Social Impact
Storytelling that educates, inspires and catalyzes action.
We partner with impact-driven foundations, nonprofits and visionary brands on documentary film and video storytelling campaigns — work that moves people to invest in our most pressing social and environmental issues.
Project in focus
Saul Zaentz Innovation Fund
Leveling the Playing Field for Baltimore's Creative Community
For the Saul Zaentz Innovation Fund, a film about leveling the playing field for Baltimore’s creative community — the artists, makers and founders the fund invests in, in their own studios and their own words.
Feature documentary
From campaign film to feature.
Our partnership with the Saul Zaentz Charitable Foundation began with campaign and initiative films — and grew into Starting at Zero, a feature documentary, premiered in 2020, that carried the Foundation’s case for early childhood education to governors, educators and families nationwide.
Credentials
Willa holds professional certificates from the Georgetown University School of Continuing Studies in Social Impact Storytelling and Social Impact Partnership Design.
Client partners on the work
In their words.
“Other than the subject matter, we had no idea what we were creating. Without Willa, it never would have happened — not even with another filmmaker! She always finds her way through the maze of issues and personalities and emerges with a solution that works. At the end of the day, she became a member of our team.”
“It is an absolute pleasure to work with Willa and the Firestarter team. They are expert storytellers and artists who welcome collaboration with institutional partners and put their considerable talents to work in advancing our strategic goals. The work they've produced for us is exceptional, beautiful, and powerful.”
Impact partners include the Saul Zaentz Charitable Foundation, 1% for the Planet, SeaAhead, Stone Barns Center for Food & Agriculture, Global Family Initiative, Gulf of Maine Research Institute, Ashoka, Coastal Enterprises Inc. and NOAA.
Client partners
Social Impact partners we’ve built stories with.
Good to know
Questions we’re asked most.
What is social impact storytelling?
Documentary film and video campaigns that educate, inspire and move people to act on social and environmental issues. For foundations and nonprofits that means fundraising films, initiative launches, member and partner films, field documentaries and the short pieces that carry a campaign across email, events and social media.
Do you work with small nonprofits as well as large foundations?
Yes. Our partners range from grassroots organizations to national foundations and research institutes, including the Saul Zaentz Charitable Foundation, 1% for the Planet, GreenWave, Stone Barns Center, the Gulf of Maine Research Institute, Global Family Initiative and Coastal Enterprises. Every project is scoped individually.
What credentials does the team bring to impact work?
Founder Willa Kammerer holds professional certificates from Georgetown University in Social Impact Storytelling and Social Impact Partnership Design, is a graduate of Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses, and directed the award-winning feature documentary Starting at Zero, which Firestarter co-produced with the Saul Zaentz Charitable Foundation.
How do you measure whether a film worked?
Launch & Analyze is the last of our six steps. Together we track the metrics that matter for your campaign, such as engagement, donations, sign-ups, event attendance and press, and adjust the rollout. Long-term partnerships also build a story archive you can draw on as new objectives emerge.
Let’s talk
Sound like a fit?
It all starts with a message. Tell us about the audience you need to reach and what a win looks like.