Campaigning Engage Your Community Through Simple Video Content Marissa Norton Campaigning 9 mins read April 13, 2026 » Blog » Engage Your Community Through Simple Video Content Engage Your Community Through Simple Video Content - Table of Contents Show your donors what their support looks like Bring your programs to life for your community The humans behind the mission Your toolkit for low-budget video What to keep in mind Your next content moment is already happening If you work in nonprofit communications, you’ve probably heard it a hundred times: you need to be doing more video. And you’ve probably responded the same way every time, with a mix of agreement and quiet dread. Where’s the budget? Where’s the crew? Where’s the time? Here’s the good news: you don’t need any of that. Not really. For nonprofits, video works best when it does what your written reports and social posts are already trying to do: show your impact, build trust with donors, and make the people behind your mission feel real. The difference is that video does it faster, and with a level of emotional immediacy that text alone can’t match. Research indicates that organizations that utilize user-generated content have seen up to a 30% increase in donations. For a nonprofit, that’s liberating. It means your smartphone is a more powerful storytelling tool than a professional film crew. The problem isn’t a lack of resources. It’s what we might call “production paralysis,” the fear that anything less than a cinematic production will hurt your brand. In reality, the opposite is true. Authenticity is what builds the bridge between your donors and your cause. And the fastest way to be authentic is to just start recording. In this guide, we’ll walk through three kinds of video content that any nonprofit can start producing today: videos that show your donors the impact of their support, videos that bring your programs and events to life, and videos that introduce the people behind your mission. We’ll also cover the basic tools and principles you need to make it all happen on a tight budget. Show your donors what their support looks like Your annual report probably already tells your donors what you accomplished. But there’s a difference between reading that you served 5,000 families and seeing it. Video turns your impact metrics from abstract numbers into something visceral. This doesn’t require a big production. Take a look at how one Appalachian nonprofit turned their regional impact into a short, punchy TikTok that feels celebratory rather than corporate. Or how Healthy Planet Project transformed their 2023 impact report into a social-first video that invited their Bay Area community to share in the milestone. Neither of these needed a film crew. They needed someone with a phone and a story worth telling. If you have the budget for a bigger production, that’s wonderful. But some of the most compelling impact content is simply a person looking into a camera and telling you how an organization changed their life. The Douglas Foundation does this well on Instagram, capturing client testimonials (with consent, always) that speak directly to the viewer. These aren’t slick. They don’t need to be. They’re honest, and that’s what makes them land. Video also becomes a powerful mobilization tool when you’re running a specific campaign. Rather than just posting a donation link, you can use video storytelling to build momentum and make your supporters feel like they’re part of something collective. Kids Help Phone did exactly this in the lead-up to their Walk So Kids Can Talk campaign, using a series of short videos featuring real voices and real stories of hope. By the time the event arrived, their community wasn’t just donating; they were invested. Bring your programs to life for your community One of the biggest barriers for potential volunteers, donors, and even clients is simply not knowing what to expect. What does your office look like? What happens at your programs? Who will be there? Video can answer all of those questions in 30 seconds. The simplest version of this is a walk-through. Grab your phone, walk through your space, and narrate what people can find there. A Sacramento nonprofit did this with a casual site tour of their office, pointing out where people could access workshops, food boxes, baby bags, and more. It’s informal, it’s quick, and it immediately makes a physical space feel welcoming and accessible to someone who has never set foot inside. For events, the approach is even easier. You don’t need to plan content in advance. Just grab short clips throughout the day, pair them with some music in a tool like CapCut or Canva, and you’ve got yourself a reel that captures the energy of your community in action. These kinds of clips serve double duty: they’re a thank-you to the people who showed up and an invitation to the people who didn’t. You can also go a step further and use video to let your organizers and clients speak for themselves. Black Healing Centre does this on Instagram, featuring short interviews that promote upcoming activities while giving a real person’s perspective on why they matter. It’s a format that builds both awareness and trust at the same time. And when you’re ready to tie program visibility directly to fundraising, look at what Jack.org has done with their Jack Ride campaign. Their video strategy turns the fundraising ask into a shared experience. It doesn’t feel transactional. It feels like joining a movement. That’s the kind of shift video can create when you center your community rather than your ask. The humans behind the mission People give to people. They volunteer because of people. And one of the fastest ways to build trust with your audience is to let them see who is actually doing the work at your organization. Team member capsules are a great place to start. The format is straightforward: interview each staff member with a short, repeatable set of questions. Who are you? What do you do here? Why does this work matter to you? CASA Gaspesie uses a fun approach on Instagram, and it accomplishes two things at once. It gives team members a moment of recognition, and it gives the audience a human face to associate with the organization. Develop a simple template script, and you suddenly have a content series that can run for months. You can take the same idea in a more informal direction with “day in the life” content. The Canadian Courage Project posts reels that follow team members through their day, giving viewers an unscripted look at what the work actually involves. It’s not polished. It doesn’t need to be. The value is in the realness. And if your team is game to have a little fun, trending formats can be a surprisingly effective way to show personality while staying on mission. One childhood cancer nonprofit leaned into the “of course” trend on TikTok, poking fun at the reality of nonprofit life while still centering their cause. It’s goofy. It’s human. And it works because it shows that there are real people behind the logo who care deeply about what they do but don’t take themselves too seriously. Your toolkit for low-budget video You don’t need expensive equipment or software to start making good video. Here’s what actually matters: Editing:Canva and CapCut are both free or low-cost and built for 9:16 vertical video, which is the native format for Instagram Reels and TikTok. LightingNatural light from a window is your best friend. Position your subject facing the light source, not behind it. This one adjustment alone will make your footage look dramatically better. AudioThis is the one place worth spending a little money. A $20 lapel mic that plugs into your phone will make a bigger difference than any camera upgrade. Viewers will forgive a grainy image, but they will scroll right past bad audio. LengthKeep your clips between 15 and 60 seconds. Short videos have significantly higher completion rates on social platforms, and a finished 20-second clip is infinitely more valuable than a three-minute video you never get around to editing. CaptionsAlways add them. Over 80% of social media users watch video with the sound off. If your content doesn’t work on mute, you’re losing most of your audience before they ever hear what you have to say. Use an accessible font and colours. What to keep in mind Authenticity beats production value. This is not a platitude; it’s backed up by data and by the performance of every example linked in this guide. Raw, honest footage consistently outperforms polished ads because it feels more trustworthy. For a nonprofit, where trust is your most valuable currency, that matters enormously. Consistency matters more than perfection. One short video a week will do more for your community engagement than one beautifully produced film a year. The goal isn’t to create a masterpiece. It’s to create a habit. And finally: the content is already happening around you. Your next video is sitting in your program space, at your next event, or in the story your newest team member would tell if someone just pointed a camera at them and asked. Your next content moment is already happening You don’t need a bigger budget. You don’t need a production team. You don’t need to wait until everything is perfect. Pick one program, one team member, or one moment from your week. Record 30 seconds of it. Post it. See what happens. The ugly first draft is always better than no draft at all. And your community is already waiting to see the work you’re doing. All you have to do is show them. Which of your programs would your community feel most connected to if they could see it in action for 30 seconds today? 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