When Netflix asked Ed Sheeran to film a concert, he could’ve done what every artist has done for decades: a stage, a crowd, a multi-camera production, a familiar rhythm. Instead, he decided to try something completely different.

Inspired by the film Adolescence, Sheeran shot the entire concert as one continuous take—no edits, no angles, no cuts. The camera simply follows him through the city as he performs.

The result isn’t just visually clever.

It feels alive.

Unexpected.

Intimate.

A little risky.

And most importantly: completely different from what anyone asked for.

That’s the part that keeps echoing for me.

Ed Sheeran wasn’t trying to be disruptive.

He was trying to be intentional.

He took a familiar format—and asked, “What if we didn’t do it the usual way?”

Nonprofits need this question more than ever.

Why This Matters for Nonprofits

Every nonprofit has recurring formats: the newsletter, the appeal letter, the annual meeting, the donor pitch, the website hero image, the gala script. Over time, these become so familiar that we stop examining them. We stop questioning them. We stop imagining new possibilities.

We keep delivering good work—but in predictable containers.

And predictable containers rarely spark new energy, new connection, or new engagement.

Ed Sheeran’s choice is a powerful reminder:

When you borrow ideas from another medium, you give yourself permission to reinvent your own.

The point isn’t to make your next campaign look like a movie.

The point is to ask:

• What if we changed the angle?

• What if we changed the pacing?

• What if we changed the emotional palette?

• What if we changed how the story begins?

Filmmakers obsess over these questions.

Most nonprofits never ask them.

But when we do, our work suddenly feels fresher—not because the content changes, but because the way we tell the story does.

Thinking outside the box

Over the next three articles, we’ll explore specific film-inspired techniques that can transform different areas of nonprofit life—from communications to fundraising to community engagement.

1. Marketing & Communications: Color Grading Your Brand

Just like film colorists use tone, light, and palette to make a story feel a certain way, nonprofits can shape emotional consistency across their marketing.

Warm brand, cool brand, urgent brand, hopeful brand—your emotional palette matters more than most organizations realize.

This article will explore how tone, mood, and feeling can become your most powerful communication tools.

2. Fundraising & Development: The Slow Reveal

Great films build tension slowly. They don’t start with the climax—they earn it.

Fundraising works the same way.

This article will explore how pacing, sequencing, and emotional build-up can make your asks feel more natural, more meaningful, and more successful.

3. Membership & Events: The Cold Open

Films and TV shows often skip the introductions and start with a moment—something gripping, emotional, or intriguing.

Nonprofit events can do the same.

This article will explore how to open gatherings in ways that spark immediate emotional connection and set a compelling tone.

The Bigger Invitation

You don’t need a film crew, high-production events, or cinematic storytelling. You just need curiosity.

Film techniques are simply lenses—ways of looking at your work differently, questioning what’s familiar, and expanding what’s possible.

Ed Sheeran didn’t reinvent concerts. He just asked, “What if the camera never cut away?”

You don’t need to reinvent your nonprofit. You just need to ask, “What if we didn’t do this the usual way?”

That’s where creative leadership begins.

And that’s where imagineering truly lives.

Photo By Harald Krichel – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=88009757