Chief Executive Officer Global Outreach International
Nonprofits are facing a crisis of attention. Your stories matter, but audiences are numb. They scroll past your videos, skip your ads, and forget your campaigns within seconds. Great films don’t just tell stories - they change imaginations. Changed imaginations spark new feelings, and new feelings drive new actions. That’s how purpose-driven organizations grow: by changing minds and driving participation using film. By “film”, we’re not talking about the scads of conventional nonprofit videos out there.Sadly, nearly none of those move the needle. Most of those videos miss the mark because the audience was never involved in their development. The nonprofit simply guessed at what they’d love. Inevitably, the video viewer simply doesn’t feel very much.
In this vital session, Allen Thornburgh (CXO, Historic) and Ian Reid (Founder, Distant Moon) introduce the Audience-Powered Film (APF) process, a co-creative method that ensures your film moves the souls of the people who matter most. Global Outreach International CEO John Darnell will provide a real world example of this strategy in action, through their new short film “Napo Run. Participants will see how film sparks attention, emotion and participation in both existing donors and new audience members alike. Nothing can move hearts like film. This is how to use film in a way that actually works.
Learning Objectives:
Engage audiences early: co-create film concepts that spark attention.
Develop testable concepts: use the three-part APF framework to guide film exploration.
Design measurable journeys: use defining moments to move audiences and track impact.
