How charities and not-for-profits can benefit from animated video: 4 emotive examples

We’ve all heard the saying - a picture is worth a thousand words - but what happens when that picture moves, and speaks, and animates to tell a full story? Let’s all agree that the word count would be limitless! So what happens when you’re a not-for-profit or charity and have a message that’s unique to your purpose and cause? This is where video can be such an effective tool to help overcome one of the most common challenges: increasing awareness.

To put the cherry on top of it all, videos are incredibly versatile and can be used as an engagement tool on your website, within emails, on your social platforms - even used as an advertising tool online or on TV. In this blog post, we’re going to talk about how 4 charities around the world have benefited from animated video. 

Before we get into the details, did you know that we offer video solutions for charities? From DIY options to the full agency service. For those who want to get stuck in, we have VideoScribe - one of the leading video software tools - AND a free 7 day trial to “try before you buy”. If you like our product, you can access exclusive charity and non-for-profit discounts. For a video that is more unique to your message, you can work with our animation agency, Sparkol Studio. Contact us to find out more. 

Example 1: World Health Organization

Speaking of Sparkol Studio, let’s take a look at an animation they created for the World Health Organization (WHO), targeting mental health. The COVID-19 pandemic saw an unfortunate rise in people reporting issues with their mental health and wellbeing. As a way to inform people of how they can help keep their mental health in the best possible shape, WHO worked with the Sparkol Studio team to create an explainer video on ways to protect and improve mental wellbeing. 

Example 2: Charity Water

Coming up next is the emotive animation for Charity Water, ‘Water Changes Everything’. Their message is clear: there is a water crisis and they need our support to help almost one billion people get access to clean drinking water. By using 2D animation in an engaging infographic style showcasing data and hard statistics, they’ve made challenging information much easier to digest. This is one of the many benefits of using animation to help promote your cause - it softens the intensity of big numbers and provides a visual reminder to impactful statements.  

Example 3: Unicef

Unicef took a series of stories from children across the world to create their ‘Unfairy Tales’ series: an eye-opening reminder of what some children endure without choice. Using typical “fairytale” techniques of 2D animation (that could rival the animators at Disney) this series is all about real life, heartbreaking stories of children.

The example we chose to showcase is that of Ivine and Pillow. Ivine's journey from Syria is an Unfairy Tale no child should ever imagine, let alone endure. Unicef has used animation in a way that completely juxtaposes the reality of the situation: the animation is colorful, the sound effects are calming but the story is heartbreaking. They finish the video off with footage of Ivine herself, and their call to action. It’s moving, it’s powerful, and, boy oh boy is it effective.

Example 4: World Wide Fund for Nature

Earlier this year, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) created a video educating its viewers on the importance of the UK’s oceans and how we can help save our waters. They have very cleverly used mixed media to promote their cause: live footage, 2D animation, photographs - you name it, it’s in there. In live-action scenes where there’s a boat or animals in the water, they’ve overlaid additional animated elements to give more visual interest. It's visually appealing, the message is strong and they round it off nicely by helping you, as the viewer, imagining yourself as a hero.

These are just a handful of ways in which charities and nonprofits have used animated videos to share their message. To us, it’s clear the video is an incredibly useful tool to help articulate complex and delicate topics of conversation. Plus, it can help pull on those old heartstrings of ours! Create your own videos using VideoScribe, or work with our award winning Sparkol Studio team today to get your message heard.