Making Nonprofit Explainer Videos on a Budget: Insider Tips
Charity budgets: tighter than spandex at a marathon! At Leon! Animation Studio, we specialise in creating animated explainer videos for charities, nonprofits, NGOs, and healthcare organisations. But we understand not every organisation has the budget for professional animation studio services.
This guide tackles the budget challenge from two angles: affordable alternatives to full animation and practical tips for creating inexpensive explainer videos when funds are tight.
Do You Need Animation? First Things First
Before jumping into animation, ask yourself: Is it truly essential for your message?
Does your concept genuinely need movement, or might a static visual work just as effectively?
If animation doesn't add significant value beyond what a simpler format could achieve, our animation studio services team recommends exploring more budget-friendly methods that might better serve your charity's message and wallet.
Infographics: The Budget-Friendly Alternative
When charities need to share vital information without emptying the coffers, infographics offer a brilliant solution. These visual tools combine eye-catching design with clear information, helping your message stand out even with limited resources.
Infographics excel because they transform complicated concepts into something digestible and visually interesting. This is particularly valuable for nonprofits that often need to explain complex social issues in straightforward terms. Since they're visually appealing and easily understood, people are more likely to share them across social platforms – extending your reach without additional advertising spend.
For charities mindful of both budget constraints and audience engagement, a well-designed infographic often delivers more bang for your buck than animated content.
We’ve collected some excellent infographic examples to inspire your next project: Great Examples of Nonprofit Infographics from 2023.
Affordable Explainer Video Alternatives
Sometimes in charity video production, less truly is more. A straightforward, authentic direct-to-camera approach can create deeper connections with viewers than flashy productions – and at a fraction of the cost. This approach brings genuine authenticity to your message and, with thoughtful scripting, can generate just as much interest as an expensively produced video.
A practical enhancement? Adding text captions to your direct-to-camera videos. This ensures viewers can follow along even with the sound off (as many social media users do). Several free online tools can convert your audio to captions quickly, making your nonprofit video instantly more accessible and eye-catching without additional expense. For more insights on this topic, check out our guide on designing subtitles for accessibility in nonprofit videos.
Stock Footage: Cheap But Effective
Affordable resources like Envato Elements offer professional stock video clips that can dramatically enhance your inexpensive explainer videos without the substantial expense of custom filming.
Look at this stock video of volunteers collaborating:
You could spend hundreds creating a similar scene with your own crew, or simply pay $20 and have the footage ready to use in minutes. For cheap animated video production with tight timelines and budgets, this approach is worth considering.
The Art of Asking for Discounts
Picture this: a small community theatre performs year after year in poor lighting, assuming professional equipment is beyond their reach. One day, they casually mention their lighting challenges to a renowned lighting company, only to discover the company is eager to provide equipment for free, delighted to support local arts.
This scenario highlights a crucial lesson for nonprofits: always ask. Many animation studios and video production companies are surprisingly willing to offer discounts or pro bono services to charities and nonprofit organisations, particularly when there's alignment between their values and your mission.
If you're working on wildlife conservation and discover a studio head with a passion for wildlife photography, that's your opening. Reach out and share your vision. You might be pleasantly surprised by their willingness to support your cause – just like that theatre group that finally stepped into the spotlight.
Student Talent for Budget Cartoon Creation
Connecting with animation students and recent graduates is a remarkably effective strategy for creating cheap explainer videos. This approach gives you access to fresh, creative talent who are often eager to build their portfolios with real-world projects. Many of these emerging creators feel strongly about social causes and may offer their services at significantly reduced rates or even as volunteers.
For your charity, this means high-quality, creative animated videos at small business prices. For the students, it provides valuable professional experience, portfolio-worthy projects, and the satisfaction of contributing to meaningful work.
The key to making this relationship work: always credit these creatives prominently and champion their work across your social channels. This exposure is invaluable currency for early-career animators and helps build a foundation of goodwill for future collaborations.
Budget-Friendly Animation Software
Budget-conscious animation software like Canva, Moovly, Powtoon, and Vyond can be excellent choices for charities looking to create nonprofit videos without breaking the bank. While they lack some bells and whistles of premium animation tools, they offer plenty of functionality for nonprofit video production at low cost.
Canva, Moovly, and Powtoon all offer free tiers with premium features available through subscription.
Canva stands out for its user-friendly interface and offers straightforward animation options that even complete beginners can master. (You may check out our blog about how platforms like Canva can specifically enhance your charity’s visual storytelling.)
Moovly provides a range of templates particularly well-suited for explainer videos that break down complex charity programmes.
Powtoon excels with its animated presentation capabilities, perfect for creating engaging, cartoon-style cheap animations.
Vyond allows for more detailed animations and works best for organisations needing additional customisation. Though pricier than the alternatives, its advanced features often justify the investment for more complex nonprofit explainer videos.
Each platform has unique strengths and, when paired with a well-crafted script, can produce effective low budget animation even on the tightest of budgets.
Shorter Videos: Less Cost, More Impact
In a world where attention spans hover around 8 seconds, charities have a budget-friendly secret weapon: brevity.
Creating nonprofit animated videos that run 15-30 seconds instead of the traditional 1-3 minutes significantly reduces production costs while often delivering a more concentrated and powerful message. Our animation service has found that these shorter formats not only cost less to produce but frequently perform better on social platforms where quick, punchy content reigns supreme.
(We once created Message4Zim, a tiny animated GIF for voter registration in Zimbabwe—small file, big message, thousands of shares.)
Bonus Tip: Boost Your Charity with Google's Free Ads
Your charity can access up to $10,000 monthly in free advertising from Google, helping your work reach wider audiences at zero cost. Use these ads to strengthen your overall marketing efforts and increase visibility for your organisation. To begin, visit Google for Nonprofits online, where they'll guide you through using these free advertising credits effectively. It's a brilliant way to extend your message's reach, especially when working with limited marketing resources. For more details on this opportunity, check out our blog about Google Grants.
Your Cheap Explainer Video Checklist
To summarise, here's a quick list questionnaire guide on how to make nonprofit animated videos on a budget:
Is an animated video necessary, or could an infographic or a simple video with captions suffice?
Could affordable stock videos or live footage replace the need for custom animation?
Are you collaborating with animation students or recent graduates for more budget-friendly production options?
Are you using cost-effective software like Canva, Moovly, Powtoon, or Vyond for video creation?
Have you considered shorter animated videos for better engagement and reduced costs?
Are you utilising programs like Google for Nonprofits for additional advertising opportunities?
By implementing these approaches, charities and nonprofits can harness the power of cheap explainer videos to tell their stories, engage audiences, and amplify their impact—all while respecting budget constraints.
Need guidance on creating explainer videos on a budget? Our 2D animation studio specialises in creating nonprofit explainer videos that communicate complex ideas simply and effectively. Reach out to Leon! Animation Studio for a free consultation and expert advice tailored to help your organisation make a genuine difference through animation, regardless of your budget limitations.
As a side note, our 2D animation studio offers free infographics to charities in exchange for a backlink and social media credit. It's our way of supporting causes we believe in when budget for a full animation isn't available. If that's something you'd be interested in, you can apply through our simple form.
