Your nonprofit's volunteers help at your events, organize your office, and perhaps even work virtually on grants and social media. They ask only to know that what they do makes a difference. What you might not realize about your volunteers, however, is that they are a source of great stories to help your organization spread your message and build support. After all, who better to talk about the great work you do than those who are so passionate about it, they help for free? But what's the best way to capture and share the stories of your volunteers? For the June 2013 Nonprofit Insights webinar, Toan Lam, creator and host of GoInspireGo.com (GIG), and Villy Wang, Founder, President and CEO of nonprofit organization BAYCAT, shared ideas for volunteer storytelling, specifically using video. Toan provided concrete tips that anyone can use to create poignant video stories, and Villy showed us how her organization has turned volunteer storytelling into an effective and impactful way to build support.

1. The Untapped Power of
Volunteer Stories
June 19, 2013
#vmlearn

2. Who are we?
2
#vmlearn
Toan Lam
Creator & Host
Go Inspire Go
@GoInspireGo
Goinspirego.com
Villy Wang
Founder, President, CEO
BAYCAT
@baycatSF
BAYCAT.org

4. Authentic stories + leverage social media = action
• Multimedia platform to tell stories of everyday heroes that inspire
action
• Action items at end of every video
• Over four years with 40-60 volunteers worldwide contributing
$500,000+ work
• Content sharing with HuffPost & Deepak Chopra’s Intent.com
About

5. Phoebe Food Bank
• Kindergartner starts campaign to collect aluminum cans – goal
$1,000
• Raises $3,700+ for 18,000 meals
• GIG creates video goes live

6. Phoebe:
• Video goes viral: 32,000 views
• Viewers contribute $20,200+ for
80,000 meals
• Tyson Chicken sees GIG video and
donates 15 tons (35,000 lbs) of chicken
for 150,000 meals
Effect
• GIG Creates Video #2
• Kindergartners replicate $3,500

7. Why Stories are Important
*Storytelling part of every culture
*Connects everyone
Why tell your story?
• Visibility
• Volunteers
• Funding

8. Find a Story
• Dig around within your org. and those you
serve
• Use Social Media Tools: FB/Twitter to
crowdsource story ideas
• Survey Monkey
• Doodle

9. Telling a Good Story: Basics
Structure of a compelling story:

10. Telling a Good Story: Elements
5 W’s and How!

11. Production Tips on how to create a
Compelling Video
• KISS – Keep it simple stupid
• Light the Way
• Can YOU hear Me Now?
• Steady Hands/Tripod/World is YOUR Tripod
• Hold shots for 15-20 secs.
• Variety of Shots
• See Dog, Say Dog

13. The
Wang
Bunch

15. Yet, she thinks her story doesn’t matter.

17. One Story at a Time.
Empower Youth. Transform
Communities.

20. Animation
Documentary
Filmmaking
Video Production
Music Production
Video Gaming and
Apps
Educates

21. Professional Critique
@ Pixar

22. Tiffany Jones
Speaking @ Yahoo! Worldwide

23. Employs

26. Entertains

28. Nick Quesada,
Junior
Columbia College
Film School
& His Parents

29. Jose Alfaro
BAYCAT Studio
Production Manager
Mentor
+ started as an intern
+ 1st to graduate from college

31. villywang@baycat.org
follow me @VillyWang
www.facebook.com/BAYCATS
F
www.baycat.org

32. Questions?
32
#vmlearn
Toan Lam
Creator & Host
Go Inspire Go
@GoInspireGo
Goinspirego.com
Villy Wang
Founder, President, CEO
BAYCAT
@baycatSF
BAYCAT.org

33. Next month: Being
Fearless with The Case
Foundation
http://learn.volunteermatch.org
#vmlearn