KCD One Fund 50th Anniversary | School Fundraising Video
This one was a labor of love — we produced it pro bono for Kentucky Country Day to mark the school's 50th anniversary and power its annual giving campaign, the KCD One Fund. The brief was simple and the execution was anything but: build a fundraising appeal that families would actually want to watch, and let the students carry it. So that's exactly what we did. The story of fifty years, and the case for the next fifty, comes out of the mouths of the kids the fund exists to support.
Working with student talent is always a challenge, and honestly one of the most fun challenges in this business. You can script the message, but you can't script a nine-year-old — and you don't want to. The best moments in this piece are the unscripted ones, where a kid goes off-book and says something more charming than anything we could have written. Our job was to create the space for those moments and then have the cameras ready when they happened.
Production Challenge
A giving appeal lives or dies on whether it feels genuine, and the fastest way to kill that is over-directing kids into stiff, recited lines. The real work here was directing young students to be themselves on camera — keeping the set loose, capturing a lot of takes, and editing for the spark rather than the perfect read. We balanced the polished anniversary message with the honest, funny, slightly-off-script energy of children, so the finished video carries both the institution's history and the heart of why it matters.
About This Project
Client: Kentucky Country Day School (KCD)
Type: Nonprofit Fundraising Video, Annual Giving Appeal
Location: Louisville, KY
Services: Concept and direction, on-location filming, directing student talent, editing
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John Flower Productions has produced fundraising and mission-driven video for Louisville schools and nonprofits since 2007. Ready to talk about your next project? Contact us.
Video Transcript:
Did you know that this year is KCD's 50th anniversary? 50 years. That's a long time. Yeah.
50 years ago, a group of forward-thinking, courageous leaders and educators forged our path to greatness by founding Kentucky Country Day. Through these last five decades, KCD has evolved tremendously — technology, teaching and learning styles, and the enhancement of our beautiful campus. This progress would not have been possible without the support of our generous community of parents, alumni, faculty, grandparents, and friends. I don't know them, but thank you to those people.
A KCD education is valued for its lasting impact on the lives of our students. For that to remain true, KCD must continue to grow and evolve. As we celebrate the first 50 years of KCD, we all have to look forward to the next 50, where the global citizens of today will become the leaders of tomorrow. What do you think KCD is going to be like in the next 50 years? Maybe it's gonna be spaces.
Together, we'll continue to transform our programs, the spaces that unite us, and our ability to inspire a more inclusive, more diverse community. But we can't achieve these goals without you. Just as those who came before us, we must ensure that we can continue to provide a transformative education for every student.
That's where you come in. Gifts to the KCD One Fund help provide all students with life-changing experiences, cutting-edge resources, and varied opportunities in a rapidly changing world. This generosity is paramount to our success today and for generations to come. The One Fund has the power to change lives. You have the power to change lives. The One Fund is awesome.
Thank you for participating. Thank you for helping me grow. Thank you for believing in us. Thank you for believing in us. Thank you for participating. Thank you. Let's do this.