even for YouTube and ads, keeping videos under 2 minutes is ideal unless an extended format is required, such as for an explainer video or a more detailed presentation.
- Keep it inclusive. To provoke an emotional response, create videos for nonprofits relatable to a broad audience. While viewers don’t need to share the exact struggles of the characters, ensuring your content resonates with people of all backgrounds is critical. By making the characters diverse, you allow more viewers to see themselves in the story. For example, children from different cultural or socioeconomic backgrounds may all have a favorite toy, but their clothing styles or experiences might differ.
Making videos for nonprofit organizations: key stages
Let’s look at the process behind creating nonprofit videos at Blue Carrot. This will give an idea of how to produce videos for nonprofits and what to expect when collaborating with a video production team.
📌 Preparation: strategy, brief, script
First, before writing the script, the video production team will fill in the brief based on the organization’s requirements and video parameters. They will likely ask about video types, like mission videos, explainers, etc.
The production company may also ask to think of the video’s purpose. Does the organization want to engage new members, share the results of their work, attract donors, or something else?
Based on these, the team can start working on a script that will outline the story scene-by-scene around the video’s central message. Usually, at Blue Carrot, clients get two rounds of reviews to adjust the script to best convey their message.
📌 Storyboard and voice-over development
Once the preparations are complete, the next step is making a storyboard. A storyboard is a set of frames representing the final look of the future video. Think of it as a rough sketch visually outlining each scene. At Blue Carrot, a client can ask for adjustments during the storyboard stage, as it is easy to tweak things.
Plus, if the video will feature a voice-over, it’s time to select an actor for a job. For non-profit videos, it is crucial to choose voice actors whose tone and intonation match the video mood and will be perceived as trustworthy by viewers.
📌 Style frame
Next, it’s time to bring in some colors. A production team can now work on a style frame. The designers take one sketch or shot and fully develop it as it would look — with all the characters fully drawn, backgrounds, and other elements. In this way, a client can understand what a final video will look like style-wise and can make minor adjustments to fit their vision.
📌 Illustration
If the client is happy with the final look of the style frame, the designers can proceed with all the illustrations. Depending on the project, those can be classical illustrations or models and locations if it’s a 3D video.
📌 Animation and sound production
The last step in making videos for nonprofit organizations is creating the animation for the video. This is done by turning illustrations or 3D models into video clips. It’s also when the production team adds audio, be it a voice-over, music, or both.
Storytelling expertise for nonprofit videos
Now that we have shared each step of creating nonprofit video content, let’s add a few tips from our experts on taking storytelling one level up.
✅ Adjust video to the chosen media platforms
95% of European NPOs regularly use social media to engage their supporters and donors, with 51% using Instagram and 39% using YouTube (Global NGO, Technology Report, 2019). To promote a video on social media, it’s important to remember that the user profile and content formats differ.
Remember that the video length, format, and editing style depend significantly on the platform. For example, longer videos compared to short animated movies are more suitable for YouTube, while Instagram and TikTok users prefer short, dynamic videos without intros. Subtitles are gaining traction on TikTok and Instagram as many users scroll their social media muted; keep that in mind, too.
✅ Focus on one purpose
It’s essential to choose one purpose for the video: highlighting the results of NGO work, raising awareness, inviting new members, encouraging them to make a donation, or more. A generic video with no goal apart from introducing an NGO likely won’t bring any desirable results.
An even better idea is to set reachable and measurable KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) for the video campaign, like the number of views, the sum raised in a fundraising campaign, new sign-ups for the newsletters, etc.
✅ Decide on narrative
While crafting a story for the video, it’s possible to choose between several narrative options:
- Linear when events in the video unfold sequentially, one by one. It’s a perfect choice for an explainer video.
- Non-linear without a strict sequence.
- The intersecting narrative combines several storylines and can work well for testimonial videos.
Plus, depending on the video type, the perspective of the story can differ too:
- A personal perspective tells a main character’s story through their own voice. It can be used for stories or testimonial videos.
- Historical documentary retells real stories based on evidence. This one is an excellent match for sharing the NGO’s work results.
- Instruction stories educate viewers about specific issues the nonprofit organization is working with.
The client makes these decisions to ensure clarity throughout the video-making process and to achieve the desired final results. At the same time, the video production team will provide guidance and recommendations to ensure the best approach is chosen.
✅ Develop the plot
A plot should be developed beforehand to tell a story coherently and engagingly. A well-structured story can captivate the viewer and make a clear point.
The plot will include all the characters, locations, and events in their order. The story must progress logically, showing how the characters’ actions and circumstances drive the narrative forward.
✅ Work on the characters
Consider making the characters, especially the main character, relatable for the viewers. A character that goes through the same life struggles and emotions as many viewers are more likely to evoke an emotion and motivate viewers to take the intended action.
✅ Give a sparkle of emotion
Emotion is fundamental in the creation of non-profit videos. Instead of listing the achievements of an organization or sharing plain numbers, adding a bit of emotion to the story can create a personal connection and convince viewers that what an NGO does makes a difference.
For example, a video can share a story of a single community member impacted by an NGO effort or a volunteer who dedicates their time to helping.
✅ Don’t forget a CTA
As important as crafting a beautiful, memorable story is, viewers need a hint as to what to do with the story just told. Good storytelling inspires people to take action, and it’s an NGO’s responsibility to offer a way to help. Don’t forget to add calls-to-action at the end of the videos with clear action that matches their goals and themes.
How Blue Carrot can help your business
We at Blue Carrot handled many nonprofit video projects and base our advice on hands-on experience. Let us share a few recent nonprofit video production examples to outline how the process and tips described above lead up to actual results.
One of our recent cases is an explainer video for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. This video focuses on the launch of the 2021 Humanitarian Response Plan, aiming to shed light on the challenges faced in eastern Ukraine and to inform viewers about the critical humanitarian aid needed by children, adults, and the elderly.
In this video, we used actual data and statistics to illustrate the severity of the situation in eastern Ukraine. Animated maps were used to show how events unfolded, like people evacuating from war-affected areas. These maps and statistics are interwoven with animations depicting how the described events took place, highlighting personal experiences like going through border controls in temporarily occupied territories. All of these elements of intersecting narrative come together in a “scrapbook of memories” from the main character, helping viewers form a deeper emotional connection with the story.
Another example of a nonprofit video production by Blue Carrot is a social issue explainer video about epilepsy. Blue Carrot’s goal for this video was to help Epilepsiforbundet raise awareness about epilepsy within Norway’s multicultural community. The narrative was based on five real stories of Epilepsiforbundet members, making the content relatable and empathetic.
In this explainer video for Epilepsiforbundet, we applied our previous advice on inclusivity by ensuring that the characters were diverse in their backgrounds, life circumstances, occupations, and hobbies. This approach made the video relatable to a broad audience, allowing viewers to find someone with whom they could connect.
Additionally, we localized the video into seven languages, including English, Arabic, Norwegian, and more, using voiceovers to ensure the message resonated with various cultural contexts without overloading the visuals with text.
The Blue Carrot team is ready to continue helping drive social change through touching and memorable animations.
🥕 Let’s create impactful stories together — we are open to new projects.
