AI Video for Nonprofits and Fundraising Campaigns

A nonprofit can cover a whole campaign with short video — a campaign appeal, a donor thank-you, a volunteer recruitment clip, a programme explainer, an annual-report summary and a memory or tribute piece — from a written script and a saved AI spokesperson, in 9:16 by default. The tools are the easy part. The hard part is doing it with consent and dignity, especially when the people in your story are beneficiaries or children.

Updated October 2026.

Start with the ethics

Nonprofit video is about real people, so the rules come before the edit.

• Get consent before using anyone’s image or story, and treat consent as ongoing and specific — especially for beneficiaries and for children.
• Never fabricate a beneficiary’s story, and never present an AI-generated speaker as a real beneficiary.
• Be transparent about AI-generated presenters, so supporters know who they are watching.
• Follow your charity’s own safeguarding and consent policy. It outranks convenience, and it usually names who may appear and how.
• Sharing someone’s circumstances should not put them at risk or misrepresent them; when in doubt, leave the person out and tell the story with words and objects.

Six video types, with a workflow for each

All of these use the same tools. The Spokesperson tool builds a presenter by gender, age, ethnicity and style, saves it, and turns a script into a talking video — default Seedance 2, default 9:16, about 2 to 4 minutes to generate.

1. Campaign appeal video

1. Write a short script: what the need is, what the campaign funds, and how to give. Keep the ask concrete, and do not state a figure for what a gift achieves unless it is verified.
2. Build a spokesperson to be the consistent voice of the campaign, and save it.
3. Generate the clip.
4. Have the campaign owner approve it, and check every claim against your own records.

2. Donor thank-you video

1. Script a plain thank-you: what supporters made possible, and what happens next.
2. Reuse the saved spokesperson, so your thank-yous look and sound like one organisation.
3. Generate a short clip for email, social and thank-you pages.

3. Volunteer recruitment video

1. Script the role, the time it takes, the support provided and how to apply.
2. Reuse the spokesperson.
3. Dub the clip with Translate & Dub where you recruit from multilingual communities; it covers Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, Marathi, Kannada, Malayalam, English, Spanish, Arabic, French and German.
4. Generate, then approve.

4. Programme explainer

1. Script what the programme does, who it is for and how to access it, in plain language.
2. Reuse the spokesperson, or use a staff member’s own recording.
3. Add AI Captions for word-by-word subtitles, which matter for accessibility and for silent autoplay.
4. Generate, then approve with the programme lead.

5. Annual-report summary video

1. Distil the report into a few headline points — only figures your accounts already publish.
2. Reuse the spokesperson for a consistent voice.
3. Generate one short clip that points readers to the full report.

6. Memory or tribute video

1. Gather consented photos and, where relevant, use the Revive Old Photos tool to restore a damaged image and bring it gently to life; the animate old photos page explains the approach.
2. Write a short, factual narration. For a real person, get the family’s permission.
3. Generate, then share it with the family before it goes anywhere public.

Example scripts you can adapt

Written for a charity voice: concrete, honest and free of invented numbers. Replace the bracketed parts.

• Campaign appeal: “[Campaign] runs until [date]. The funds go to [what it pays for, as your own records show]. If you can give, the details are below, and every gift is recorded in our accounts.”
• Donor thank-you: “Thank you. Because you gave, [the work you funded] could carry on this [month or quarter]. Here is what that looked like, and here is what comes next.”
• Volunteer recruitment: “We need [role] volunteers at [location]. It is [time commitment], with training provided. If that suits you, the link below takes you to the application.”
• Programme explainer: “[Programme] is for [who it serves]. It works like this: [plain steps]. If you or someone you know could use it, here is how to get in touch.”
• Annual-report summary: “This year we [the work, described factually], and our full accounts are published at [location]. We are grateful to everyone who made that possible.”
• Tribute: “This is [name], who [a short, factual line about their connection to your work]. With the family’s permission, we are sharing a little of their story.”

What reviewers and trustees will ask for

• Evidence of consent for every person who appears, or the decision to tell the story without them.
• Confirmation that no beneficiary is misrepresented and no figure is invented.
• A note on whether an AI presenter is labelled, and how.
• A check that the clip meets your safeguarding and consent policy.
• Approval from the campaign or programme owner before publishing.

Common mistakes

• Fabricating a beneficiary’s story. It is the fastest way to lose trust, and it dishonours the people you serve.
• Passing an AI speaker off as real. Label synthetic presenters, and never present one as a real beneficiary.
• Showing people without consent. Consent is specific and ongoing, and it applies to children especially.
• Inventing numbers. Use only figures your own accounts publish.
• Skipping captions. Accessibility is not optional, and most feeds autoplay silently.
• Ignoring the policy. Your charity’s safeguarding and consent policy outranks convenience.

Which model to pick

The Spokesperson tool defaults to Seedance 2 at 9:16. Seedance 2 costs about 16.5 credits per second at 720p, so a 20-second appeal is roughly 330 credits, while the same clip at 480p is about 7.75 credits per second — useful for a charity working to a budget. Generation takes about 2 to 4 minutes, and the price is shown before you generate; failed steps are refunded automatically.

If you want a talking head driven by your own recording rather than a typed script, the avatar and lip-sync models bill per second of audio: PixVerse LipSync is the cheapest at 33 credits for 30 seconds, Kling Avatar Standard is 96 credits for 30 seconds, and Kling Avatar Pro is 191 credits for 30 seconds at 1080p. Text-to-speech for a voice-over runs at 5 or 6 credits per 1,000 characters depending on the engine.

For heritage and memory content, the animate old photos page explains how a still image is brought gently to life, and the AI Testimonial tool is there only for clearly labelled dramatisations or internal testing. Compare plans on the pricing page, where credit packs are one-time and never expire — worth knowing if a campaign runs in bursts.

Frequently asked questions

Can we use AI speakers in fundraising?

Yes, if they are labelled as synthetic. Never present an AI speaker as a real beneficiary, and never use one to tell a story that did not happen.

Do we need consent to show beneficiaries?

Yes. Consent should be specific and ongoing, and children especially need it, along with whatever your safeguarding policy requires. When in doubt, tell the story without showing the person.

Can we make a testimonial from someone we help?

Only with their permission and only if it is accurate. An AI testimonial tool should be used solely for a clearly labelled dramatisation or internal testing, never as a fake beneficiary.

How do we make a memory or tribute video?

Gather consented photos, restore a damaged one with Revive Old Photos, write a short factual narration, and get the family’s permission before anything goes public.

What does it cost?

It depends on the model, resolution and length. On the default Seedance 2 at 720p that is about 16.5 credits per second, and less at 480p. New accounts start with 10 free credits, and credit packs are one-time and never expire.

Start in the Spokesperson tool to build one saved presenter for your campaign, thank-yous and programme clips, and check the pricing page first to see what a render costs.