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As we all know, endowments are no longer enough to cover the necessary funding for academic institutions. But how do you raise those funds? 
You can send you an appeal, of course. But picture speak louder than words: and when they’re put together, you have the most convincing voice of all. In other words, when you want to raise money, video is your best friend.

Finding donors is only half the battle. You need a convincing way to encourage them to give as much as they can to your appeal. How?

• Show them what you do.
• Show them the need that you fill, the problem that you solve.
• Show them where their support will be going, and what a difference they can make.

How do you show them? Through a well-written, well-crafted, compelling video. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then imagine how much more a DVD could be in terms of reaching your target audience! Use it during a conference, a marketing presentation, an awards ceremony. Put it up on YouTube and do some viral marketing around it. Let the world see and hear what you do.

But there’s more to educational institutions than fund-raising! The second example below shows a video script for HR training at one of Harvard’s schools. 

I can help you tell your story. I’m a Yale-educated marketing expert and playwright providing compelling, moving scripts for nonprofits, academic institutions, and green corporate businesses.  I work with an expert best-in-class video company and together we can walk you through conception to final product.

Sample scripts:

• PINE HILL MANOR: A small, private college needed some help with an overview of its history and an announcement of where it plans to be going.

EXCERPT: Opening shots of the campus, voiceover

For almost one hundred years, Pine Manor College has been providing exceptional opportunities to exceptional young women, opening the world to them – and them to the world. 

(Show some old pictures here of the school, past graduates. The idea is to indicate some continuity between the past, the present, and the future.)

From its beginnings as a post-secondary division of Dana Hall School in 1911, to its current graduating classes at the associate’s, bachelor’s, and master’s levels, Pine Manor prepares women of promise for leadership roles in their communities, their workplaces, and their families.

(Bring in the president’s voice here as she articulates the mission of Pine Manor, drawing on its past to inform its future)

Pine Manor College is grounded in tradition and history, and the strength of its past informs its vision of the future. As the school moves into its second century, it is the legacy of past students, faculty, and benefactors that is defining and enabling its growth. We’re proud of our past: it’s what has created our present—and our future.

• HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT TRAINING VIDEO: 

EXCERPT:

Employee:  Hi, Janelle. Thanks for making this time for my performance review. 

Supervisor: You bet! Thanks for giving me your review ahead of time. If you can also take out your job description, we’ll have all the paperwork squared away here in front of us. I know this is the first time you’re getting a chance to look at my actual ratings, so we’ll talk some about that, too. 

Employee: (looking at papers) Yes, it looks like we have some differences.

Supervisor: And many things in common, too. Don’t forget we’ve been talking about most of this all along, so none of this should really come as a surprise to you. In fact, you can even look at this time as a summary of all the other meetings we’ve been having. Let’s take things one at a time, and maybe we can start with you picking one of the performance factors to look at…

NARRATOR: This is how the end of one PPR review cycle – and the beginning of the next one – starts out: with the employee making the appointment with his or her supervisor for the performance review.  

Now, let’s recap what’s already happened. The performance planning and review cycle began with a planning session, during which the employee and supervisor together set performance and development goals, and chose what to focus on. You then tracked this plan for progress and possible changes. In addition to the HMS core performance factors, you’ve put together other factors that contain the knowledge, skills, and behaviors needed to perform your job well. And you’ve been monitoring them. Now it’s time to review how you’ve done!

The most important thing for you to remember is this: if you’ve followed the process and communicated regularly with your supervisor and your colleagues, then there won’t be any surprises at the review meeting. Regularly taking your own notes about your performance throughout the process keeps you constantly aware of what you’re working toward, and how you’re doing. So now you’re prepared for your meeting!

Want to see more? Contact me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for portfolio samples and a conversation about what my compelling videos can do for your academic institution.

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Template for Video Production Briefs

Sample Videos