5 Thank You Video Examples to Inspire Your Nonprofit

Videos continue to be one of the most powerful marketing tools to make an emotional impact on your donors, which makes them an especially effective format through which to thank them. A direct, face-to-face message can make a lasting impression that encourages someone to give or fundraise again. 

You can create thank you videos for both individuals and groups of donors. They can vary from quick self-recorded messages of your executive director speaking directly to the camera, to professionally edited end-of-year recaps highlighting everything your donors made possible. In this post, we’ll review five creative thank you video examples that you can incorporate into your donor stewardship strategy.

Download Now: The Digital Marketing Checklist

1. Highlight Your Impact in a Newsletter

One way to say thank you is to show your donors how you’re serving the community. You can create a video that highlights specific success stories and data to show your impact. In doing so, you show your donors exactly why you’re grateful for their support.

You can embed a video message highlighting your work in one of your email newsletters, alongside text thanking donors for what they’re allowing you to accomplish.

Feeding San Diego included a one-minute video in their newsletter highlighting a large-scale food distribution event they hosted for the hospitality industry during COVID-19. In the video, donors get to hear from both staff and people receiving services at the event. This thank you shows donors how they’ve helped the community during a particularly challenging time.

2. Record a Personal Message for Your Recurring Donors

Video messages are a great way to personally thank your loyal recurring donors and reiterate the importance of their commitment. Send personalized videos to individual members of this donor group, or create a recorded thank you to the recurring donor community as a whole. You can include the latter on your campaign page or incorporate it into personalized emails.

Keep in mind these personal thank you messages don’t need to be professionally edited. Rather, they can be simple and direct. Have your founder or another executive-level staff member record the message. They can say hello to the donors, welcome them to your recurring donor community or acknowledge their ongoing investment, and express their gratitude.

In your video thank you, tell your donors what their recurring gifts have helped you accomplish, but also make some space to tell them that you’re thinking about them and care about them as individuals. Especially following a challenging year like 2020, this adds an important personal touch to the message.

Blink Now had a staff member say hello “to our Roots family,” which is what the nonprofit calls its recurring donor group, in a two-minute self-recorded video message. The message is personal and focuses on how the donors’ monthly support has gotten the nonprofit through difficult times.

3. Send a Short Personal Thank You to an Individual Donor

In addition to creating a group message for recurring donors, Blink Now staff have also recorded thank yous to individuals. These can be brief, even under just 30 seconds, and don’t need editing. You can think of them as a quick message you might send to a family member or friend.

What’s great about these messages is they are simple to do, don’t take much time, and are a super personal way to connect with a donor. Through them, you put a friendly face to your organization and connect with donors by addressing them by their first name. This helps them see that you recognize their individual contribution and that their help makes a difference.

In the example below, a Blink Now staff member speaks directly to Rachele, one of the nonprofit’s recurring donors. She thanks Rachele for her support, shares how it makes a difference, and, given the time of year, wishes her happy holidays.

4. Incorporate Multiple Staff Members

Another creative way to thank donors through video is to incorporate multiple staff members into the message. This gives donors a look at the culture of your nonprofit and the many people dedicated to making your mission a reality.

Different staff members from different departments can highlight specific reasons why they’re thankful for donors’ support. They can share stories from the programs they manage, report data on how they’ve achieved a particular goal, or explain how the work has impacted them personally.

In the example below, The Nature Conservancy incorporates quick messages from its staff from around the world. Each staff member starts their video message saying, “Thanks to you,” and then follows up with what they accomplished for the nonprofit that year in the country where they live.

5. Incorporate a Message With Your Campaign

Thank you videos can also be effective additions to your latest campaign. You can use a short video message to thank donors for what they’ve helped you accomplish in the past before explaining how this latest campaign will allow you to do even more.

Blink Now created a video message for its Giving Tuesday campaign, and included it directly beneath the donate button. This offered a way to recap the year that was coming to a close while sharing what the nonprofit looked forward to accomplishing in the coming year.

Use Video to Creatively Thank and Connect With Your Donors

Video messages offer a personal touch to thanking your donors for their support. Whether recorded as group messages or to individuals, they are a creative way to connect with your supporters and highlight your work.