How to Translate Your Programs Into Compelling Videos
When High Water Women first came to us, the first thing they said was, “We want a video about our program.” We cringed a little bit. As we described in The Starter Guide to Non-Profit Video Storytelling, many non-profits fall into what we call “The Program Trap.” Their videos focus too much on what they do, instead of why they do it. Let’s be honest. Videos about programs end up putting people to sleep instead of making them feel something. We’ve learned that compelling, shareable, money raising videos are about people, not programs. more »
What’s this storytelling revolution all about?
A couple weeks ago, I was coming back from a meeting in midtown and I was in the Bryant Park subway station. As I looked around, I realized I was surrounded by stories. But not just the stories of the interesting people around me, but literally the word ‘story’ on ads all over the station. It is clear that we are in moment of heightened cultural awareness about the importance of storytelling. But later, reflecting on these ads, I began to wonder: Why is a larger awareness about the power more »
Video is the First Step, Not the Last
Your non-profit invests a couple thousand dollars into a video. You post it on facebook and your blog and then expect it to go viral. It doesn’t happen and your video gets maybe 200 hits. You’re bummed. All the hard work, and what to show for it? Too many nonprofits just put their video on one or two sites and hope it’ll be seen. Here’s some tips: Create a Distribution Plan Brainstorm with your staff and key supporters about who they have connections to. Find ways to be resourceful and far-reaching. more »
The Biggest Mistake (hands down) Non-Profits Make With Video
Yesterday, we started our discussion of the 3 biggest non-profit video mistakes by talking about the danger of eagerness without intentionality. But the biggest mistake is… 2. The Program Trap Creating engaging, sharable videos doesn’t seem to come naturally for most non-profits and I think I know why. Instead of highlighting naturally dynamic stories, non-profits tend to follow their first instinct when creating video. They represent their organization from their own point of view. I can’t tell you how many times we’ve been approached by non-profits who tell us they want a more »
Video: Why We Are Soft-Wired to Care
“Empathy is grounded in the acknowledgement of death, a celebration of life and rooting for each other to flourish and be.” This video by RSA animate (whose work inspired this video we recently made) features Jeremy Rifkin, political advisor and author, explaining what makes us homo empathicus. He says that we are soft wired for sociability, attachment, affection and companionship. It has a lot to do with mirror neurons, which we’ve talked about before. Because of mirror neurons, when I see another human experiencing an emotion- anger, frustration or joy- more »
How to Win Free Photography for your Non-Profit
We want to help your non-profit make your vision of the world a reality. In order to be successful, you need to help your supporters visualize your impact and emotionally connect with why you exist (i.e. the people you serve). But we recognize that we can’t possibly work with every organization that’s doing great work. To increase our impact and help more non-profits tell their story well, we partnered with CauseVox to write the Starter Guide to Nonprofit Video Storytelling. In it you’ll find tons of wisdom to help your non-profit create more »
