Messy, Honest, Human: Why This Donor Story Hit Harder Than Any Campaign Video
“I was sitting in my big house in America, having a good time, and I realized that we needed to get our asses to Israel, to just be here and feel it.”
There’s no way to polish that line. And I wouldn’t want to.
In the weeks after October 7th, I filmed a number of delegations – faculty from major universities, organized missions, formal groups. But then there was this: a private trip by a single donor and his partner. No itinerary. No press release. Just a gut feeling that writing checks from far away wasn’t enough.
The film we created from this visit was completely different from the others – less structured, less filtered, more personal. And yet, it might be the one I’ve thought about the most. It’s a direct look into the mindset of a passionate donor, and as a result, a powerful lesson in some of the feelings motivating your supporters.
When Writing a Check Isn’t Enough
“It was not satisfying writing checks from a distance.”
That one sentence gets at something many organizations overlook. Sometimes, your donors don’t want distance. They want immersion. They want to see, hear, feel, and process the reality themselves.
As the donor in this particular video shows, just putting himself where the action was resulted in a raw and deeply moving experience, including moments like:
Walking through burned-out homes and listening to stories of families taken into Gaza
Meeting parents of fallen soldiers and abducted children
Bantering on camera (“Look at the f—ing cannon”) and then breaking down off camera
Saying, with a laugh and a wince, “Am I too radical?” before doubling down: “If you don’t wake up today and become part of the Jewish people, it’s over.”
This wasn’t someone trying to find the right messaging. This was a real-life reckoning.
What Nonprofits Can Learn from This
There’s nothing like caring to get someone to act.
Not every donor will hop on a plane. But that doesn’t mean you can’t find opportunities to keep them actively involved. If your organization has donors and board members who want to do more than give – who want to feel – find ways to give them that chance.
If you’re in education, bring them into the classroom. Let them join in on a lesson and get a real feel for what the experience is like; maybe they can even teach something.
If you work with volunteers, let donors know that you’re always looking for people to carry, organize, or deliver.
Invite them to get hands-on, and see what kind of new energy this active participation brings to your relationship.
Extending the lesson
As a bonus, consider what’s possible when you capture those experiences. In the case of this donor, the motivation was personal – but the impact became collective. Because now there’s a film. A record. A moment others can watch, feel, and respond to.
A video that comes out of a visceral encounter like this isn’t quite the same as being there, but bearing in mind the lessons we’ve learned, there are ways to capture some of the original feeling:
Don’t assume people only want something polished. In the nonprofit world, we often over-sanitize. We want stories to be tidy, to follow a clear arc, to land on a hopeful note. But sometimes, the most powerful thing you can do is let the story be real.
Create room for emotional expression. Let people speak in their own words, even if it doesn’t match your usual messaging.
Capture the in-between moments. Humor, awkwardness, disbelief—these make a story feel human.
Know when to get out of the way. Sometimes, your best role as a storyteller is simply to witness and record.
Sometimes the best way to move someone is to stop trying so hard.