Rudy Chavarria Scholarship Foundation
Raising major donor support through founder-led storytelling

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The Challenge

Rudy Chavarria, founder of the Rudy Chavarria Scholarship Foundation, reached out to Miura Media as a referred potential client. His wife, Gabby Chavarria, served on the board of the YWCA of San Gabriel Valley, where I had previously done video work, and she suggested he contact me.

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Rudy’s challenge was clear: he needed to attract larger, major donors to expand the reach of his scholarship foundation. The organization provides scholarships to qualified, highly motivated seniors from the La Puente/Hacienda Heights School District—a district serving predominantly Latino students, many from low-income households, immigrant families, and first-generation-to-college backgrounds.

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Despite strong academic profiles, these students often face limited financial resources and systemic barriers that make attending a four-year college feel more like a distant dream than a realistic option. Rudy’s goal was to raise funds to support more students—and to do so at a higher level than ever before.

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For the foundation’s upcoming fundraising gala, Rudy wanted to create a video that would resonate with an affluent, diverse audience across Los Angeles County. The fundraising goal was $60,000, representing a 40% increase over previous years.

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The Human Stakes

At the center of this goal were the students themselves.

For many scholarship recipients, family resources are stretched thin just meeting basic needs. While most students qualified for tuition support through state programs, they still lacked funding for essential college necessities—such as laptops, housing-related costs, and unexpected student fees.

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Beyond financial barriers, students from vulnerable communities often face additional challenges once they arrive on campus: imposter syndrome, isolation, and the emotional weight of navigating unfamiliar environments without a safety net.

Rudy understood that getting students into college was only the first hurdle. Staying in college was often the hardest part.

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The Rudy Chavarria Scholarship Foundation addressed this by providing not just scholarships, but ongoing support. Rudy personally stayed in touch with every scholarship recipient throughout their college careers and beyond. He established an emergency fund to assist students when life became unpredictable—covering unanticipated fees, travel home during the holidays, or other critical needs.

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The foundation didn’t just fund education—it became a safety net.

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Our Approach

From my very first phone conversation with Rudy, I felt deeply connected to his mission. His care for students was genuine, and his personal story was compelling.

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As a Mexican-American daughter of immigrants, and as a former Assistant Dean of Admissions who worked extensively with first-generation college students, I understood both the stakes and the potential impact of what Rudy was trying to accomplish. His values aligned directly with my own, and with Miura Media’s mission.

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Our creative challenge was to tell Rudy’s story in a way that would emotionally engage donors and inspire generosity—without sensationalizing or oversimplifying the realities his students faced.

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To begin, I conducted in-depth interviews with Rudy, board members, scholarship recipients, and their families. These conversations revealed a consistent truth: Rudy was the real deal. He was deeply invested in every student’s success, and the foundation operated entirely through volunteer labor, with 100% of donations going directly to students.

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We chose to structure the video using a hero’s journey framework, positioning Rudy as a reluctant but determined hero whose own educational opportunities were limited due to segregation and systemic barriers. After graduating from La Puente High School, Rudy had been offered only two paths: the military or the workforce. College was never presented as an option.

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He entered the workforce as a janitor and worked his way up, but never lost sight of the opportunity he had been denied. When the call to action came—to ensure future generations of students had access to higher education—he answered without hesitation.

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The Solution

Miura Media produced a five-minute founder video that wove Rudy’s personal story together with the lived experiences of scholarship recipients and their families.

The film combined interviews with cinematic b-roll of La Puente, students at home, and the communities the foundation serves. The result was an intimate, visually rich narrative that grounded the foundation’s mission in real human experience.

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The video premiered at the foundation’s annual fundraising gala.

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The Results

The response was immediate and powerful.

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That evening, the foundation raised $78,000, exceeding the original $60,000 goal by a significant margin. Following the event, the video was featured on the foundation’s website, where it continues to attract donors and clearly communicate the “why” behind the organization’s work.

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Why This Work Matters

This project exemplifies why Miura Media partners with mission-driven organizations. We believe storytelling is a form of service—and that when done with care, strategy, and integrity, it can create real, measurable impact.

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Creating this video allowed us to contribute meaningfully to our community while doing what we do best: crafting stories that move people to action.

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