Best Buddies at Ball State: Telling a Story That Earned National Recognition
Higgens Media partnered with Best Buddies at Ball State University to produce a video highlighting the chapter's friendships, activities, and community impact. Through event filming, interviews, and teaching members to capture their own footage, we helped tell the organization's story in a way that went beyond a traditional award application. The video accompanied the chapter's successful submission for the national Overall Outstanding University Chapter award, bringing recognition to its work p
- Client
- Best Buddies at Ball State University
Project Year: 2007–2008 Academic Year
Recognition: Overall Outstanding University Chapter, Best Buddies
The Challenge
Every year, Best Buddies chapters from universities across the country compete for national recognition. For Ball State University's chapter, the challenge was finding a way to stand out while showing what made its members and their friendships special.
The chapter had built a strong community around the mission of creating meaningful friendships between people with and without intellectual and developmental disabilities. But communicating that impact through an award application wasn't easy.
They wanted the selection committee to see more than a list of accomplishments. They wanted them to experience the friendships, activities, and people behind the chapter's work.
That's where Higgens Media came in.
Our Approach
Showing the Story, Not Just Telling It
Higgens Media collaborated with the Best Buddies chapter to create a video that would accompany its national award application.
We filmed chapter events and interviewed members to capture the friendships and experiences that made the organization meaningful to the people involved.
Rather than relying entirely on staged interviews or scripted messages, we focused on authentic moments that demonstrated how the chapter was bringing people together.
Giving Members a Role in the Production
One of the most meaningful parts of the project was involving chapter members in documenting their own experiences.
Higgens Media worked with members to teach photography and videography skills, giving them the opportunity to capture moments from their own perspective.
That collaboration allowed the final video to include more of the chapter's everyday experiences while giving members practical skills they could continue using.
Bringing Everything Together
With footage from events, interviews, and chapter members, Higgens Media edited a video that highlighted the organization's activities, community involvement, and commitment to friendship and inclusion.
The finished production accompanied the chapter's written award application, giving the selection committee an opportunity to see the people and relationships behind its accomplishments.
The Results
For the 2007–2008 academic year, Best Buddies at Ball State University was named the Overall Outstanding University Chapter, a national honor awarded to one university chapter each year.
The recognition celebrated the dedication of the chapter's members and leadership, along with their commitment to building friendships and creating a more inclusive community.
The chapter also received a $300 award and a waiver of the registration fee for the following year's conference.
The video produced by Higgens Media accompanied the chapter's successful award application, helping bring the people, friendships, and experiences behind its accomplishments to life.
For Higgens Media, the project demonstrated how thoughtful video storytelling can strengthen an organization's message and help its work stand out. More importantly, it helped an organization doing meaningful work receive the national recognition it deserved.
What the Client Said
"The partnership that Best Buddies of Ball State has created with Higgens Media has been a blessing of professionalism and friendship. The videos produced have brought our organization to new heights, as the 07-08 video gained our organization national and international recognition as the overall outstanding chapter."
— Dan Ladig, Best Buddies at Ball State
More Than a Video
The success of the project wasn't simply about producing a polished video. It came from working closely with the people whose stories we were telling.
By documenting real experiences, involving chapter members in the creative process, and bringing those moments together into a cohesive story, we helped Best Buddies share its accomplishments with a national audience.
For nonprofits, some of the most powerful stories are already happening within their organizations. Sometimes, they just need a way to be seen and heard.
Project Highlights
National Recognition: Best Buddies at Ball State received the Overall Outstanding University Chapter award.
Video Storytelling: Combined event footage, member interviews, and chapter activities into a video for the national award application.
Collaborative Production: Taught chapter members photography and videography skills so they could contribute their own footage.
Award-Winning Submission: The video accompanied the chapter's successful national award application.
Client Testimonial: Chapter leadership credited the video partnership with helping bring recognition to the organization.
Services provided: Nonprofit Video Production · Storytelling · Event Videography · Interviews · Video Editing · Media Training