Why Video?
Video can be a costly and time consuming endeavor, so why should nonprofit organizations consider using video? It is one of the best ways to reach a broad audience and achieve results. Whether your target audience is donors, both corporate and individual, or promoting your organization's mission, video can do this effectively.
Every dollar counts when you're running a nonprofit. If you're trying to convince a room full of donors your organization is worth funding, what is your sales pitch? You can stand in front of the room and speak about your group's work or you can play a short video that shows them.
Video is great for grant applications and requests for funding from large corporations where decisions may be made without a member of your organization in the room. Your video can also live on social media and be viewable 24/7. YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram all allow you to share video.
A short video can also be used for annual board meetings and to showcase organizational programs to an internal and external audience. If your organization routinely trains volunteers or employees, video can be a cost effecive training tool that ensures every member receives the exact same training message.
Types of Videos
A general organizational overview is common and can have many uses. This type of video normally includes some interviews with key leadership and stakeholders and showcases footage that shows off the organizations mission. This is also sometimes achieved through photos, text motion graphics and voiceover.
In March, our team created a short video for the Veterans Heritage Project in Phoenix, Arizona. VHP is dedicated to preserving the stories of Veterans and their military service. You can view this video on YouTube. This is a great example of a short video that gets across the mission of this organization.
Video can also be used to showcase your organizations accomplishments. In January 2018, I was fortunate to work with Lucky Dog Animal Rescue to document and incredible air lift of animals from hurricane ravaged Puerto Rico. Thanks to a partnership with Southwest Airlines, we flew an empty Boeing 737 from Washington, D.C. to San Juan, Puerto Rico full of relief supplies. On the return trip, we flew back with more than sixty animals. A recap of this journey is on Vimeo. This footage was used by both Lucky Dog and Southwest to distribute to media outlets as well as use on social media. The video had more than 40,000 views on Lucky Dog's Facebook page.
Video will also elevate the quality of content presented at annual fundraising galas, annual meetings and award ceremonies. This year we produced a series of honoree videos for the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation. These videos showcased individuals and organizations receiving recognition.
How to Get started
The team at Creative Liquid has worked with organizations big and small. We are happy to start the conversation while you're in the early stages of planning a video. Here are a few things to consider when starting a video project.
- Who is the intended audience?
- Who are the stakeholders and decision makers and have they been consulted about the content of the video?
- How is the video being funded?
- What is the budget?
- When does the video need to be completed? (Do you have a large annual event?)
It's difficult to give anyone an exact budget for their video without knowing the scope of work, but if you have a $6,000-$10,000 budget you can easily achieve a great result. Videos can easily cost more, but if this is your first project with a video production firm, this budget will get you started. Contact our office if you'd like to learn more and start scoping out a video project, 703.459.9900 or Contact Us via email.
Photo Credit: Shelley Castle Photography