YouTube’s Nonprofit Program now Available in Canada

February 22, 2010 may go down as a game-changing date for media savvy nonprofits in Canada. Today the popular video-sharing platform YouTube announced that its Nonprofit Program is now available to organizations operating north of the 49th parallel.

This is really huge news. YouTube is the industry leader in online video, and the premier destination for watching and sharing videos with family, friends, and co-workers. In 2005, its first year of operation, YouTube had approximately 2.8 million viewers; a year later it had 72 million viewers. Today, there are a more than 100 million viewers around the world. There are other very good video sharing platforms (Vimeo, DailyMotion, etc.), but none of them match YouTube’s reach.

What is the value of YouTube for Nonprofits?

Nonprofit organizations work very hard to get people to join their emails lists, to attend events, to volunteer their time, to sign petitions, and to become donors. Video can be a great way of engaging people, but organizations need to think carefully about the plan and purpose of their video, and then develop a distribution strategy from there. I have seen so many compelling videos by nonprofit organizations that go nowhere – and it’s not because the videos are no good; it’s just that the strategy is either wrong or non-existent.

In 2007 YouTube launched its Nonprofit Program to assist charities and other voluntary organizations with outreach and fundraising. The international development NGO Charity:Water reports that it raised $10,000 in the first day of its campaign. That’s a remarkable achievement.

The major benefits of participating in the YouTube Nonprofit Program include:

1. A “Donate Now” button allows organizations to solicit donations directly from its YouTube video link

2. Enhanced uploading capacity

3. An ability to network with media professionals who may be able to help your organization through the YouTube Video Volunteers Program

4. The ability to overlay your video with a call-to-action and other annotations that will drive traffic to your website and help amplify your broader advocacy, fundraising and capacity building activities

See3 Communications is a Chicago-based communication consultancy that specializes in the nonprofit sector. It is recognized as one of the world’s top video strategy agencies for nonprofits and NGOs, with an impressive client list, including Amnesty International, The Center for American Progress, The Sierra Club and the American Cancer Society. Its CEO, Michael Hoffman, is a passionate and engaged advocate of video in service of social change. Listen to him explain the real value of this program for nonprofit organizations.

Until today the YouTube Nonprofit Program was available only to organizations in the U.S. and Britain. Kudos to Google Inc. and the folks at YouTube, particularly those involved in its Nonprofit Program, for expanding the benefits to the nonprofit sector in Canada.