(4/14/25) While my previous posts have generally come from questions that have come up during my interviewing over the past few months, I’m taking license with this one which came from a recent board meeting. The organization – of which I am a longtime board member – is lagging in a multi-million-dollar capital campaign. There was a lot of conversation about how the organization’s development team could better market the campaign to potential donors. A comment was made, “even if you shot a video on your phone to show when you’re doing donor presentations…”

I absolutely understood the good intentions behind the comment from my fellow board member, but after 15 years of providing video content for all ranges and budgets of best-in-class clients (including countless not-for-profits), I came up with a key foundational consideration in determining when to invest in professional video.

➡️ What is the intended longevity of the video? If, for example, it’s a social media short, phone away! The quality and tools for editing have improved greatly. 

➡️ But if this video is going to be used for an extended period, across multiple platforms, will likely be used/shown/posted over and over to different audiences (think in this case, numerous potential donors to the capital campaign), and/or have a permanent home like a website, make the investment into professionally produced content.

Ultimately, my pushback was that the quality of the video needs to reflect the quality of the capital campaign’s investment. A professional video would show the organization is invested in the ask and not just (wait for it) phoning it in.

I remember meeting with a cosmetic surgeon some time ago about producing video. He had done a lot of his own video using his phone. Framing and composition were distracting, editing was rough, and the sound and lighting were horrible. I made the point, if I’m a potential patient who is going to spend thousands of dollars on an aesthetic procedure with you, shouldn’t the videos on your website reflect a high commitment to quality and aesthetic presentation?