Digital Storytelling with Video
"Stories are the best way to convey information, ... the best way for people to remember things, ... the best way to get to people's hearts and make them take action."
— Roger Burks on Storytelling
How to Tell Your Story
Tell stories through the voices of the people you serve, and/or your staff/members/volunteers. Check out these 7 Guidelines for Telling Your Organization’s Story and learn more about the Art and Strategy of Storytelling.
Plan - So you're ready to make a video for your organization. If you're planning to upload it to YouTube, remember to make it no more than ten minutes long. You may want to use storyboarding to plan your video. Check out these production planning tips from See3, and this post from Idealware: Creating a video? A few things to consider before you shoot.
Learn More: Webinars, articles and slidedecks
- Video Storytelling for Nonprofits - This slide deck from See3 Communications covers how to approach video, making a plan, the different types of video storytelling, and four things you can do right now to get started. See slides 12 and 13 for important questions to ask before making your video.
- See3's Guide to Online Video - A YouTube playlist of short videos about making videos.
- How to Create a Digital Story (archived TechSoup webinar) - Includes the recorded webinar, powerpoint, a storyboarding worksheet, and a video release form. See also Tools for Digital Storytelling, or check out more of TechSoup's storytelling webinars under the "Outreach and Marketing" category.
- How Nonprofits Can Use Video to Fundraise
- Web Video Worth Watching: - A veteran director offers five tips for improving the videos on your website
- Viral Video for Nonprofits - A Rethinking
- YouTube & Flip: Nonprofit Videos - A recorded session from the Case Foundation.
- Activating Your YouTube Audience - Recording and links from an NTEN presentation by Ramya Raghavan of YouTube. See also 5 Ways Non-Profits Can Increase Engagement With YouTube - this Mashable post by Geoff Livingston summarizes the advice from Ramya's presentation.
- YouTube for Nonprofits Webinar
- Social Media Monday webshop: YouTube
Get Support: Programs to take advantage of
- TechSoup Flip Video Discount Program - Get two Flip Ultras and a tripod for an admin fee of $175 (retail value $315).
- YouTube Nonprofit Program - Program benefits include premium branding capabilities, increased uploading capacity, donation collection via Google Checkout, and other benefits. Lag times for finding out if you have been accepted can be long - sometimes over a month.
- Lights. Camera. Help. - Their new volunteer match program connects filmmakers with nonprofits.
- YouTube Video Volunteers - Each month, the channel features a different relevant issue and invites filmmakers and vloggers to submit a video on behalf of an organization working on that issue. The top three videos are featured on the YouTube homepage.
Get Inspired: See examples and discuss further
- DoGooder Nonprofit Video Awards
- Agent Change: YouTube's Nonprofits Vlog - Features great nonprofit videos - get ideas for storytelling here!
- Need Some Inspiration To Video Blog? Look no further ...
- Video that's made an impact (TechSoup forum thread)
- Free vs. Paid Video Tools (TechSoup forum thread)
