Lever for Change Video Requirements: How to Make the 90-Second Video

Lever for Change runs some of the largest open grant competitions in the sector, and its applications ask for a short video. The rules are strict: miss the caption requirement and the registration is ineligible. This guide sets out exactly what Lever for Change asks for, what reviewers look for, and how to make a 90-second video that does real work for your application.

Key facts: Lever for Change video requirements

• Length: no more than 90 seconds.
• Language: English.
• Captions: required. Registrations with uncaptioned videos are ineligible.
• Hosting: YouTube, set to Public or Unlisted. Never Private, because peer reviewers and the Evaluation Panel need to watch it.
• Music and footage: no copyrighted material, including music, unless you hold a license.
• People on camera: only people who have given permission; no children under 18 without express parental consent.
• Production quality: not required and does not affect how the application is evaluated. A smartphone video is acceptable.
• Public use: your video may be shared with the public and other donors.

Source: Lever for Change, Video Supports. Each competition's own application can add or change rules, so read the rules of the Open Call you are entering before you shoot.

What the video should cover

Lever for Change's guidance lists four things the video should do. Use them as your outline:

1. Introduce yourself and your organization. Name, role, organization, in one breath.
2. Describe your community. The shared geography, identity or needs that define the people you serve.
3. Describe the obstacles. What stands between individuals or families in that community and better well-being.
4. Explain your approach and your success. What you do about those obstacles, and proof it is working.

Lever for Change also asks applicants to appeal to a broad audience and to use the video to share their vision in a way that differs from the written proposal. That second point is the one most teams miss. Reviewers have already read your narrative. The video is your chance to show them the people, the place and the conviction behind it.

A 90-second structure that fits the brief

Ninety seconds is roughly 200 to 225 spoken words. Here is a timing plan that covers all four required elements with room to breathe:

• 0–10 seconds: who you are. Your executive director or project lead on camera, introducing themselves and the organization.
• 10–30 seconds: the community. Where you work and who you serve. Pair the voice with footage of the neighborhood, program space or region.
• 30–50 seconds: the obstacle. One concrete barrier, explained plainly. A single specific example beats a list of statistics.
• 50–80 seconds: your approach and results. What you do, and one or two results you can stand behind. If a participant or partner can say it on camera (with consent), let them.
• 80–90 seconds: the vision. What the award would make possible, in one sentence.

Write the script first, read it aloud with a timer, and cut until it lands at 85 seconds. That buffer protects you from going over in the edit.

Who should be on camera

The guidance asks you to introduce yourself, so the strongest videos put the person leading the work in front of the camera. Viewers trust a leader speaking in their own words more than a voiceover over stock footage. Add a community member or partner only if you have written permission, and keep children out of frame unless you have express parental consent on file. Our legal tips for nonprofit video production include release form basics.

Production quality: what matters and what doesn't

Lever for Change states plainly that it does not require high production values and that production quality will not affect evaluation. That frees you to focus on what reviewers do notice:

• Clear audio. Viewers forgive shaky footage; they stop listening to muddy sound. Use a lavalier mic or record in a quiet room.
• Accurate captions. Auto-captions often misspell names and places. Correct them in YouTube Studio before you submit.
• Clean licensing. Use royalty-free music you hold a license for, or no music at all.
• Real footage of your work. Thirty seconds of your actual program beats any amount of stock video.

Production quality isn't scored, but the video may be shared publicly and with other donors. A clear, well-made film keeps working for you long after the competition, in your grant proposals, major donor meetings and board updates.

Current Lever for Change Open Calls

As of October 14, 2026, Lever for Change's Open Calls page lists these recent and active competitions:

• Boundless San Francisco (Crankstart with Lever for Change): up to $150 million, with up to three awards of up to $50 million each, for projects that primarily benefit the City and County of San Francisco. Registration closed September 11, 2026; applications from registered applicants are due October 15, 2026 at 5 p.m. PT. Finalists are expected by June 2027. Boundless SF FAQ.
• Scaling Pathways to Homeownership (Capital One, the Capital One Foundation and Lever for Change): a $25 million Open Call for the United States and U.S. Territories. Applications closed February 5, 2026; awardees are expected in spring 2027. Details.
• Emerging Climate Champions Award (Enlight Foundation and The Patchwork Collective): $25 million in $1 million flexible multiyear gifts, global. Applications closed September 22, 2025; recipients are to be announced by fall 2026. Details.

New Open Calls launch through the year. Bookmark the Open Calls page and our directory of grants that require a video, which tracks Lever for Change alongside Echoing Green, Camelback, the Roddenberry Fellowship and others.

Pre-submission checklist

• Runs 90 seconds or less (check the exported file, not the timeline).
• Spoken in English.
• Captions uploaded and proofread on YouTube.
• Privacy set to Public or Unlisted, and the link tested in a logged-out browser.
• Every person on camera has signed a release; no minors without parental consent.
• All music and footage is owned or licensed.
• Covers introduction, community, obstacle, approach and results.
• Says something the written proposal can't.

Common mistakes we see

• Reading the proposal aloud. The video should add conviction and context, not repeat the narrative.
• Opening with a logo animation. Ten seconds of branding is ten seconds of a 90-second limit gone.
• Too many speakers. One leader plus one community voice is plenty at this length.
• Leaving captions to the last day. Uncaptioned videos make the registration ineligible. Caption early.

Need the video made?

Happy Productions makes grant application videos for nonprofits, foundations and NGOs, with a network of 20,000+ vetted storytellers in 130+ countries, so we can film your work where it happens. See our case studies or our full nonprofit video production services. Facing a deadline? Book a free consultation and we'll map out a shoot that fits your timeline.