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by
Larry Mutenda
| What are good examples of nonprofit explainer videos? Nonprofit explainer videos answer one practical question: what an organization does, how to get help, or how to volunteer or donate. Strong examples include Family Caregiver Alliance’s service overview, MSF in 40 Seconds, Kiva’s Crowdfunding 101 and the Makers Making Change volunteer video. The best ones speak to the person who has to act and show the process as clear steps. |
A nonprofit explainer video answers one practical question. What does this organization do? How do I get help? How do I volunteer or donate? Its main job is not to ask for money, though it can support a fundraising campaign. Appeals are covered in our fundraising video examples. An explainer is the video people watch before they decide anything.
This list has 16 nonprofit explainer videos. Nine are animated videos we produced as part of our nonprofit video production work. Seven are official videos from nonprofits such as Doctors Without Borders, Kiva, Khan Academy and Movember. The list alternates between our animation and the organizations’ own videos, several of them live action.
Every video here explains something. It might be the organization, a program, how to get help, or how to volunteer or donate. Each third-party video is an official upload from the nonprofit or a broadcaster that we could embed and check. Facts come from the organization’s own pages or video descriptions. Where we could not verify a result, we say so.
For our own videos, we describe the audience, the message and the creative approach behind the script. These notes draw on more than 15 years of production and over 100 nonprofit videos.
A quick side-by-side before the full breakdown.
| # | Video | Organization | Explains |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Family Caregiver Alliance | Family Caregiver Alliance | What the nonprofit does |
| 2 | MSF in 40 Seconds | Doctors Without Borders | Who MSF is |
| 3 | How to volunteer | Makers Making Change | Volunteering |
| 4 | Crowdfunding 101 | Kiva | How to apply for a loan |
| 5 | Stand Informed | CLAS BC | How to get legal help |
| 6 | You Can Learn Anything | Khan Academy | Mission |
| 7 | Stop Funding Overfishing | IISD | Policy issue |
| 8 | Mentoring newcomer youth | Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada | A program |
| 9 | Spotting IRS scams | Accounting Aid Society | How to get help |
| 10 | How To Mo | Movember | Ways to take part |
| 11 | How your union works | Manitoba Nurses Union | Member structure |
| 12 | What is 211? | United Way Halton & Hamilton | How to get help |
| 13 | BlockHate | YWCA Canada | A program |
| 14 | Texting for support | Kids Help Phone | How to get help |
| 15 | Program overview | Makers Making Change | What the program does |
| 16 | Métis Nation explainer | Métis Nation | The organization |
Client: Family Caregiver Alliance.
Project type: 2D animated explainer, 2:27.
Communication challenge: Show caregivers and supporters everything one nonprofit offers, without turning the video into a list.
Creative approach: The script opens on the size of the problem. Nearly 38 million people give 36 billion hours of free care to adult family and friends. Then it asks a plain question. Why support caregivers?
From there the video walks through the services. Caregiver assessment, care planning, counselling, respite care, support groups and legal help each get a line. A client’s own words sit in the middle. The one-on-one help from a social worker made them feel less alone.
The script closes on reach. FCA worked with more than 2,000 caregivers nationwide in 2024 and reached almost 1.2 million website visitors. Its resources are offered in Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog and Vietnamese. That is the core job of an organizational explainer. It answers “what do you do?” and then proves it.
MSF in 40 Seconds is a short explainer from Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders, posted on its UK YouTube channel. In under 40 seconds it covers who MSF is, what it does and how viewers can help.
The idea is compression. The video traces MSF from its start in 1971, founded by a group of doctors and journalists, to the worldwide emergency medical aid organization it is now. Live-action field footage does the explaining. It shows that nonprofit explainer videos do not need two minutes to answer the basic question.
By the numbers: MSF says it works in more than 70 countries and that 98% of its funds come from private donations, according to its who we are page.
Client: Makers Making Change, a program of the Neil Squire Society.
Project type: 2D animated explainer, 0:56.
Communication challenge: Turn a volunteer sign-up into a clear set of choices, in under a minute.
Creative approach: The script names the problem in one line. The cost of assistive technology is often a barrier. Then it lists the ways to help. Volunteers can build and design devices, attend events or promote the mission.
The build path gets the most detail because it is the main ask. Volunteers browse requests on the platform and tell the user they can build the device. They agree on design details, timelines and how part costs will be reimbursed. Then they build. The video also mentions design challenges and chapter leaders. It ends on one web address.
Kiva US: Crowdfunding 101 is a Kiva video for US small business owners who want a Kiva loan. A presenter explains how the crowdfunding model works, who qualifies and how to build a strong application.
