Students of Service
Amir Samandi stands with Audrie Torres, another student and Alex Gonzalez, right, in “Students of Service Overview.”
How can one video recruit students and win donors at the same time?
Deliverables One about-us video plus five shorter videos from the same shoots.
A reason to join. A reason to give. One video.
Students of Service, or SOS, is a San Antonio nonprofit that engages middle and high school students in community service and travel abroad. SOS asked us for one about-us video that could do four jobs: play at its gala, support fundraising, recruit students and engage donors.
Amir Samandi, founder and executive director, names the obstacle in the video: “I think the biggest misconception is that we take kids on vacation.” A video for donors had to answer that. So did a video for students.
What we made
The about-us video runs just over five minutes, and the people who know SOS best make the case. Amir opens with a question: “When’s the best time to plant a tree?” The answer is 30 years ago, so “there’s an urgency to what we’re doing.”
Students describe what changed for them. One says SOS turned “a shy, introverted sixth-grader” into what he likes to believe is a confident 12th-grader. Another realized she was helping people in her own community who might need the food bank or the diaper bank. A trip abroad is “a time to learn, time to grow,” and “We are exhausted on these trips.”
Donors speak to donors. Barbara Ankamah Burford, vice president of community relations at Wells Fargo, says she is “very, very proud that Wells Fargo would support SOS.” Samandi speaks to “donors like you,” and the last line goes to them: “Your generosity creates a ripple effect.” The video ends on a Support Our Work card with a QR code.
The same shoots fed five shorter videos. Christian Valerio’s alumni story credits an SOS scholarship trip with the confidence to apply to the University of Notre Dame, and he got in. A Citizen Diplomats program video follows departure day at the airport, where Samandi explains that these trips are educational, international experiences, not vacations. Three service videos: painting over graffiti, working with the San Antonio Food Bank at Haven for Hope and sorting backpacks at Family Service.
The result
SOS has put the about-us video to work in all four jobs: the gala, fundraising, recruiting and donors. Christian Valerio went on to join the SOS board as its first alumni liaison. Of the work, Amir Samandi says: “Their videography skills have elevated our outreach efforts, breathing life into our mission and inspiring others to join our cause.”
If you need one video to recruit and to raise money, ask for an about-us video with every version planned before the shoot. One shoot can give you the full video for your website, shorter cuts for social and footage for the next video.
How we work with nonprofits · Packages and pricing · One shoot: gala video, social cuts and grant material.
pixelreflex MEDIA’s videos have taken our organization’s profile to new heights, capturing the essence of SOS in captivating visual narratives.
The series
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