The best gala mission videos I?ve seen have one thing in common: They don?t try to explain everything about the organization.

They go DEEP into one story of transformation.

And that distinction matters a lot, because your gala mission video is not the same thing as an About Us video.

An About Us video might explain your programs, your services, your history, and all the different ways your organization makes an impact.

Your mission video has a different job. Its job is to help your guests FEEL the mission right before you ask them to give.

When that happens really well, the room is already with you before the paddle raise even begins.

Go Deep, Not Wide

I have seen almost every version of a gala mission video.

I?ve seen beautifully produced videos that have the entire room crying. I?ve also seen videos edited by a friend of the org donating their time that looks "homemade".

Production quality can absolutely help. But the thing that matters most is the story.

The strongest mission videos don?t try to squeeze every program, every service, every statistic, and every accomplishment into five minutes.

They pick one story and let us really experience it. This is not the place to go wide. It's the place to go deep.

Tell One Story of Transformation

Usually, we?re talking about the story of one person, one family, or one animal your organization has served.

And we want to understand where they started.

• What was happening in their life before they found you?
• What were they worried about?
• What was hard?
• What did they need?

Then we get to experience what changed.That transformation is the story.

Your organization is incredibly important to it, obviously, but the organization itself is not necessarily the main character.

The person, family, or animal you served is.

When we focus deeply enough on one story, the audience gets a chance to enter that person?s experience instead of simply hearing information about your organization.

And that is very different.

Help Us Feel the Journey

There?s a storytelling concept called transportation.

Basically, when a story is told well enough, we start to feel like we?re inside of it.

We stop sitting there analyzing everything.

We start feeling empathy. We start caring about what happens next.

That is exactly where we want your guests to be before the fundraising ask.

And in order for us to feel the transformation, we need to understand the before.

That doesn?t mean making the story unnecessarily sad or dramatic.

It means helping us understand enough of the fear, grief, worry, uncertainty, frustration, or whatever emotion existed before the transformation that we can connect with it.

Your guests may have never lived through the exact same circumstances.

But they know what fear feels like.

They know what relief feels like.

They know what hope feels like.

That?s where the connection happens.

Let Your Organization Move the Story Forward

As the story progresses, we get to see how your organization entered the picture.

Maybe someone received support at exactly the right time.

Maybe they found a community.

Maybe they got access to something they desperately needed.

Maybe their circumstances changed completely.

And now we get to experience the other side of the story too.

The relief.

The gratitude.

The joy.

The possibility.

If staff members or leadership appear in the video, we want them helping us understand that story.

They?re there to move the story forward, not turn the video into a presentation about the organization.

I say this a lot when we?re planning gala programs: The celebrities of your program are the people, families, or animals you serve and the people doing the direct work with them.

Let them be the focus.

Use Statistics Carefully

Statistics can absolutely belong in a mission video. But we don?t want every number you have.We want the numbers that help us understand this story more deeply.

Maybe one statistic helps us understand how common this person?s experience is.

Maybe another helps us understand the size of the problem.

Maybe one shows us how many other people your organization is helping in a similar way.

Those could be great. Use those.

But if we suddenly have eight statistics, five program descriptions, and a list of organizational accomplishments, we?re probably drifting back toward an About Us video.

And again, there is nothing wrong with an About Us video.

It can be fantastic on your website. It might even belong somewhere else during the gala.

But right before the fundraising ask, we want something much more emotionally focused.

About Five Minutes Is Usually Plenty

I usually think of a mission video as roughly three to five minutes.

I?ve worked with great video producers who will tell you that three minutes simply isn?t enough time for certain stories and that they really need closer to five. If you're working with a pro, listen to them.

The goal isn?t to hit some magical number. The goal is to tell the story well, create the emotional impact we need, and then get out.

We don't need a twelve-minute documentary. We need enough time to bring the room into the story.

Set Up the Paddle Raise

When a mission video is really, really good, I am standing backstage watching the same thing everybody else is watching.

And sometimes I am literally telling myself: ?Dani, think about something else.?

Because I know I have to walk onto that stage in about thirty seconds and start talking, and I cannot be up there crying harder than everybody in the audience.

Then the video ends. I walk out. And sometimes there are already paddles in the air.

I haven?t even asked for anything yet.

People are wiping their eyes. Couples are talking quietly to each other. People have their paddles in their hands.

I can't even tell you what that feels like. That's an outstanding mission video. It has already brought the room emotionally to the place we need them to be.

There?s an old joke that an open bar opens wallets. I have my own version: Whiskey opens mouths. Stories open wallets.

Because when we get people properly into their hearts, their hands are ready to go up right afterward.

The heart and the hands are on the same plane.

Your Mission Video Has One Very Specific Job

Your mission video is one of the most important pieces of your gala program because of where it sits.

It is usually one of the final things your guests experience before you ask them to give.

So we want to be really intentional about what emotional place we?re putting them in.

Don?t try to explain everything.

Choose one powerful story of transformation.

Take us into it.

Help us feel where that person started, what changed, and what is possible because your organization exists.

And then let that story carry the room right into the ask.

If you?re also deciding whether you should use a mission video, a live speaker, or both, check out my Mission Video vs. Live Speaker post next.

And if you?re working on the bigger flow of the evening, my Captivating Program post will help you think through how all of these pieces fit together.