STORY LEADS
A FREE workshop for New Hanover County nonprofit leaders, media makers, and college students
How can film screenings, arts and culture events, and dynamic online storytelling help nonprofits and grassroots organizations advance their missions and create greater impact in New Hanover County?
Join Working Films—a national leader in using media to drive social change—for a free half-day conference. You’ll gain practical skills, valuable knowledge, and meaningful connections to help you use media and arts in support of your work.
LOGISTICS
Wednesday, October 14, 2026 – 9:30am to 2:00pm
The Harrelson Center- 20 N 4th St, Wilmington, NC 28401
9:30am Registration & Coffee
10:00am Program Begins
FREE Registration – For all students, artists, nonprofit staff, and volunteers in New Hanover County. Click here to complete the registration form below.
WHO IS STORY LEADS FOR?
FOR NONPROFITS AND GRASSROOTS LEADERS
You’ll walk away with concrete examples of how to use film and arts events to educate people about the issues you work on, recruit volunteers and donors, and engage people in advocacy for your cause. We’ll also cover strategies for creating more impactful social media content, and how to root ourselves in accountable, non-extractive storytelling, whatever the medium.
FOR FILMMAKERS, MEDIA MAKERS, AND ARTISTS
If you have a vision for using your art to make change in our community, this is the space for you. Learn from Working Films’ expert staff who have been connecting nonprofits and documentary filmmakers for 26 years to move people to action. You’ll also have a chance to build relationships with local nonprofit staff, and reflect on how your creative process can be more accountable to the people and communities whose stories you share.
FOR STUDENTS
This is a space for students who may be exploring careers in creative fields like filmmaking or communications and for those interested in public service, social work, or nonprofit careers. Learn about using storytelling for social change and network with local filmmakers and nonprofit professionals.
SCHEDULE AND SESSION INFORMATION
9:30am – Check In and Coffee
10:00am – Session 1
Putting Media to Work: Leveraging Film and Social Media to Educate and Inspire Action
Working Films will share impact stories from our 26 year history of using film as a tool for change and train participants in our methodology for creating community-based film events that bring people in and advance an organization’s goals.
We’ll be joined by Morgan Hooks, Outreach and Engagement Manager at Cape Fear Riverwatch, to share how thoughtful social media storytelling can educate audiences and inspire action. Together, we’ll explore the intersection of online and offline storytelling — and how both can strengthen community engagement and build momentum for change
11:30am – Session 2
Accountable Storytelling: How are we caring for our people as we tell and share powerful stories?
Whether we’re artists or nonprofit staff, we’re storytelling all the time, documenting our impact, sharing stories of the people we serve, even making or being featured in films, news articles, or other creative work. But how can we assure we’re being accountable to the people and individuals whose stories we are sharing, so that they have power and agency in the process?
Members of the Documentary Accountability Working Group will share a values based framework for accountable, nonextractive storytelling, rooted in filmmaking practice but applicable across all forms of storytelling .
12:15pm Networking Lunch
Enjoy a free meal while connecting with others interested in using stories to make New Hanover County a better place for all. Feel free to bring information about your organization and/or your art to share with others.
1:00pm Session 3
The Stories We Need: Visionary Narratives for Collective Change
What are the narratives that get in the way of our work, and what visionary narratives do we need more of to build support for our collective work for a more just, livable, and sustainable New Hanover County?
Attendees will explore these questions together after hearing a case study from the Rise-Home Stories Project, a collaboration co-led by Working Films, in which 16 housing-focused organizations, co-created five media projects that challenge our deeply held ideas about land and home.
Thank you to the New Hanover Community Endowment, whose support makes Story Leads possible.
REGISTRATION
Registration is required, but there is no cost. Feel free to join us for the full day or as much of the event as you are able.