Kidus Solomon, Angel Fire Media
Kidus Solomon is the founder of Angel Fire Media, which offers video production, photography, and storytelling for nonprofits. Its Story Collections service turns a nonprofit's impact stories into multimedia content that connects donors to the mission.
Who are you, who do you serve, and what are you focused on right now?
I help nonprofits transform their communications with individual stories of impact by producing videos, websites, and more to help them better appeal to donors, grant makers, and the general public.
I've narrowed down my services at Angel Fire Media to two things that help nonprofits amplify their impact: Story Collections, a service to produce and deliver multimedia content featuring the stories of individuals who've benefited from a nonprofit's work, and websites that help them communicate their mission to donors, grant makers, and stakeholders in concise and engaging ways.
What led you into this work?
My path here began with a profound sense of wanting to contribute to causes that help humanity achieve, in FDR's words, a world with "freedom from fear, and freedom from want" for all people. This calling led me to volunteer on a congressional campaign while in college, where I discovered I had a talent for creating art that communicates a message in ways that connect with people emotionally, and a passion for creating the systems to do so strategically.
I started Angel Fire Media to produce videos and ads for campaigns, and began working with nonprofits to better fulfill my mission in the long term. I've since used every client as an opportunity to identify common unmet needs that prevent nonprofits from achieving more for their mission.
What's a project you're proud of?
We managed a nonprofit's event marketing for their annual fundraiser and doubled attendance to thousands of people, helping them achieve an 83% increase in donations and ticket sale revenue.
What are you building right now?
With Story Collections, I hope to help nonprofits share their success stories in innovative and emotionally impactful ways that help them win more grants, more donors, and more hearts.
What advice would you give someone earlier in their journey?
In my experience, clients aren't always aware of all the pieces of the puzzle they need and how each one affects the path to their overall goal. Taking initiative to understand the issues they may have missed, finding the through line between those challenges and your skill sets and passion, and communicating that to them helps open doors.
How has Relatable Nonprofit helped your business?
Having access to a community of professionals who've faced similar challenges and can offer different perspectives has been incredibly valuable. More specifically, Catalina has helped me identify opportunities to refine my services in ways that I believe will make it easier for me to grow my business and better serve my clients.