Video

John Gelety, director of video services for FundRaising Success parent company North American Publishing Co., shares some insights that can help nonprofits make the most of their video efforts.

Creating engaging, sharable videos doesn’t seem to come naturally for most nonprofits, and I think I know why. Instead of highlighting naturally dynamic stories about people, nonprofits tend to create videos about programs. I call this The Program Trap. Your organization’s job is to run your programs well. That’s why you care about the details of how they are run. But your audience is hungry for meaning, belonging and purpose. Viewers want to be a part of something that matters.

I also love fundraisers, and this video made me think of y'all and the glorious work you do, and it reminded me again of how proud I am to be a part of it (if just peripherally) through FundRaising Success.

If you know anything about Sesame Street's Count von Count, it's that he loves to count. In Sesame Street's latest YouTube upload, the number-loving Muppet is counting the TV show's YouTube channel views. And for a good reason: Sesame Street has just become the first nonprofit YouTube channel to hit 1 billion views.

In December 2007, then FS Associate Editor Timothy Churchill wrote about the up-and-coming video site YouTube as another potential place for nonprofits to raise money and awareness in his story, "Do You YouTube?"

If you follow social media guru Mari Smith, you have no doubt noticed the headline ”The Year of Video.” Will nonprofits follow that trend? I always look at Michael Hoffman, CEO of See3 Communications, for an answer. Michael has been front and center of video for nonprofits for years.

He says, “Video is, by far, the content that commands the most attention online. In the U.S., the average Web visitor watches nearly 250 videos per month. Regardless of mission or size, your participation will help to define the value of video in the nonprofit community”

Charities will soon have a new way for their supporters to use videos to help raise awareness and money on their behalf.

YouTube said Wednesday it is allowing video makers to link directly from videos to pages on the fundraising and petition sites DonorsChoose.org, Change.org, Causes.com and Rockethub.com.

In addition to those four sites, YouTube in April began allowing links to the sites Kickstarter.com and Indiegogo.com, which use crowd-sourcing techniques to seek donations.

The National Corporate Theatre Fund (NCTF) announced four finalists in its video competition aimed at highlighting the importance of theater education's contribution to crucial skill development needed for the 21st century workforce. More than 5,000 votes were cast on NCTF's Facebook page, which received more than 13,000 visits during the competition.

The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation has been awarded “best video” in the DoGooder YouTube Nonprofit Video Awards for the Large Nonprofit category. The annual contest is designed to recognize the creative and effective use of video among charitable organizations.

The foundation’s video, “Adding Tomorrows,” is a portrait of three individuals who live with cystic fibrosis. It was selected as a finalist from more than 1,000 nonprofit entries, and received the most votes from the public in its category.

Last month, YouTube began accepting submissions for its annual DoGooder Nonprofit Video Awards. Now that the submission period is closed and 16 finalists were selected by judges, it's time to get your votes in to help decide the winners.