Be Inspired Films, 141 Newhall Street, Birmingham (2025)

02/11/2025

💡 What does it take to light up a continent?

Not charity.
Not data.
Story.

New episode of the Storytelling for Social Impact Podcast with Richard Turner Fundraising Director at

Here are the biggest shifts:

🔥 You don’t change minds with data
You change them with purpose.

SolarAid isn’t selling solar lamps.
They are selling dignity and possibility.

⚡ Aid doesn’t scale. Entrepreneurship does.

SolarAid treats people as customers, not beneficiaries.

They pay a tiny fee for energy.
Less than candles.
So systems get repaired.
People have ownership.

Local entrepreneurs step in and scale it.
SolarAid moves on.
Market built. Dependency broken.

🌍 100 percent energy access in a region of Malawi happened. Not a dream. A real community. A real model.

🎯 Fundraising is not asking for money

“When someone else is telling your story for you, you’ve won.”

💬 Same story. Different doors.

Philanthropists hear legacy
Governments hear infrastructure
Communities hear hope

💭 Storytelling is not after the work
It is the engine that makes the work possible

🎧 Episode title: Lighting Up Africa – Richard Turner’s Journey with SolarAid - Link in bio.
🎙 Produced by (Certified B Corp)

02/11/2025

💡 What does it take to light up a continent, one story at a time?

In the latest Storytelling for Social Impact Podcast, I sat down with Richard Turner, CEO of SolarAid, to explore how storytelling is not a nice extra.

It is the catalyst for change.

Here are the takeaways that hit hardest:

🔥 1. You don’t change minds with data. You change them with purpose.

SolarAid isn’t just selling solar lamps.

They are selling dignity, opportunity and agency by telling stories people can feel.

🌍 2. 100 percent energy access in Malawi already happened.

SolarAid helped deliver safe, clean light to every household in one district of Malawi.

It is not a dream.

It is a blueprint.

⚡ 3. Aid doesn’t scale. Entrepreneurship does.

SolarAid was founded by an entrepreneur, so they never followed the traditional give and go charity approach.

They treat people as customers, not beneficiaries.

The light is provided, but families pay a small fee for the energy they use.

Always less than candles or kerosene.

Because they pay, the system is maintained and repaired.

People have ownership, not dependency.

Local entrepreneurs then copy it, scale it, and SolarAid moves on.

They don’t give light away.

They build a market, then step aside.

🎯 4. Great fundraising is not asking for money.

Richard shared his six step approach.

The final step “When someone else is telling your story for you, you’ve won.”

💬 5. One story. Many translations.

Philanthropists hear legacy.

Governments hear infrastructure.

Communities hear hope.

Same story. Different doors.

🚀 6. Solar isn’t just tech. It is economic transformation.

One solar light means:

✔ No more kerosene
✔ Children studying at night
✔ More income after dark
✔ Local businesses instead of aid dependency

💭 Final thought

Storytelling is not what you do after the work.
It is the engine that makes the work possible.

🎧 Episode: Lighting Up Africa – Richard Turner’s Journey with SolarAid

Listen on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/storytelling-for-social-impact/id1765133382?i=1000734770906

Listen on Spotify: https://spotify.link/y02n6sEpYXb

Produced by Be Inspired Films | Certified B Corp

———

Be Inspired Films helps purpose-driven organisations turn video into measurable results through their Impact™ Storytelling System.

19/10/2025

Powerful stories die without structure.

The tragedy is most purpose-driven organisations have incredible stories.

But without a system, the storytelling never compounds.

I’ve watched it for over 20 years.
Teams who give everything.
Leaders with vision.
Missions that genuinely matter.

But without a storytelling system, their story gets lost.

• Scattered campaigns.

• Messaging that doesn’t land.

• One-off videos that disappear into the noise.

• A team that wants to tell the story but isn’t fully equipped.

• Impact no one can measure.

