When you’re running a nonprofit fundraising organization, you understand the problems facing the world better and want to bring about changes that usher in a brighter tomorrow.
However, like in any other industry, you still need the trust of your audience.
Because if you cannot win their trust, you cannot get them to convert into donors and pledge their support.
We live in a jaded, commercialized world.
People are cynical and skeptical—and for a good reason.
You need to offer more than slick marketing campaigns to win their hearts.
You need to give them hope and have them trust your organization.
Making an emotional connection with your audience will lead to more conversions and make you memorable in the long term, ensuring that they support your cause!
Like a for-profit business, you need an effective way to reach your audience.
And for that, you can harness the power of animated nonprofit video production.
A great example of animated nonprofit videos done right are these best animated Kickstarter videos and how you can fastrack your fundraising campaigns on Kickstarter using such videos.
Animated videos are an excellent way to simplify concepts, tell an emotionally engaging story, and engage people with your cause!
Not convinced yet?
A good style is often all you need to make a video engaging.
Being an audio-visual experience, the video easily hooks the viewer into watching for more than five seconds (where attention usually drops).
This has the advantage of being memorable even after the nonprofit video is over.
The advantage of animation is that you get to show exactly what you’re talking about.
You don’t have to worry about showing the grander scale of things or on-site filming.
Showing the viewers the consequences of the problem and solution is a powerful way to evoke an emotional response.
The freedom to use metaphors and dynamic text animation as you see fit is unparalleled when you use animation.
Humans inherently connect to stories.
Even a 90-second video can be memorable enough to leave a powerful impact on the viewer.
You can communicate the exact tone of your message without losing out on the main focus of your video.
Although every organization has its own requirements, there are a few key elements that your animated fundraising video must include:
Before you draft the storyboard for your next charity video, keep these few points in mind to ensure your video is at its fullest potential:
The first step you need to take before you set out to make an animated nonprofit video is to understand the demographics of your potential donors.
Knowing their common pain points can address their passions and concerns, reinforcing their trust in your organization.
Additionally, it helps you understand how to reach out to them more effectively.
In business, customers don’t buy what they don’t trust. It’s not much different in the world of fundraising, either.
Why would you donate to a charity you don’t trust or believe in?
However, by simplifying concepts, you can inform them better.
When they understand your offering, they are more likely to participate and donate.
Furthermore, if they trust you to educate them, they trust you with the solutions you provide.
People are overwhelmed by the number of companies and organizations trying to get their attention.
Standing out from the crowd isn’t enough. You need them to trust your organization when they want to see change and real action.
For this reason, being memorable is essential to your brand.
You can achieve this with storytelling that explains the facts and makes the audience care by building an emotional connection with them.
This builds trust and in turn, helps you drive more donation leads.
A well-written script and an engaging narrative performance can help the fundraising video reach new heights with memorable dialogues and imagery.
Check out 5 best fundraising videos and how they can supercharge your message!
Don’t be afraid to experiment with different styles and techniques of storytelling and animation.
The more creative you are, the more unique your brand is. And the consumers remember your name better.
Pick a style that best suits your brand or one that your audience engages with the most.
Try every style till you land on the one which feels just right.
Also see: 5 Animated NGO Videos by TED To Inspire Your Fundraising Campaign
This moody, film-noir-inspired 3d animation video by Plastic Change shows the horrors of pollution without outright showing it.
Although the premise of a jaded fish detective might sound absurd initially, the victims of these murders are shown to have met their fates through various kinds of plastic waste.
Without ever needing to state real-world facts, the video leaves a haunting emotional impact by animating the devastation careless pollution has caused the aquatic life.
The animation style is one of the best we have seen, with sharp visuals and horrifying imagery to convey the severity of the problem.
This fundraising video does differently stand out by incorporating its CTA into its video’s storyline, urging viewers to solve the “mystery” for these fish, making the video memorable and stand out better than its competitors.
HIAS shows us that you don’t always need flashing lights and vibrant colors to stay memorable.
This heartwarming video production for nonprofits leaves an emotional impact on the viewer, sure to stay long after the video is over.
The video traces back the history of HIAS for over 130 years, where they have helped refugees who no longer have a home in their homeland relocate.
Their video shows the dire circumstances these people have to face, but in the end, it gives us a glimmer of hope in the form of their long-standing service.
The video uses 2D animation with a limited color palette to have the brand’s art style be unique and somber narration to convey the emotional depth of the issue at hand.
This short 47-second video will lure you in with its fun colors, art, and premise, but that is exactly what makes their gut-punch of the issue they want to resolve even harder.
The Bliss Charity wants to help make more hugs possible for premature babies, and they hit just the right emotional notes to snap the viewer back into reality.
The art style catches the eye of the viewer, engaging them, and making them stay till they have conveyed their actual message.
The call-to-action acts as more motivation for the viewer to take the next step in helping them with their cause.
This nonprofit video content by Alzheimer’s Research UK is presented as a Christmas fable, making the issue of Alzheimer’s more relatable and bringing it closer to the viewer emotionally.
The video depicts the sad reality of dementia, and how it slowly affects people and the ones they care about.
However, with this 2d cartoon animation, they narrate a heartwarming story of how a girl’s compassion can help Santa find his way back into being his own self again.
The video ties in the Christmas spirit with the cause of further research into Alzheimer’s, which would allow more people to live their normal lives again.
Charity Water urges the viewer to believe in nonprofit organizations again and shows them how their goal of clean water can change millions of lives in every way.
The video makes the problem personal, showing how people who have access to clean water would have their daily lives crippled when met with a lack of it.
They convey how dire the circumstances are, where people walk for hours on end just to get water that is infected with typhoid and dysentery.
The 2D nonprofit animation wins trust and gives the viewer hope by showing how access to clean water can save these communities, and by telling them that they can see the change they make by donating to Charity Water.
Not enough examples? Check out our best nonprofit videos blog!
Your audience today might be jaded from the overwhelming noise of the internet, but your organization can help get them to care again.
With animated nonprofit video production, you not only have the power to engage and educate, but you also have the power to change the lives of millions worldwide!