Video - a powerful tool for spreading a non-profit's message

In my last blog entry, I mentioned that YouTube can be used to share videos of camp activities, interviews with scholarship recipients, fundraising videos, alumni event videos, etc. A camp or other organization can also create their own "channel" which allows a person or organization to collect all of their videos in one location on YouTube, and offer a brief description of the organization. Interested parties (alumni, donors, prospects, parents, etc.) can even subscribe to the channel. This will make the most recent of your videos show up on their YouTube homepage. For example, Camp B'nai B'rith Beber has a number of videos collected on their own channel. You can check it out at http://youtube.com/user/BeberCamp.

YouTube is also offering non-profits the option of creating a special non-profit channel for their cause. In addition to the features listed above for a channel, a non-profit channel for a camp or organization offers the following benefits:

• Premium branding capabilities and increased uploading capacity.
• Rotation of your videos in the "Promoted Videos" areas throughout the site.
• The option to drive fundraising through a Google Checkout "Donate" button.
• Listing on the Nonprofit channels and the Nonprofit videos pages.

However, YouTube mentions that a non-profit "may not be religious or political in nature." When I asked them about this restriction, they said the only way for a camp or other Jewish organization to know if they are eligible for a non-profit channel is to apply. Please let me know if you apply to this program and whether or not you are accepted. I'll share camps' experiences with the process in a future blog post.

Anyway, back to YouTube…Once a video is on YouTube, you can easily share it with others. You can embed the video on a website. For example, Camp Shomria did a great job quickly creating a website for their 85th Reunion on a limited budget and embedding a YouTube video to add a welcoming feeling to the site. You can also email a link to the video to a targeted list of alumni. You can even create a YouTube RSS feed based on the "tags" you set for your videos. Your constituents can then add this RSS feed to their Feed Readers (see my last blog entry for more information about RSS and Feed Readers) so that they are automatically informed when a new video with your tags is avaiable on YouTube.

And the greatest thing about YouTube? It's all free. All you need is an internet connection, a little creativity, and a video camera.

Actually, strike that. You don't even need a video camera. There is now another free service called Animoto that will allow you to create a free 30 second video using only music and still photos. Basically, you upload your photos and some music (Animoto provides some music, but it is only licensed for individual use - if a non-profit organization wants to share their Animoto video, they must upload their own music which they are allowed to share.). Then Animoto creates an individualized "video" incorporating the pictures and music. For example, a camp could record their campers singing and add that to a number of pictures of the campers activities or even some scanned artwork. Animoto also allows longer videos, but those require payment.

I created a personal animoto video that I uploaded to YouTube. You can check out the results here. Note that this took only about 15 minutes for me to find the photos, upload them to Animoto, pick the music, and wait for Animoto to create its magic. Check it out!