That’s why I built StoryOS™ - a storytelling operating system we embed inside organisations to bridge the gap between noise and real impact.

It’s not software.

It’s structure. It’s clarity. It’s capability.

It’s how we ensure purpose-driven stories compound and grow.

Here’s what that looks like in practice:

• A clear strategic narrative anchored in your mission

• A system for ongoing storytelling that compounds over time

• Cinematic flagship content with supporting assets

• In-house storytelling capability through training and toolkits

• Measurable results to guide what comes next

This is the journey from confusion to clarity.

From stories that fade to stories that shape the future.

If you read this and thought “that’s us,” then you are exactly who StoryOS™ was built for.

👇 Comment “story” or drop me a message and I’ll send you more details.

19/10/2025

Powerful stories die without structure.

The tragedy is most purpose-driven organisations have incredible stories.

But without a system, the storytelling never compounds.

I’ve watched it for over 20 years.
Teams who give everything.
Leaders with vision.
Missions that genuinely matter.

But without a storytelling system, their story gets lost.

• Scattered campaigns.

• Messaging that doesn’t land.

• One-off videos that disappear into the noise.

• A team that wants to tell the story but isn’t fully equipped.

• Impact no one can measure.

That’s why I built StoryOS™ - a storytelling operating system we embed inside organisations to bridge the gap between noise and real impact.

It’s not software.

It’s structure. It’s clarity. It’s capability.

It’s how we ensure purpose-driven stories compound and grow.

Here’s what that looks like in practice:

• A clear strategic narrative anchored in your mission

• A system for ongoing storytelling that compounds over time

• Cinematic flagship content with supporting assets

• In-house storytelling capability through training and toolkits

• Measurable results to guide what comes next

This is the journey from confusion to clarity.

From stories that fade to stories that shape the future.

If you read this and thought “that’s us,” then you are exactly who StoryOS™ was built for.

👇 Comment “story” or drop me a message and I’ll send you more details.

18/10/2025

One of the ‘extras’ in our upcoming brand film.

The word on the grapevine is this one could make it all the way to the big time.

18/10/2025

One of the ‘extras’ in our upcoming brand film.

The word on the grapevine is this one could make it all the way to the big time.

16/10/2025

Without clarity, your stories won’t land.

It’s like talking about loving to travel, loving to go to new places, loving to meet people.

But not being clear exactly where you are on the map, where you’re going and why you’re going there.

Our first pillar is clarity.

It’s where we help purpose driven founders and brands through fractional consultancy to get crystal clear on your value proposition, the problem you solve and who you solve it for.

Get in touch for a chat to learn more.

15/10/2025

If your story starts with theory of change, you’ve already lost them.

Specs. Frameworks. Data. Important, yes. But not first. Never first.

When someone hears your story for the first time, the goal isn’t to tell them everything.

The goal is for them to walk away thinking: “I get it. I like it. I want to know more.”

How you get there can vary.
But that outcome? Non-negotiable.

🎧 Clip from my podcast Storytelling for Social Impact with of

Listen wherever you get your podcasts.

Produced by | Certified B Corp since 2015

15/10/2025

on set at Dudley Zoo as part of an exciting new brand film coming soon.

The camera has been set on the jib for the opening shot of the scene by DOP and camera assistant

Can’t wait to share the finished film with you in due course.

11/10/2025

Today is International Day of the Girl Child.

This trip below is where film started in 2016 with the first trip to India for the Food For Life Vrindavan Tuk Tuk Challenge 2016

Many thanks to for organising the trip and many since in support of and other charities.

08/10/2025

A sneak peek through the director’s monitor.

In this still, I’m blocking out the scene with the client and our protagonists for a beautiful brand film with heart.

Will share more in the lead up and look forward to being able to share the final film with you soon.

14/06/2025

My parents are at the Cannes Film Awards tonight. Fingers crossed our film A Girl Can Touch The Sky wins Best Documentary.

Be Inspired Films

02/11/2025

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