How to Make a Video That Doesn't Suck for Your Non-Profit

Choose any camera; your finished video hinges more on technique than gear. Prioritize a tripod mount and a microphone input, and borrow or use a budget option.

Use a tripod and automatic camera settings to capture steady footage for your non-profit, film lots of footage, and frame shots with the rule of thirds.

Capture abundant short five-second b-roll to enliven interviews and sustain attention for nonprofits. Film from odd angles, crop in close, and apply the rule of thirds to keep visuals engaging.

Learn basic video editing with the built-in Mac editor, compare it to Windows Movie Maker, and jump in quickly to tell your non-profit story.

There’s no magic formula for compelling video; apply Heath’s sticky guidelines—simple, unexpected, concrete, credible, emotional, and story—while keeping nonprofit intros under ninety seconds and avoiding numbers.

Distribute your video widely across YouTube, your website, emails to donors and volunteers, blogs, and Facebook, tag people to boost reach, and use analytics to refine your outreach.

Create concise nonprofit videos using a tripod, B-roll, and quiet interviews. Keep them under two minutes and post everywhere for maximum reach.