Over the last ten years, Cash & Rocket has developed a unique model for uniting women around the fight for education equality around the world — while having a literal “blast” doing it. Over four days, the all-female participants drive red sports cars across a different country, raising money at fundraising and press events along the way. The impact has been astounding: more than $7.2 million raised thus far.

After first becoming involved in 2012, we saw incredible potential in the organization. So, we began looking for additional ways to accelerate Cash & Rocket’s amazing journey.

Our first target was strengthening outreach and public engagement. These events created a dedicated internal community among the participants. But was there a way we could bring more people along for the ride, allowing the message of female empowerment and mission of these nonprofits to reach an even bigger audience?

The solution came in the form of what we know best: visual storytelling. We commissioned a film crew to document each day of the event, editing that footage into clips at night that Cash & Rocket’s influencer participants could share on their social media accounts and CrowdRise pages. By making all these individual communities feel like part of the experience at every stage, we not only amplified the overall visibility of Cash & Rocket, but dramatically increased the donations it received.

After replicating that initial success for three years, we began looking for a way to take things even further. The second target became sharpening the focus on the charities themselves. Having raised money for dozens of nonprofits, we understood the challenge of making sure the glitz, glamor and fun of an event don’t overshadow the organizations it’s designed to support. Could we figure out a way to make the lives of the people being helped even more central to the Cash & Rocket adventure?

So, prior to the engines even being revved in 2015, we sent filmmakers to South Africa, Sierra Leone, and Ghana, where that year’s nonprofits were based. After documenting the inspiring work happening there, the short films that resulted were screened along the Cash & Rocket, increasing awareness and creating solidarity among the participants. But even more powerfully, the films were donated to the nonprofits themselves, becoming an invaluable tool for outreach and fundraising that would last for years to come.