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Animated fundraising videos on a nonprofit budget

A nonprofit video works best telling one person's story, then making one specific ask. Charities have powerful stories and small video budgets, and animation can tell a beneficiary's story with dignity, without filming people in vulnerable moments.

Make your first videoSee examples

The fundraising video shape

One person, not statistics. Show their situation, what your organisation did, and the change. Then one specific ask: £20 provides a week of meals. Animation protects the privacy of the person whose story it is.

Use real numbers from your own reports and keep claims accurate; donors and regulators expect it.

  • Tell stories without identifying people
  • Explain complex causes simply
  • Versions in community languages

Beyond fundraising

Volunteer recruitment, annual report highlights, awareness campaigns and thank-you videos for donors all work with the same tools.

Example: a 90-second appeal

Story, anonymised from your own case notes: Amina walks two hours a day for water; after a well is built in her village, she spends that time in school. Scenes: dawn walk, heavy containers, the well opening, a classroom. Ask: £25 helps keep a well running for a year, using a figure from your own budget. 90 seconds uses 3 credits.

Make it in the languages of your donors and communities; see languages.

Uses beyond fundraising

The same approach works across a charity's year.

  • Volunteer recruitment
  • Annual report highlights
  • Awareness campaigns
  • Thank-you videos for donors
  • Explaining services to the people you help

Telling a beneficiary's story with dignity

Ask permission before telling someone's story, even anonymised, and let them see the script if they want to. Show people as active, not helpless: the mother who organised her neighbours, not just the hardship she faced. Avoid images that reduce a person to their worst moment. Animation helps because no one has to be filmed, but the words still need the same care as a photograph.

Questions and answers

How do I make a charity fundraising video cheaply?

Write the story of one person you helped and your ask, and Motion2D animates it. Get started.

Can animation protect beneficiaries' privacy?

Yes. Characters represent people without showing their faces. Still get consent to share their story.

Can we use it for campaigns in several languages?

Yes, in 11 languages.

Should we tell donors the video is animated from a real story?

Yes. A line like based on a real story, names changed is honest and builds trust.

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Your next video starts with one sentence.

Type a topic. Motion2D researches it, writes it, draws it and voices it.

Get started