Updated: October 26, 2026
Why mentoring programs need video more than most nonprofits
Youth mentoring and after-school programs in Miami have a problem most nonprofits do not: they need two kinds of people at the same time. They need donors and funders, like every charity. They also need a steady supply of adult volunteers willing to give a few hours every week for a year or more, and families willing to trust the program with their kids. A brochure rarely convinces anyone to become a mentor. A two-minute video of a real match, a mentor and a twelve-year-old working through math homework or shooting hoops after school, often does.
This guide is for executive directors, program managers and development staff at mentoring organizations, after-school programs, youth sports nonprofits and out-of-school-time providers in Miami-Dade and Broward. It covers which videos to make first, how to film minors safely and with proper consent, how to show outcomes without overclaiming, and how to plan a shoot that does not disrupt the program.
Three audiences, three different videos
Mentor recruitment
The single most useful video for most mentoring programs is a short recruitment piece aimed at potential volunteers. It should answer the questions people actually have: how much time does it take, what do mentors do together with their mentee, what training and support is provided, how screening works, and what happens if it is not working out. Hearing current mentors talk about their first nervous meeting and what changed a year later is far more persuasive than statistics. Keep the main version under two minutes and make 30-second cutdowns for social media and for partners like employers and universities who promote volunteering.
Family and youth enrollment
Parents and caregivers want to know where their child will be, who is supervising, what activities happen, and what it costs. For after-school programs, a calm walk-through of an afternoon, from pickup at school to homework time, snack and activities, answers most questions. In Miami, Spanish and Haitian Creole versions are often essential to reach the families who would benefit most. Our guide to multilingual nonprofit video covers how to plan those versions without tripling the budget.
Donor and funder storytelling
Funders want evidence that the program changes something. A match story told over several months, a graduation, a summer program, or an alumnus who is now a mentor himself can show that over time. Grant reports increasingly welcome short videos alongside the written report.
Filming kids: consent and safety come first
Many youth served by mentoring programs are in vulnerable situations: a parent incarcerated, involvement with the foster care system, a recent move from another country. A face on a public video can expose a child to risks the program staff understand far better than a film crew. The rules we follow, and recommend to every youth organization, are straightforward.
- Written consent from a parent or legal guardian for every minor who appears, specifying where the video will be used. For youth in foster care, consent rules are different and usually involve the agency or caseworker, so ask your child welfare partner what is required.
- Assent from the young person. Even with a signed form, if a kid does not want to be on camera, they are not filmed. Ask them directly, away from the group.
- No full names, schools or neighborhoods on screen or in captions. First names only, or none at all.
- Staff present at all times. Crew members are never alone with a child, and follow the program's own child safety and background screening policies.
- Nothing that labels a child's circumstances. A video can talk about the challenges young people face in general without saying which child on screen has a parent in prison.
- Review by program staff before any cut is published, with the right to remove any shot.
Our broader article on filming the people you serve with consent and dignity goes further into release language and interview ethics.
Showing outcomes honestly
Mentoring has a solid research base, and national organizations publish evaluations, but your video should only make claims your own program can support. If your data shows improved school attendance among your participants, say so and show where the number comes from. If you do not have that data, talk about what you can see: matches that last, kids who show up every week, mentors who re-enroll for a second year. Avoid language like "saves kids" or "turns lives around." It can sound like the child was broken before the program, which young people and their families notice.
A good outcome story in video usually has a time element. Filming a match at the start and again eight months later, or interviewing a program alum now in college, shows change in a way one interview cannot.
Planning a shoot around the program day
After-school programs run on tight schedules, often in borrowed school space with strict rules about visitors. We suggest:
| Step | What to arrange |
|---|---|
| Two weeks before | Consent forms out to families, list of youth cleared to appear, school or facility permission |
| One week before | Choose two or three mentor and mentee pairs willing to be interviewed, confirm dates |
| Shoot day, before program | Interviews with staff and mentors, empty space B-roll |
| Shoot day, during program | Activities, homework time, sports, filmed with minimal crew |
| After the shoot | Staff review of rough cut, removal of any child not cleared |
Mentor and mentee interviews work best done separately at first, then together for a few lighter questions. Kids are often more open when their mentor is nearby but not answering for them.
Questions mentors ask that your video should answer
When we interview program staff before a recruitment shoot, we ask them to list the questions prospective mentors raise at info sessions. The same ones come up almost every time, and a video that answers them saves the volunteer coordinator hours of repeat conversations.
- "What if I have nothing in common with my mentee?" Let a mentor describe a match that started awkwardly and found its footing over a shared interest.
- "Do I need to be a teacher or a counselor?" Show the training session and the staff support line. Most mentors are ordinary working adults.
- "Where do we meet?" Site-based programs meet at a school or center, community-based ones go to the library, a park or a museum. Show the real places.
- "What does it cost me?" Many programs give mentors free or low-cost activity ideas. Say so.
- "How long is the commitment?" State it plainly, usually a school year or twelve months, and explain why consistency matters for a young person.
Answering these in mentors' own words, with a short line of text on screen for each question, turns a feel-good film into a practical tool. It also helps the people who should not sign up, because they understand the commitment before they apply, which means fewer matches that end early.
Making the budget go further
Many mentoring programs run on small budgets. One well-planned shoot day can produce a recruitment video, a family video, several social clips and a donor story. Batch interviews, film general B-roll that works for all three audiences, and ask for raw selects you can reuse in future grant reports. For more ideas, see our article on producing nonprofit video on a tight budget, and if your program offers scholarships to graduates, the guide to scholarship impact video covers a closely related story.
Working with Miami Video Services on youth program video
We make video for nonprofits across South Florida, including programs serving children and teens. Our crews follow your child safety policies, work with a small footprint so programs keep running, and plan consent and review steps with your staff before the shoot. A typical project for a mentoring organization includes a mentor recruitment video, a family enrollment video in English and Spanish (and Creole on request), a donor story, and a set of short clips for social and volunteer fairs.
If your program needs more mentors or wants to show funders what a year of matches looks like, get in touch with a few lines about your program and your recruitment season. You can also read about our team or explore more nonprofit guides on the blog.
