A slideshow is a great way to create video that's simple to do and gets your message across. You might even just want to let people know who you are and what you’re about: short films or slideshows can be very effective. And if you’re trying to raise funds, then telling people a bit about your team can help build trust and get them to engage with you.

Why Make a Slideshow?

Using video has lots of benefits; you can engage people in a different way and generate better relationships.

People expect business and non-profits to create video about what they do. Video can often help evoke different emotions or feelings than stills can. Even if you’re just using stills with motion, video is more eye-catching and engaging than just stills on their own. So a slideshow is a great, do-able way to tell a story, or inspire action. Like making a donation!

Our Top Tips for Creating a Fundraiser Promo

• Know your audience – you need to know who you’re talking to, so do your research and be sure you’re reaching the people you want to touch with your efforts
  
• Know the purpose of the video –  it’s best to keep it simple and with only one theme
• Have a clear message and call to action. If you want people to donate, don’t hint at it, tell them where they can do that
• Keep a consistent style across your branding and videos: audiences should start to be able to recognise that it’s you as soon as they see the start of your video
• Be relevant, and stick to your purpose: nobody wants to watch ¾ of a video before the point becomes apparent
• Celebrate your wins – If you’re fundraising with your video, don’t only release content when you’re asking for something, try to inspire and engage as well as raise money

Try a Placeit Template

Creating a fundraising video couldn’t be easier with Placeit: you don’t need any additional software to make something engaging and attractive, and you can do it all online.

Pick a Slideshow Template

For our example, I've picked Fundraiser Slideshow Video Maker for a Nature Conservancy. This template is for a conservation non-profit, but it can really be used for anything. I'll give you a quick run down of some of the main features.

This is how the layout looks when you open it up. You can see that everything you'll need is right there on the screen and there's plenty of choice for you to customise and add your own bespoke touches.

Adjust Text and Fonts

There are a good range of fonts to choose from, and there's a preview next to each one, so you can see how it'll look without having to do anything! Choose something clear and easy to read.

You'll see you can also change the position of the text, and its alignment.

Pick Stock Media or Add Your Own

If you hover over the images in Background 1 and Background 2, you'll see how they animate and also other stock options to choose from. You can upload your own picture or footage if you prefer, too. 

You need to hit Preview Slide to see your changes.

Your slides are shown along the bottom of the page: you can add, delete and change them by clicking on them.

If you want to keep consistency across your video, you’ll need to change the font on each one. Here's another example using the same template:

Extras: Music and Effects

Once you've nailed your content, think about whether you want to include music. There are a range of options to choose from and you can search by keyword or look through the categories.

Finally, there's an option to change text position, animations and effect colours, so there are plenty of ways you can keep using the same template for different projects and they'll still look different.

Finish Up

When you're finished and you're happy, just hit Download. You'll get an email when your slideshow has finished rendering.

If you'd like to see some more examples of great fundraising slideshows or promotional videos, there are loads to choose from over at Placeit.

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