{"id":47,"date":"2024-02-09T16:58:39","date_gmt":"2024-02-09T16:58:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/help.actionfunder.org\/non-profits\/?post_type=ht_kb&#038;p=47"},"modified":"2026-11-06T11:51:55","modified_gmt":"2026-11-06T11:51:55","slug":"guide-to-video-pitching","status":"publish","type":"ht_kb","link":"https:\/\/help.actionfunder.org\/non-profits\/help\/guide-to-video-pitching\/","title":{"rendered":"Guide to video pitching"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A video pitch is a 90-second film of you answering the three pitch questions. You record it on a phone or camera and upload it straight to your project. This guide covers how to plan it, film it and add it to ActionFunder.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=edfxakZjyPE\">Video: Why pitch with a video?<\/a><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why choose video?<\/h2>\n<p>On ActionFunder, video pitches are twice as likely to win funding as written ones. Funders find them more engaging and memorable, they stand out because most applications are written, and they show the real people leading the project. <a href=\"https:\/\/help.actionfunder.org\/non-profits\/help\/written-or-video-pitch-which-suits-you\/\">Written or video pitch: which suits you?<\/a><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What to cover<\/h2>\n<p>Spend about 30 seconds on each question.<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>What&#8217;s the problem or need?<\/strong> What&#8217;s behind your project, and what specific problem will it tackle? Tip: include statistics and facts.<\/li>\n<li><strong>What&#8217;s the solution?<\/strong> What&#8217;s the goal, how will you spend the funding and what activities will you deliver? Tip: be as specific as you can.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Why is your organisation best placed to deliver this project?<\/strong> What skills and experience will make it a success? Tip: mention your most relevant achievements.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Funders don&#8217;t expect a professional film. They want a clear, simple picture of your project.<\/p>\n<p>Your <strong>Delivery plan<\/strong> is still written, including your budget breakdown, expected impact and track record.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Plan your pitch<\/h2>\n<p>Time is tight, so preparation matters.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Write down your answers.<\/strong> Plan what you want to say for each question.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Get to the point.<\/strong> Someone who doesn&#8217;t know your project should understand what you want to achieve.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Turn your notes into a script.<\/strong> It keeps you on track and within time.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Practise.<\/strong> Run through it a few times until it feels natural.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Film your pitch<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Check your lighting and sound.<\/strong> Film somewhere bright and quiet so funders can see and hear you.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Get creative.<\/strong> A simple shot of you talking to camera works well. So does involving your team or the people your project is for.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Get permission before filming anyone.<\/strong> Make sure everyone on camera is happy to appear in a video that funders will watch.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Don&#8217;t worry about mistakes.<\/strong> Just start again until you have a take you&#8217;re happy with.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Edit if you like.<\/strong> You don&#8217;t have to, but free apps on your phone or computer let you trim the start and end, join clips or add captions. Keep the finished video to 90 seconds or less.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Enjoy it.<\/strong> It&#8217;s a chance to share your excitement about your project.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Add your video to ActionFunder<\/h2>\n<ol>\n<li>Sign in and create a project, or click <strong>Edit<\/strong> on an existing one.<\/li>\n<li>On step 2 (<strong>The pitch<\/strong>), choose <strong>Video pitch<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>Drag and drop your video file into the upload box, or click to select it.<\/li>\n<li>Wait for it to upload and process.<\/li>\n<li>Tick the <strong>Permissions<\/strong> box and click <strong>Next<\/strong>. You don&#8217;t need a project image for a video pitch.<\/li>\n<li>Complete the <strong>Delivery plan<\/strong> and click <strong>Publish project<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>You can upload any video file, for example an MP4 from your phone or a MOV file. ActionFunder doesn&#8217;t set a maximum file size, but large files take longer to upload. English captions are added to your video automatically.<\/p>\n<p>Aim for 90 seconds. The app accepts videos up to two minutes, so you have a little leeway. If your video is over two minutes, you&#8217;ll see &#8220;Your video is too long. Please keep it under 90 seconds.&#8221; Trim it and upload it again.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/help.actionfunder.org\/non-profits\/help\/how-to-create-a-project-step-by-step\/\">How to create a project, step by step<\/a><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">See funded video pitches<\/h2>\n<p>Watch these funded projects for ideas:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/app.actionfunder.org\/project\/25918\">Maidenhead Canoe Club boat store<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/app.actionfunder.org\/project\/26516\">Caxton Youth Social and Emotional Wellbeing Programme<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/app.actionfunder.org\/project\/25386\">Water Rangers: Connecting people, data &amp; rivers<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/app.actionfunder.org\/project\/25985\">Get Golden Lane swimming again<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/app.actionfunder.org\/project\/26877\">Climate Ed, Kensington and Chelsea<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Questions?<\/h2>\n<p>Our team is around Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Email: hello@actionfunder.org<\/li>\n<li>Phone: 020 3805 2835<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A video pitch is a 90-second film of you answering the three pitch questions. You record it on a phone or camera and upload it straight to your project. This guide covers how to plan it, film it and add it to ActionFunder. Video: Why pitch with a video? Why&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"ht-kb-category":[11],"ht-kb-tag":[],"class_list":["post-47","ht_kb","type-ht_kb","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","ht_kb_category-what-makes-a-wining-application"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/help.actionfunder.org\/non-profits\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ht-kb\/47","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/help.actionfunder.org\/non-profits\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ht-kb"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/help.actionfunder.org\/non-profits\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/ht_kb"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/help.actionfunder.org\/non-profits\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/help.actionfunder.org\/non-profits\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/help.actionfunder.org\/non-profits\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ht-kb\/47\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":426,"href":"https:\/\/help.actionfunder.org\/non-profits\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ht-kb\/47\/revisions\/426"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/help.actionfunder.org\/non-profits\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"ht_kb_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/help.actionfunder.org\/non-profits\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ht-kb-category?post=47"},{"taxonomy":"ht_kb_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/help.actionfunder.org\/non-profits\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ht-kb-tag?post=47"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}