Episode 90: Video Storytelling for Nonprofit Growth

A Modern Nonprofit Podcast

Welcome to another episode of a Modern Nonprofit Podcast! Today we will focus on the conversation with Pat Taggart, Chief Creative with Sky Blue Creative. The firm Sky Blue Creative is in the business of helping both for profit and nonprofits tell their story and share their missions through video media. The Importance of Winning Hearts (& Donations) If you’ve ever been to a non profit fundraising event, hopefully it's been obvious to you what the organization stands for and how their event is raising money and awareness for their cause. Tosha, being in the industry as long as she has, likes to study the events she attends to identify what works and what doesn’t. Some questions she asks may Are they using print or video material? What stands out? What's unique? What’s different? How is the organization telling its impactful story compared to other organizations? All of these questions combine to help us understand if the organization is achieving the goal of expressing its mission at the said fundraising event. We also need to understand why being able to do this is so important, and that is exactly where Pat and Sky Blue Creative come into play. Pat says, ‘I think that you have a really wonderful opportunity when you’re doing great work in the world to make people feel your impact. And there’s a very big distinction between telling people about your impact and making them feel it. Wow, words of wisdom from Pat! This is exactly what he and his team achieve day in and day out. It sounds complex, but it’s actually pretty simple. Pat shares an experience working with a corporate for profit company that had an Employee Hardship Program. The program was designed to seek donations from employees, something like $1 a pay period, to go in a fund that would later support employees who had experienced any type of hardship. This could be as severe as a house fire, or maybe something less. Pat introduced the idea of interviewing those who had been selected to receive help from this program and ask them about their experience. Or to have them tell their story. Literally overnight, the fund participation increased nearly 400%. Why? Because Pat was able to help the organization feel the impact of the fund, not just tell them about it. Tosha and Pat close the conversation with a very important Q&A, “if you were a nonprofit leader, what should they be looking for when hiring a videographer to tell their story?” Understand their process A leader would not want to hire someone who is very scripted and attempts to treat the content like a feature film. Ultimately finding someone aligned with the philosophy of the organization so they understand the story is already there and it is their job to unearth it, not recreate it. Find a partner Some film makers may limit the amount of time editing or changes to the production, but Pat encourages the listeners to find a partner in someone so that at the end of the day the video will tell the organization’s story. Own your footage In other cases, there are content creators out there who will not allow the entity to own 100% of the raw footage in fear that they will find a different producer to make content with that footage. Pat tells the listeners that finding someone who does that right job, won’t need to worry about keeping the footage. So, long story short, own 100% of the raw footage and find a producer that allows for this. If you heard the podcast today and are interested in learning more or connecting with Pat, check out their website Sky Blue Creative or find him on LinkedIn. Please be sure to engage with the interview. Whether you enjoy listening to it, reading about it, or watching us on YouTube, make sure you review, share, and engage with A Modern Nonprofit Podcast. You can find Tosha and the Charity CFO team on Youtube or our website, thecharitycfo.com!