Volunteer Video Editor — Idealist Days Campaign

What might happen if, once a month — on 1/1, 2/2, 3/3, and so on — we encouraged each other to do one thing to make our corner of the world a little better?

That's the question behind Idealist Days, and we're building a small video team to help tell the story of people answering it. We're looking for a volunteer editor to help us spotlight people doing good in NYC and around the world through inspiring short-form and long-form video.

The role

• ~5-10 hours/week, ongoing, with a 3-month minimum commitment
• Fully remote, or Hybrid (NYC-based editors welcome to work from Idealist HQ as a perk)
• Start immediately; full team assembled and shipping by end of June
• You'll work directly with the Senior Producer and a small volunteer storytelling crew

What you'll do

• Edit short social cuts and longer interview-driven pieces from raw footage
• Handle captions, color, and basic sound design in DaVinci Resolve
• Optional: Travel with the team to shoots if you have DIT or on-the-fly assembly experience

What we're looking for

• Intermediate to pro editor — strong timeline fundamentals are non-negotiable
• Fluent in DaVinci Resolve
• Comfortable with captions, color, and basic mixing
• Camera experience a plus
• Most importantly: Someone who actually cares about stories.

What you get

• Direct mentorship throughout the project
• Use of Idealist HQ in NYC as a workspace (if local)
• Polished portfolio pieces and on-screen credit
• Access to Idealist's network of nonprofits and changemakers
• Fun work with an amazing team!

About the producer

I'm Matthew Chavez, Senior Producer at Idealist. You might know my participatory public art projects — Subway Therapy, an award winning participatory art installation, and Listening Lab, the nonprofit I co-founded around connection, listening, and community storytelling. My work has always been about helping people feel seen and heard. This campaign is the next chapter, and I'm looking for collaborators who want to build it with me.