The offer is simple to state. Kiva describes 0% interest, zero-fee loans of up to $15,000. The video spends its time on the borrower’s side of the process, which is where most applicants get stuck. This is a “how to get help” explainer. It speaks to the person the program serves, not to the donor.
By the numbers: Kiva’s about page says 5 million people have used Kiva loans. It also says 2 of every 3 Kiva loans have gone to women.
Client: CLAS BC, for its Stand Informed service.
Project type: Animated explainer, 1:36.
Communication challenge: Explain a free legal advice service to people who have experienced sexual assault in BC, one step at a time.
Creative approach: The script removes barriers before it asks for anything. There are no gender, age, race or immigration status requirements. You do not need to have reported to the police.
Then it walks through the process in order. An intake call comes first. An interpreter is available, and a support worker can join. You are matched with a lawyer and sign a retainer that keeps what you say confidential. You receive up to three hours of legal advice. For a viewer who is frightened, knowing each step in advance is the whole point.
You Can Learn Anything is a 90-second mission video from Khan Academy, the nonprofit behind free online lessons. It explains why the organization exists rather than how to use it.
The idea comes straight from its description. Most people think their intelligence is fixed. The science says it’s not. The video takes the mission, a free world-class education for anyone, anywhere, and turns it into a belief viewers can hold about themselves. A mission video works best when the audience sees itself in it.
By the numbers: More than 8.5 million views on Khan Academy’s YouTube channel as of September 2026.
Client: International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD).
Project type: 2D animated explainer, 2:13.
Communication challenge: Explain a slow trade negotiation about fisheries subsidies to a general audience, and make it feel urgent.
Creative approach: Open on the ocean and one number. Over one third of the world’s marine fish populations are overfished. Then name a cause most viewers have never heard of. Governments subsidize fishing fleets with taxpayer money.
The middle is a short history. The World Trade Organization began negotiations twenty years ago. The UN’s Goal 14 set a 2020 target to end harmful subsidies. The deadline passed without a deal. Each step gets a sentence or two. Then the script returns to its present. At the time, WTO members were closer than ever to an agreement. That is how an advocacy explainer handles policy. It gives just enough history to make the ask make sense.
Update: This video was made before the agreement was finished. The WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies entered into force on September 15, 2025.
Mentoring Newcomer Youth in Canada is a Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada video about its work with young newcomers. It explains one program, the Conversation Club, and the problem it answers.
The video starts with the audience’s situation. Newcomer youth face isolation because of language barriers, systemic barriers and income inequality. The program is the answer. It is a place to build self-esteem and friendships with peers. Live-action footage of the young people carries the story. A program explainer is clearer when it shows participants, not only staff.
By the numbers: No result has been published that we could verify.
Client: Accounting Aid Society.
Project type: 2D character animation, 1:32.
Communication challenge: Teach people to tell a fake IRS message from a real one, and show them where to get free help.
Creative approach: Todd gets a text that claims to be from the IRS. He calls his cousin Ruby, who got one last year. The advice arrives as a family conversation instead of a lecture.
Ruby gives one rule. In the video, the IRS only contacts you by mail. The video then explains what to do with a real letter. Read it carefully, respond by the due date or call the number printed on it. It ends by pointing to Low Income Taxpayer Clinics, which can usually resolve an issue at no cost. That last step turns a warning into a service explainer.
Correction: The rule in this video is out of date. The IRS says it usually contacts people first by mail. It may also call. It only emails or texts people who have opted in. A social media message is never from the IRS. See how to know it’s really the IRS.
How To Mo is a Movember video that explains the ways to join its campaign. There are three: Grow, Move or Host.
This is a “how to take part” explainer. Movember is known for one thing, the moustache. The video widens the door so people who cannot or will not grow one still have a way in. Three named options are easier to act on than a general call for support.
By the numbers: In the video’s description, Movember cites more than 5 million participants and more than 1,250 men’s health projects funded.
Client: Manitoba Nurses Union.
Project type: 2D animated explainer, 2:01.
Communication challenge: Explain how a member organization is structured, so members know where they fit and who to call.
Creative approach: Start with the member. MNU represents more than 13,000 nurses. The script calls your local “your home base, your crew at your worksite.”
The video builds the structure from the ground up. Locals come first, then regions. Local executives come next, then the board of directors. The annual general meeting is where members debate ideas and pass resolutions. The bargaining committee negotiates on members’ behalf. Each part gets a plain definition and a reason it matters to a working nurse. Member organizations use this kind of explainer for onboarding.
What is 211? is a YourTV Halton segment in which Kristen Jacob of United Way Halton & Hamilton explains the 211 service. 211 connects people with government and community-based, non-clinical health and social services.
