Videos are a great way to tell your school’s story, and describe its needs efficiently and effectively to potential donors. When they hear directly from you, they will be more likely to donate. And, when you receive a donation from an individual donor or a business, thanking them in a short video adds a personal touch that goes a long way.
We understand that creating and sharing a video can feel overwhelming. That’s why we’re here to help with tips and advice so you can create great videos without a lot of effort.
School Page Videos
If you have a Public-Facing School Profile Page, we highly encourage you to include a brief video to help donors learn more about your school. While a video is not required, we recommend sharing one on your page because it’s an effective way to communicate to donors about your school. You can include an existing video, or create a new one to describe your school’s needs, and highlight the “About Our School” and/or “How will you spend your funds?” sections on your School Profile Page.
You can also share your video with your community and potential donors via email, social media, and on your school’s website.
How to Upload a Video to Your School Profile Page
It’s as easy as 1-2-3!
- Log in to your AdoptAClassroom.org account
- Click the “Update School Profile Page” button, then click the “Edit” button
- Paste a YouTube or other hosted video link into the “Video URL” field on your School Profile Page
If you need assistance, please read about how to update your School Profile Page here, or contact us at [email protected].
Saying Thank-You
If your school receives a donation on AdoptAClassroom.org, we may ask you to create a video for your donor to say thanks. We encourage you to create a short video, as they are much more dynamic and fun for your supporters to view. When donors can actually see how and who they’re helping, they’re more likely to give again!
Your video should show and tell your donor about what was purchased for your school, and the impact it made on the students. Please make sure to thank them by name.
Here are some ideas to get you started:
- Talk about a project that you were able to start or complete because of their donation.
- Describe one thing your school was able to accomplish because of their donation.
- Tell a specific story about a classroom or student who benefited from their donation. (If talking about a student, please keep their identity anonymous.)
- Show the items you purchased with their donation and/or how the items are being used.
General Tips to Help You Take and Share Quality Videos
1. Be yourself and keep it simple
The best videos are authentic. The most important thing to remember is to just be yourself.
Please also keep in mind the following:
- The ideal video length is under two minutes.
- Talk to the camera like you would a friend or family member, and don’t worry about making it “fancy” or overcomplicated. A script can be helpful, but keep it casual.
- A video using your cell phone or laptop camera is fine. No special equipment or editing is necessary.
2. If you include students in your video, get a signed release form
If students can be easily identified in your video, we require a completed AdoptAClassroom.org media release form for each student in the video whose face is visible. Without a release form for each student, we cannot share your video publicly.
We ask that you complete our release form even if your school has its own video policy in place. Unfortunately, your school’s release does not allow for AdoptAClassroom.org’s potential use of your video. For example, we may want to use your video on our social media channels or website to raise awareness of our mission, or encourage donations.
You can download our release form here. Need a copy in Spanish? Email [email protected].
3. Create and share a quality video file
- Before you take a video, make sure your camera or phone is in the landscape orientation. The landscape orientation is best when capturing a classroom, a school building, or a group of students, and it’s the best format for the web.
- State your school name and location at the beginning of the video.
- If there are people in your video who directly address the viewers, be sure they state their name and role.
- When you look through your camera lens or at your phone screen, pay attention to the lighting. If it’s too dark or too bright, consider a different location for your video, or adjust the lighting. If it’s an option, natural light is always best.
- When someone is talking, the camera should be pointed at them and remain still. This captures the sound much better than if the camera is moving around or not focused on the subject.
- If you’d like to share your video with us, send a digital copy via email to [email protected] (unless otherwise noted). To ensure the best quality and accessibility, your video file should be a MOV or MP4.
- If there are students in your video whose faces are visible, list their first names in order of appearance from left to right within your email, and include a media release form for each identifiable student. Click here for more information.
Need more help or advice?
Be sure to visit the section of our blog for schools, or contact us at [email protected].