We talk a lot about storytelling in charity marketing. It's one of those words that gets used so often it starts to lose its meaning, thrown into briefs, sprinkled through strategies, nodded at in workshops.

But when storytelling is done well, with integrity, with real voices at the centre, it's still one of the most powerful tools a charity has.

That's why we're proud to be sponsoring The Charity Film Festival 2026.

What is the Saltways Charity Film Festival?

Organised by The Saltways, the Charity Film Festival is a first-of-its-kind event taking place on 24th September 2026 at Rich Mix in London. It brings together 130 charity and non-profit professionals for a full day of film screenings, workshops, panel discussions, live music and a live-streamed awards ceremony.

At its heart, it's a celebration of the filmmakers, communicators, and people with lived experience who are using film to tell stories that genuinely change things. Not polished brand content, not fundraising ads optimised for click-through but stories that carry real weight, because they come from real places.

Why have we chosen to become a sponsor?

We work with charities doing brilliant work. Yet, we repeatedly see a gap between the impact a charity creates and its ability to communicate that impact effectively.

That gap isn't usually a resource problem, although resources matter. It's a strategy problem. Charities often get so close to their own work that they lose the ability to see it through the eyes of the people they need to reach: donors, commissioners, volunteers, and the public.

Successful charity films rely on a comprehensive knowledge of the audience and understanding what will land, and what messages will stick. Films are a powerful highlight, a summary that brings together your strategy and audience insight.

The Saltways founded this festival on a principle we hold, too: that ethical storytelling means centring it around the people whose stories are being told, not just featuring them. Authenticity isn't a production value, it's a commitment.

The Charity Film Festival exists precisely to champion that kind of storytelling. And that's a conversation we want to be part of.

Storytelling as strategy, not decoration

There's a tendency in charity marketing to treat storytelling as the creative layer, the thing you add on top once the strategy (if you have one) is in place, the case study that illustrates the impact report, the video that brings the campaign to life.

We'd argue it needs to be much more prominent than that.

The most effective charity communications we've seen don't use stories to illustrate strategy. They use stories to build it. They start by asking: whose voice is missing from this? What does this feel like for the person living it? How do we communicate this in a way that respects that experience while still moving an audience to act?

Those are fundamentally strategic questions. And film, done well, is one of the most demanding and most rewarding ways to answer them.

How you can get involved

If you work in the charity sector and you've created a film that tells genuine, impactful stories, the Charity Film Festival Awards are open for entries now. The deadline for submissions is midnight on 7th July 2026.

Register for tickets, find out more and submit your entry by clicking here.

We hope to see you there.