In honour of Mother’s Day, Habitat for Humanity Waterloo Region asked several mothers to express their gratitude towards their donors, thanking them for their contribution to the organization.

Not-for-profit organizations are faced with the challenge of standing out in a crowded space. Habitat for Humanity Waterloo had been working with Agents of Good, a collective of creative storytellers that works with charities to help them with their individual giving and direct response programs and appreciation.

Because many of the people supported by Habitat for Humanity are mothers, Agents of Good proposed a Mother’s Day video.

Developed in conjunction with Agents of Good, our approach for this project was to show the significance of what a home means to a family. We filmed scenes with several mothers and their children, helping viewers see what happens behind people’s doors – the precious family moments that are experienced at home. The video concludes with each of the mothers directly saying ‘thank you’ to the viewers, which created a very authentic expression of gratitude.

Initially, it was rolled out to select donor groups at events. With all audiences, it has been generating a strong emotional response from viewers, and has been very well received. If the measured metric was how many people it brought to tears, it’s been a success. Additionally, even after several years, this video continues to be effective and create anemotional connection between audiences. This supports Atomic Spark’s ‘story first’ approach to production.