Fundraising Videos

Using Media to Tell a Story

Project Role: Producer, Editor

Tech Used: Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro

In 2019, the lovely folks at The Key2Free approached me about creating a story video for their fundraising gala. The Key2Free is an organization in Georgetown, TX committed to providing safe transition housing, education, and therapeutic care for human trafficking survivors. The previous year they had raised $40,000 at the gala, and they had some new initiatives that needed funds.

This video would need to serve the goal of bringing in at least $80,000 in donations at the event.

Primary Goals:

  • Tell the origin story of the organization using the founders.

  • Provide the audience with the face of a real survivor.

  • Communicate the primary fundraising need.

  • Compel the attendees to provide funding for the organization.

After months of development and testing, I landed on the utilization of the Storybrand Framework developed by Donald Miller:

  1. A Character

  2. Has a Problem

  3. And meets a Guide ( <— the brand)

  4. Who Gives them a Plan

  5. And Calls them to Action

  6. That Helps Them Avoid Failure

  7. And Ends in Success

On the evening of the gala, there was a silent auction before the event and an auction during the event. Both together had brought in roughly $40,000.

Immediately after playing the video at the event, the organizers did a “Paddles Up,” allowing attendees to give directly to the organization without getting anything in return.

The “Paddles Up” portion of the event brought in over $100,000.

Donation Total: $140,000

The event organizers were easily able to attribute the success of that portion of the gala directly to the video.

The following year, the organization planned to hold another fundraising gala but had to cancel the event due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

They were still in need of donations to stay open to serve the survivors they had in their system of rehabilitation, but without a gala, they had to rethink what was possible.

I was able to set up a live stream studio for their team to use to host a virtual fundraiser. They were able to engage with their audience and raise a little over $100,000 over the course of their broadcast.

Then in 2021, they were able to plan another gala, and they again asked me to create a video telling the story of another survivor.

With only five weeks before the gala, I planned, filmed, edited, and completed the video with a budget of $0.

That event brought in over $260,000.

Previous

Presentation Design
Next

Process Instructional Videos