We're looking for a production powerhouse team to produce an inspiring and uplifting docu-style hero and social video shoot in Detroit, MI for the top grant recipient of this year's Block Advisors "Fund Her Future" grant program. Using your production as a guide, you'll then supervise five other satellite productions working with this year's five additional grant recipients, and handle all post-production across all six shoots.
Building a business is no easy task, but Block Advisors by H&R Block exists to help micro and small business owners handle the hurdles and find stability and long-term success. Female small business owners face even more challenges, which is where Block Advisors' Fund Her Future initiative comes into play. Through this grant program, now in its second year, Block Advisors provides $100,000 in grant funding and a year of small business services, to a few deserving US-based women small business owners through the Fund Her Future initiative. H&R Block wants to help celebrate 2025's recipients with video content to show the impact of Block Advisors' year-round small business services on their success, elevate the visibility of the Fund Her Future program, and support and promote their businesses.
We're looking for a highly organized creative team that can produce both docu-style hero video content and social-first videos about this year's Fund Her Future $50K grant recipient, based in Detroit, MI, while also overseeing satellite productions capturing social video with the five $10K recipients. You can read more about the 2025 grant recipients in the Background. You'll be responsible for production and post-production for the shoot in Detroit, as well as guiding pre-production and handling all post-production on video for all five satellite shoots with the other recipients. The satellite shoots themselves will be conducted by other filmmakers around the country, working with separate budgets, although you'll need to collaborate with them to ensure consistent tone and style for the campaign; we'll be launching the brief for that early next week (week of 10/6) so keep an eye out for that, too, if interested.
For all Fund Her Future grant recipients, we're looking to capture the following:
You'll then create a cinematic :60 docu-style hero video on the $50K grant recipient, along with a :60-:90 vertical supercut showcasing all of the 2025 recipients, and four :60 social-first videos per recipient. H&R Block will provide guiding concepts/outlines for the social videos, and your docu-style hero video on the $50K grant recipient should highlight her journey as a small business owner, and what being a female small business owner means to her. Your shoot should be a lower-touch and nimble docu-style production – think about using a bounce versus a full lighting package – and all of the shoots should all feel stylistically similar. All recipients will provide their own wardrobe, and we'd like to see them in different outfits for their interviews vs their workplace b-roll, to create a little variety. For the $50K grant recipient, you should plan to bring on an HMU stylist to help ensure she's looking her natural best on camera.
H&R Block will work with you in pre-production to align on interview questions and social video direction for each recipient, ensuring you highlight the professional journey of her business and how the Fund Her Future grant has been a source of growth and support. As campaign director, you should expect to join Tongal, the satellite filmmaker, and H&R Block on pre-interview calls with each recipient to further inform each shoot. Above all, the videos should all be relatable to the audience, illustrating the ups and downs of small business ownership – but also how Block Advisors is the best resource for small business owners to grow their businesses and build confidence for long-term success.
Please note you do NOT need to be based in Detroit to pitch on this project, but there is no additional travel budget available, and any crew travel or lodging should be covered under your production budget. As campaign director, you'll oversee pre-production and create interview and shotlist templates for the satellite productions, but you will not need to be on set for any satellite shoots. After each shoot, the satellite directors will ship you a hard drive of all footage to create the various videos If you think you're able to handle any of the satellite shoots for any of the $10K grant recipients, you're welcome to raise your hand, but the expectation is that those will be handled by other local teams.
For any questions or other project updates, check out the Project Forum.
DELIVERABLES: Across all six Fund Her Future recipients, there will be a total of 29 edited video assets and 16 still photos:
EXPECTED TIMELINE: HERE. Please note this timeline currently maps out anticipated timing for production with the $50K grant recipient; separate timelines will be added for the five $10K grant recipients and your broader Campaign Director duties.
EXPOSURE: We expect content will be used on the platforms below, but if casting talent, be sure they review our required Talent Release before they're cast, as it is NOT limited to these platforms. You should also review our Music providers in the Project Requirements, as well as the platform best practices.
TARGET AUDIENCE: Small business owners, especially females 20-50.
TONE/FEEL: Warm, inspiring, relatable
EXECUTIONAL MANDATORIES:
By participating in this project, creators acknowledge that the Sponsor is under no obligation to greenlight a submission. Though most projects do move forward, we'll notify you in the event the Sponsor decides not to fund any submissions via the Project Forum. Regardless of the result, all submissions will be reviewed and evaluated by the Sponsor and project team.
