From binge-worthy TV to campaign videos to donor appeals, the same five building blocks show up again and again. Not because they’re formulaic, but because they match how people naturally process information and emotion.

After several years partnering with nonprofits, foundations, and purpose-led brands, we’ve started to see clear patterns in the kinds of teams that reach out and the support they tend to need.

Leaders as far back as Fred Rogers reminded us that people need to “look for the helpers,” and that the media has a responsibility to make those helpers visible. That wisdom was already on the table decades ago, yet the field largely ignored it. And the result is the landscape we’re living with now.

Years ago, while working inside fast-moving editorial and digital environments, our team saw the same challenge over and over. Assignments needed to be matched with the right creative talent, in the right city, on the right timeline. Budgets were tight, travel was inefficient, and national stories needed local eyes.

I’ve had many jobs over the years, but it’s always been the same story: show up, listen well, and try to make it count.

I’m not one to gatekeep, so here’s a tip that genuinely changed how we work.

At Righteous Fights, we’re big believers in remote work. Our team stretches coast to coast — editors in L.A., producers in D.C., crew across the Midwest, and collaborators everywhere in between.

We see it in government, media, and even our relationships. Social cohesion is fraying. Facts alone aren’t fixing it. That sense of “we’re all in this together” feels harder to believe.

But even when people lose faith in institutions, they still trust people. And people connect through story.

Knowing the answer might save your project. Or at least save you from hours of wasted time.

I think about storytelling a lot. And there’s one deceptively simple idea I find myself coming back to all the time.

Every great story has two elements working together: Intention and obstacle.

It all begins with an idea.

You’ve got great content. But if your files are scattered, your team’s misaligned, or your naming conventions are anyone’s guess, that content won’t do what it’s meant to do.

Behind every iconic image or moving video is a layer of infrastructure that most people never see. Getting that layer right ensures that the right stories get told, and the right people get to see them.