Braeden Macchia has a full schedule as a junior at Longmont’s Silver Creek High School. The 17-year-old runs track and plays quarterback on his school’s varsity football team. He’s a member of the Silver Creek Leadership Academy, which encourages students to participate in community service activities and develop leadership skills.

In his spare moments, when he can find them, he’s also making life easier for nonprofit leaders.

Macchia is the founder of Drones for Dreams, an initiative that combines his passion for drone photography with his desire to lend a hand to local nonprofits.

Macchia provides drone photography and videography to nonprofits, and those organizations can use his footage in their marketing efforts.

Macchia’s services are completely free for the groups he works with. It’s a way, he explained, to help nonprofits showcase their missions through aerial photography without breaking the bank.

“It kind of just started as a project that I wanted to do,” Macchia said. “A picture can sometimes tell so much more than a paragraph.”

Drone photography services can be expensive; Macchia explained that some professionals charge their clients around $500 for one project.

By offering his drone work for free, nonprofits can continue to put their funds toward their core goals instead.When nonprofit staff react with surprise to Macchia’s no-strings-attached offer, he tells them he’d rather see them spend that money on “doing what they do best.”

Drones for Dreams took flight after Macchia learned about the Veterans Community Project of Longmont from his aunt, who was a volunteer for the nonprofit. In 2023, when VCP Longmont was still under construction and Macchia was just an eighth grader, he used his drone to film the tiny home village from the sky.

That kicked off a multi-year partnership with VCP Longmont, during which Macchia captured the village’s completion free of charge.

Today, Macchia has poured over 150 hours into Drones for Dreams, according to its website. He’s produced footage for local nonprofits including Luvin Arms Animal Sanctuary near Erie, Niwot Youth Sports, Harvest of Hope Pantry in Boulder, Good Life Refuge near Longmont and Colorado Horse Rescue in Boulder County.

“It’s always a lot to juggle, but I like being busy,” Macchia said.

For Macchia, one of the best parts of the process is seeing his footage end up as a nonprofit’s website header, or noticing his content on a group’s social media page. He hopes Drones for Dreams will keep going in some way, even after he leaves for college.

“It’s been really rewarding,” Macchia said. “I want this to be something that lives on.”

Kelly Nix, executive director of Luvin Arms Animal Sanctuary, said her jaw was “on the ground” when Macchia approached her last year with his offer of free drone shots. The sanctuary recently included his footage in an application for a grant to build a medical facility for its animal residents.

“We actually got the grant,” Nix said. “One of the comments that we got was, ‘Your property is incredible. We love that you incorporated this aerial footage.’”

VCP Longmont features Macchia’s footage on the home page of its website. When someone visits the site, his drone videos take them on a tour through the buildings and show them a bird’s-eye view of the village.

“It’s hard to get a whole picture of what the village looks like because we’re a pretty small, tight site,” said VCP Longmont Executive Director Jennifer Seybold. “That aerial view is really impactful. I think it just tells a story in a different way than a still photo or an on-the-ground shot.”

Macchia remains close to VCP Longmont, shooting the village’s lighting ceremony every holiday season.

“It’s so rare that we have a young person engaged in this way,” Seybold said. “He started here, and it’s obviously grown into something much bigger.”

To learn more, visit dronesfordreams.com.