Use video to get to heart of your organization's story

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Storytellers for Good from JD Lasica on Vimeo.

A chat with the founder of Storytellers for Good

Of all the people I’ve met this year, probably the most fascinating encounter I’ve had was the few minutes I spent with Cara Jones, founder of Storytellers for Good (tagline: “Promoting goodness, inspiring greatness”).

A former broadcast journalist and television news reporter in Boston, Cara decided to quit the news business and heed the Zen proverb, “Leap, and the net will appear.” She bought a one-way ticket to Argentina, followed by odysseys through Spain and India — in all, a year trekking across the globe. “I traded in my career for a backpack,” she says.

“What kept coming up for me in those still places was a genuine passion around wanting to use this medium to promote inspiration,” she says.

That led to Storytellers for Good, a group of video producers and journalists who tell the stories of people and organizations making a positive difference in the world. The organization, which launched in March and has filed for nonprofit status, has already created an impressive catalog of short works that combines a documentarian’s flair with a storyteller’s passion.

Watch, embed or download the video on Vimeo

To kick off the organization, Storytellers for Good focused on a handful of mostly Bay Area-based nonprofits with inspiring stories to tell:

Each One Reach One, which offers playwriting and mentoring programs for incarcerated youths (see video on Vimeo)
Bay Area Association of Disabled Sailors (see video on Vimeo)
and Mama Hope in Kenya, founded by a woman who lost her mother to cancer (see video on Vimeo)

“Our expertise is in helping nonprofits identify the personal stories that will speak to people’s hearts.”
— Cara Jones

Says Cara: “Our expertise is in helping nonprofits identify the personal stories that will speak to people’s hearts” and move people to join, volunteer or contribute a donation.

The organization’s fees depend on the length of the shoot, generally a day but sometimes stretching into a second or third day, she says.

“We pitch it not just as a tool of inspiration but as a fundraising tool to tell a story with emotional resonance.”

Watch the stories they’ve produced and be impressed — and moved.

• Plant the seeds of hope wherever you can (Socialbrite)JD Lasica, founder and former editor of Socialbrite, is co-founder of Cruiseable. Contact JD or follow him on Twitter or Google Plus.