How to Create a Powerful Nonprofit Gala Video That Inspires Donations

We’ve been working with nonprofits for years to create impactful videos to play during their galas and fundraisers. We understand the importance and pressure of getting these videos just right: money is on the line! You’re looking for a video that’s going to connect with the people in the room and compel them to support your mission. How do you decide what the video is about? How do you choose who to interview? How do you balance the video’s runtime and the entire event program? We’re going to go through some of our tips here, plus one real-life example at the end, so make sure you scroll all the way through! 

WHO SHOULD BE IN THE VIDEO?

Recently, I’ve been reflecting on a lesson I learned way back in college from my professor, Craig Schaefer. He always told us students, “Stories are about people!!” Anytime we’d pitch a video idea, he’d go back to that principle. Who is this story about? How can we feature “real” people? That’s our guiding principle when we’re making a gala video. We believe a strong gala video will feature people impacted by your mission. While it can be important to interview staff or board members to fill in some of the organizational facts or knowledge gaps, the heart of the story should be about the real people. 

We know it can be difficult to pick just one person to feature because your organization likely supports and helps so many amazing people! But we really think telling one person’s story in depth is very impactful. You should lean on your staff to help you brainstorm who might be a good fit. 

WHAT SHOULD THE VIDEO BE ABOUT?

We already know that the video should feature a real person impacted by your mission. But what should they talk about? Take a look at the theme of your gala. Are you highlighting a specific program within your organization? Maybe you’re focusing on larger themes like “rebuilding” or “legacy.” Think of what story might compliment the overall theme. Again, lean on staff across the organization to help you identify whose story might be a good fit. 

When it comes time to interview the person, an expert-guided interview is key. You want the person to feel comfortable, so keep things conversational. It shouldn't feel like an interrogation. Ask questions, listen to responses, and ask follow-up questions. Go where the person takes you. And when there's emotion, let it play out. Those are the most powerful moments.

In our experience, a video that tries to talk about all of the different services your organization offers isn’t going to be impactful. That information should be shared leading up to the event, in the program on each person’s seat, or during the program. Creating a video for a gala that only features this factual information is a waste of precious program time. Once again, we believe the video should be about those impacted by your work. It’s a chance to show your mission in action!

HOW LONG SHOULD THE VIDEO BE?

We understand the need to consider the program length. You have multiple speakers, a lot of information to get through, and the video to play. However, we’d resist the urge to “save time” by cutting the video short. 

We all know people have shorter attention spans nowadays. However, your gala is the one time you can guarantee that people will watch your video from start to finish! They have no other choice. It’s a completely captive audience, so let your story play out. We’re not saying your video should be eight minutes long, but a well-done, three to four minute video won’t feel long at all. 

You also want to respect the people who shared their story for the video. One of the ways you can do that is by giving it the time it deserves. You don’t want to condense everything down to just 90 seconds. Give them the time their story deserves and the video will be better off for it! 

When you give a story the time it deserves, it can pay off with a really big reaction from the audience, which only fuels the energy for your paddle raise or live auction. Let your video be a mic drop moment! 

ONE MILLION DEGREES: SHIRLEY’S DEFINING MOMENT

In 2023, we worked on a video for the One Million Degrees gala that featured one of their amazing Scholars: Shirley Doss-Williams. She was a non-traditional student attending Kennedy-King College. OMD staff knew that Shirley had an amazing story of resilience to share and we were able to focus entirely on her for the gala video. Shirley shared how OMD helped her throughout college and why she wanted to return in the first place. She said it was the death of three relatives that motivated her to return to school. Shirley shared her struggles and how she hopes to run for office in the city to make a difference. 

When the video played during the Degrees of Impact Gala, the audience was completely captivated by Shirley’s story. At the end of the video, there was a standing ovation. Newly-elected Mayor Brandon Johnson was in attendance and met Shirley that evening. It was a stand out moment that really felt special. Jessica Douglas, Manager of Marketing and Communication for OMD, said:

“Shirley's video was one of the first we produced after returning to in-person galas post-COVID, and it moved the room in a way I'll never forget. When the lights came up, she received a standing ovation. You could feel what it meant to her, being seen, celebrated, and reminded that she had a program in her corner from day one. That emotion carried into the paddle raise that followed, which became one of the most successful moments of the night. People still ask about Shirley, and it's no wonder. A nontraditional scholar who went back to school in her 60s, graduated, and is now pursuing her bachelor's while showing up as a neighborhood activist, her story is the kind that stays with you long after the room empties out.”

Watch Shirley’s video below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEtiT5FBvcE

We absolutely love making gala videos for our nonprofit clients. Our goal each time is to collaborate with each team to determine what’s important to your nonprofit, what messages you are trying to convey, and how we can best do that. We love it when we’re able to really dig into a heartfelt and sincere message by featuring someone impacted by your mission. We think you’ll love the outcome when you lean into that direction.