THE 2025 $50,000 GRANT RECIPIENT:
Rebel Nell, Detroit, MI - Rebel Nell is a jewelry company that employs, educates, and empowers women with barriers to employment. They transform meaningful materials — like fallen graffiti — into powerful, wearable art, while providing a pathway to self-sufficiency through equitable opportunities. They’re not just making jewelry — they are rewriting the narrative for women who’ve been overlooked.
2025 $10,000 GRANT RECIPIENTS:
ABOUT FUND HER FUTURE: One annual recipient receives a $50,000 grant, and five runners-up receive $10,000 each; all six also receive expert assistance with everything from their small business taxes, an analysis of their business structure, and bookkeeping and payroll guidance through Block Advisors.
Be sure to check out last year's video on $50K grant recipient Allégorie Design for a sense of tone and style.
In order to be considered, include the below materials in your submission. For examples of effective pitches, check out this gallery. All Pitches remain private, even after a Pitch is selected, and Tongal strives to have Pitch selections made by the end of the Evaluation period, but additional time may be required by the Sponsor, depending on any number of factors. Unless specifically requested, there's no need to include a budget with your submission.
The most compelling pitch will be greenlit by the Sponsor, and the responsible creator will then receive an email from Tongal producers detailing next steps. All submitters will also receive an automated email notification that a selection has been announced. To ensure you’re receiving project updates, review your email settings to check that you haven’t unsubscribed.
Creators who’ve been selected will receive funding upon completing the Winner Affidavit and the IP Assignment. Payment of the pitch funds is subject to a payment schedule determined by Tongal, typically included with the project timeline.
PRE-PRODUCTION BIBLE & APPROVALS: Prior to the commencement of actual production, creators MUST prepare a singular pre-production "bible" document with the elements contained below, and that document MUST receive final approval from the Sponsor. We recommend that you use the bible template we provide HERE, or something very similar. The bible can be presented in stages as different elements are ready for review (i.e. it's not expected that storyboards, if required, are ready with your first draft). Apart from the below, you're also welcome to include other key items that you think would be helpful to communicate your plan (e.g. moodboards, lighting, music, shot list, etc.).
Note that there may be multiple rounds of feedback until elements are approved, and if you begin production before you have received final approval, you may need to reshoot or reanimate at your own expense.
For convenience, we've provided some helpful templates that you can consider using for pre-production materials, and they can all be accessed here.
BUILDING YOUR TEAM: Looking for help? Post crew and production opportunities connected to Tongal projects on Backlot. Backlot includes search tools to help you find collaborators and crew by role, skill set, location, and more, for productions of any size and type. Tongal also supports inclusivity in all productions, and strongly encourages you to hire diverse talent for your team. To find additional options for staff & crew in your area, check out these resources and partners.
REVISION REQUIREMENTS & RESOURCES: Once Content has been submitted and the initial Production Phase completed, greenlit creators will enter into Revisions. Creators will perform reasonable edits on their videos according to the Sponsor's feedback. Check out our Filmmaker Resource Portal to access helpful post-production resources like Text-Safe Guides for different platforms, Project File Organization Tutorial, Export Presets, and Captioning services.
MUSIC: If you use music from a library for your content, you MUST use one of Tongal's music providers: Universal Production Music, PrimalHouse, or Slipstream Music. Music from these providers is available to registered Tongal members at no charge solely for their incorporation into submissions to this project, and will not require a Music Release Form. To learn more, click on any of the providers' names above.
If you use original music, you must fill out and submit our Music Release Form. Please ensure your composer reviews and signs this form BEFORE beginning their work.
STOCK FOOTAGE: Tongal has partnered with the stock footage library Storyblocks, which can be used to source video clips, photography, and After Effects templates for your video submission to this project. Video or photo content from Storyblocks is available at no charge, solely for incorporation into submissions on this project, and will not require a separate Release Form. If identifiable people or intellectual property appears in a video clip or photo, you may only utilize assets that are clearly marked “Model released: Yes” or “Property release: Yes” on the clip description pages. You may NOT use any audio.
If you intend to use Storyblocks, inform your Tongal producer, and an account will be created for you to access the library. Once assets are approved for delivery, you must provide a complete list of all Storyblocks content that you used via our template HERE.
ASSET DELIVERY REQUIREMENTS & RESOURCES: You must also provide all project files, editing sequences and a 1080p .mov master file, using a ProRes, Animation, or Uncompressed Codec in order to submit final payment. You are responsible for any costs associated with the hard drive and shipping. Tongal also reserves the right to request all raw files associated with the project.
To ensure a smoother delivery, please review the Export Presets, Specifications, and Project File Organization Tutorial in our Filmmaker Resource Portal.