Small NGOs have tight budgets. Because they have limited resources, they need to be picky. Why should they invest in video? There are a handful of reasons. First, video can be used for everything from leadership meetings to galas to fundraisers. An NGO can integrate video in many areas of the organization and make it worth the cost. Videos can also be optimized for platforms like Facebook and play an essential role in social media marketing. The impact is measurable, as well, so an NGO can see exactly how much engagement and donations resulted from video content. Here are ten video production tools small NGOs can benefit from:
Lumen5
This video creation platform lets you produce content for ads, stories, and social media posts. Lumen5 aims to be accessible to anyone – including those without video production experience – so you don’t need to hire a specialist. How does it work? Lumen5 cuts down significantly on the video editing time thanks to machine learning. The word count in a scene determines its length, text is automatically moved off peoples’ faces, and a credit scene is generated. Lumen5 users also get access to a built-in media library with millions of stock photos, footage, and audio. This platform is perfect for small NGOs with limited time to produce and edit videos. Plans include a free Community tier (for casual users), Creator (for individuals), Premium, Business (which is perfect for NGOs wanting to grow their reach), and Enterprise. For more information on the nonprofit discount, contact Lumen5.
Animoto
Produce videos for social media marketing, presentations, email blasts, and more with this video creator. Features include a photo video maker, an online video editor, a professional music library, and a variety of templates such as a cause awareness campaign, community challenge, and fundraiser explainer. When you make your video, Animoto makes it easy to post to multiple social channels or save it on your computer. Pre-built storyboards and drag-and-drop features help you plan and create your video quickly even without past training. For more tips and resources, check out the social video marketing community on Facebook to hear from Animoto’s team of video experts. Registered nonprofits can apply for a special rate.
Adobe Creative Cloud Express
Adobe is the premier video production tool, but it can be expensive and tricky to use. Adobe Creative Cloud Express simplifies things for the non-professional. It’s an integrated suite of apps for mobile and web. If you want to use graphics and stories alongside video, Adobe Creative Cloud Express is a good all-in-one choice. Note the app is currently only available on iOS. From your phone, iPad, or the web, you can add and trim video clips, choose from over 1 million photos, and add or select a soundtrack. Adobe Creative Cloud Express automatically adds cinematic motion. Share across social media or embed into your NGO’s website/blog. To access everything about Adobe Creative Cloud Express, go with the Team tier and manage multiple users with one account. Adobe offers discounts for qualifying nonprofits.
Biteable
This accessible video creator offers users a host of footage, animations, and templates for NGOs. Whether you want to promote an event or add video content to your social media strategy, Biteable has the features you need. The platform even lets you make animated videos with a variety of templates like monthly update reports, graph scenes, yearly reports, speaker announcements, our values, and more. Biteable’s in-house studio creates all the cartoon characters, effects, and animation styles. Why use animation? Results show that viewers connect with the fun, bold colors and movement. Other popular templates for NGOs include environmental ads, fundraising event promos, and charity group infographics. Once your video is made, it’s easy to share it with all your social media channels. Biteable has three plan tiers. To access everything (including video analytics), NGOs should consider the Ultimate plan designed for professionals. We couldn’t find information about discounts.
Toonly
Toonly is an animated explainer video creator. These types of videos are shown to generate better results than other online sales mediums. NGOs can use animated explainers for fundraising campaigns, educational videos, and personalized donor recognition. Toonly is great for everyone – including those with no video experience – because it uses a click-and-drag design. You also get access to images made by Toonly’s graphic design team, which includes over 500 character images, 81 backgrounds and scenes, premade scenes, and hundreds of props. Add a voiceover, export a recording, or upload already-recorded audio. For your soundtrack, choose from 100 royalty-free tracks. When you’re done, you’re ready to export your video in a handful of resolutions, quality, and file sizes. It doesn’t appear that Toonly has a nonprofit discount. There’s a standard tier and an enterprise tier, which gives you access to everything. It is a desktop application.
Moovly
Used by millions, Moovly is a drag-and-drop video editor complete with media libraries and versatile tools. Customize each video to your NGO’s brand, whether you use footage-based content, motion graphics, or animations. Choose from templates like event promos, research reports, company overviews, and more. You can also start from scratch if you want. Add or upload photos and audio, transitions, animations, sound, and more. Other features include a text-to-voiceover converter, text animator, color remover, subtitles, translations, and more. With Moovly, it’s easy to build, store, and collaborate on your NGO’s video brand. The cloud-based application offers 50% discounts for qualifying NGOs on the Yearly Pro or Yearly Max subscriptions. Discounts also apply to Enterprise (a plan designed for internal communication videos), which requires a minimum of five subscriptions.
Promo
Video creator platform Promo offers a free annual basic plan to qualifying NGOs. They boast some impressive features, such as a library of 15+ million premium video clips, thousands of templates, royalty-free music, and an easy-to-use video editor. Every part of your videos are customizable. Add, trim, and remove clips, upload your own images and photos, edit text, add music, adjust fonts, and more. Other tools include a photo to video maker, social media calendar, an image resizer, video to GIF maker, and more. On the free basic plan, NGOs get 36 premium assets per year, 100 ready-made templates, unlimited video downloads, and no Promo watermark. This plan does not give you access to the social media calendar, reseller rights, or your own watermark. There are two other tiers – Annual Standard and Annual Pro – that offer access to more features. These options are better suited to NGOs wanting to focus on video content.
CauseVid
This simple video creator designed for nonprofits lets NGO workers produce unlimited personalized videos. It features easy mobile recording, custom-branded video sharing pages, and notification analytics. Collect HD videos from volunteers, staff, and board members to create content like testimonials, personalized thank yous, and peer-to-peer fundraising videos. This encourages collaboration and lets everyone connected to your NGO participate. Whether you want to use video for communication, fundraising, or both, CauseVid has the features you need. Three plans meet different needs and expectations. The Essentials plan, which offers custom branding, up to 3 users, and unlimited video emails, is best for development professionals and small teams who want to get started right away. The Plus and Premium plans allow for more people to help create the videos, more professional touches, and added integrations and analytics. CauseVid also offers custom solutions with video experts who can help with your project or take the lead.
Typito
Typito is packed with video templates in 50+ categories, such as events, travel, education, explainer, and motivational. There’s also a category specifically for nonprofits with templates for social fundraising ads, explainers, PSAs, and an educational presentation. Once you’ve chosen your template or decided you’re starting from scratch, you can add professional text effects, graphic overlays, music, and more. Choose from 600,000+ high-quality images and tools like an online Youtube cutter, video merger, add music to video, meme generator, and more. These tools make it easy to customize your video and optimize it for every social media channel, including Instagram and TikTok. If you’re new to video creation and feeling overwhelmed, Typito clearly explains how to use each tool. There’s also an easy-to-navigate help center with FAQs and tutorials. The platform offers a 50% discount on annual subscriptions for registered nonprofits.
VEED
If you’re a registered nonprofit, your NGO is eligible for a free VEED Pro account. VEED assesses NGOs on a case-by-case basis. What can you expect from this video creator? Features include an intro and outro movie maker ( which is a great way to create a consistent brand look for all your future videos), a lyric video maker, a meme maker, and a trailer maker. There’s also a wide variety of editing tools. You can add subtitles, music, and video filters. Other tools let you cut Youtube videos, remove background noise, merge videos, and much more. The Pro account gives you access to everything and is a great choice for larger teams who want more than just a simple video editor. Because VEED offers this tier for free to qualifying NGOs, it’s definitely a tool to consider.