This is the “how to get help” explainer in its plainest form. A community TV segment lets a real staff member answer the questions viewers would ask. The ask itself is three digits, so it is easy to remember after the video ends.
By the numbers: The segment’s description says 211 is free and confidential. It can be reached in more than 150 languages by phone, chat, text and web.
Client: YWCA Canada.
Project type: 2D animated explainer, 1:31.
Communication challenge: Explain online hate to young people, and introduce the project YWCA Canada runs to address it.
Creative approach: The script starts where young people are. Digital life is exciting and nerve-wracking at the same time. Then it names the harms plainly. They include sharing intimate or fake images without consent, stealing personal information and harassment.
“Everyone is vulnerable, and you are not alone” comes before the research on who is targeted most. The stated goal is awareness and readiness, not fear. The internet can be safe and joyful. The video then introduces YWCA Canada’s work with youth through the project.
Texting Kids Help Phone for mental health support is a Kids Help Phone video that shows what happens when a young person texts its crisis line. The Pinnguaq Association produced it with a team of youth producers.
It answers the question that stops many people from reaching out. What happens next? You are connected with a trained volunteer crisis responder. They listen and ask questions to help you move “from a hot moment to a cool calm.” The conversation is confidential. Youth producers helped make it, which keeps the tone right for the audience.
By the numbers: No result has been published that we could verify.
Client: Makers Making Change.
Project type: 2D animated overview explainer, 1:05.
This is the second video we made for Makers Making Change. Item 3 on this list covers how to volunteer. This one is the program overview. Nonprofit explainer videos often work best in sets. The overview brings people in. The how-to video turns that interest into sign-ups.
Client: Métis Nation.
Project type: 2D animated explainer, 3:18.
At just over three minutes, this is the longest of our videos on this list. A longer runtime suits an organization with more to explain than a single service. The format is the same as the shorter videos above. One audience, one message and a clear order of ideas.
The nonprofit explainer videos on this list cover very different causes. They share five habits.
What do you do? How do I get help? How do I join? Each of the nonprofit explainer videos above picks one. Family Caregiver Alliance explains the organization. Kiva explains how to apply. Makers Making Change explains how to volunteer. A video that tries to answer all three usually answers none of them well.
Kiva talks to the borrower. Kids Help Phone talks to the young person holding the phone. Stand Informed talks to the survivor. The donor is not always the audience. Often the viewer is the person the program serves.
Stand Informed lists who is eligible before it explains the process. Kids Help Phone says the conversation is confidential. Accounting Aid Society points to help at no cost. Viewers act when the reasons not to act are gone.
Intake call, lawyer, advice. Browse, agree, build. Read the letter, respond, call. A process told in order is easier to follow than a list of features. It also gives the viewer a picture of the first step.
Makers Making Change has an overview and a volunteer video. Movember explains three ways to join. One nonprofit video rarely covers every audience. A short set, each video with one job, usually works better than one long video.
Nonprofit explainer videos are short videos that tell people what an organization does, how a program works, how to get help or how to take part. The examples on this page run from about 40 seconds to just over three minutes.
Nonprofit explainer videos should be as short as the question allows. MSF covers who it is in under 40 seconds. Our volunteer video for Makers Making Change runs 56 seconds. A step-by-step service explainer, like Stand Informed, needs about a minute and a half.
Animation suits nonprofit explainer videos on sensitive subjects and processes, such as legal help after assault, online hate or tax scams. It can show the situation without showing real people at their worst moment. Live action suits programs where the participants are the proof, such as mentoring or small business loans.
Put nonprofit explainer videos where people make the decision. That usually means the home page, the program page, the volunteer sign-up page and the help page. The same video can also open presentations and events.
Start with one audience and one question. Name the problem, explain the process in order and end with one action. Our guide on how to write a video script covers each step in more detail.
The nonprofit explainer videos that work start with one question and one audience. They tell the viewer what happens next, in order, and they remove the reasons not to act.
If you are planning one, decide first who has to act and what they need to know to take the first step. Then choose the format, animation or live action, that shows that step most clearly.
Larry is the founder and Chief Storyteller at Creamy Animation, founded in 2009. He leads a team that creates story-driven videos for businesses and nonprofits. 15+ years in video strategy and production, specializing in SaaS, B2B, and nonprofit storytelling. A marketer, designer, and animator, Larry has overseen the production of more than 1,500 videos for Fujitsu, Logitech, Warner Brothers, NFL, Blockdaemon, Astronomer, Canonical, and 370+ others.
For Larry, God is first, and everything else is a blessing that comes from serving Him. When he’s not working, he’s hanging out with his wife and three kids, playing the piano, or pursuing his filmmaking side hustle.
