Five Nonprofits Maximizing YouTube’s Nonprofit Program
Launched in 2007, YouTube’s Nonprofit Program has gone through multiple changes over the last six years. Initially the program was only offered to qualified U.S. nonprofits and the benefits were limited to premium branding functionality and the ability to add a Google Checkout donate button to nonprofit YouTube channels.
Today, however, the program has been expanded to Australia, Canada, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, and the United Kingdom and it offers some very powerful free tools to nonprofits:
- Google Wallet donate button
- Call-to-action overlays
- Live streaming
- Video annotations
Google is shutting down Google Checkout worldwide and replacing it with Google Wallet on November 20, so at the very least those nonprofits taking advantage of YouTube’s Nonprofit Program who also take the necessary steps to accept donations through Google Wallet and YouTube, will be the best positioned when wallets go mainstream and transform online and mobile fundraising. That said, for your inspiration, below are five nonprofits maximizing YouTube’s Nonprofit Program and YouTube’s new channel design:
1. ASPCA: youtube.com/aspca
2. Nature Conservancy: youtube.com/natureconservancy
3. OXFAM: youtube.com/user/OxfamGreatBritain
4. SOS Children’s Villages: youtube.com/SOSChildrensVillages
5. WITNESS: youtube.com/witness
Related Link:
How Nonprofits Can Successfully Use YouTube and Create Video Content for the Social Web
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Nonprofit Tech 2.0 Blog :: A Social Media Guide for Nonprofits 
We highly recommend YouTube’s Nonprofit Program, and we are tweeting this post! 🙂
We are in the application process currently but the value here is obvious. The success we have seen in converting “likes” on facebook after creating a custom welcome page is almost guaranteed to have a similar effect as branding a YouTube page. Nonprofits should also check out Googles other free tools:
http://www.google.com/nonprofits/
For some reason, although we have a Google Grant, we have not been able to get the greenlight for YouTube for Nonprofits despite applying ages ago (and periodically trying to apply again). It may have to do with some disconnect between the login for our Google account and the YouTube account. Both have the same sign in… but one isn’t recognizing the other. Anyway, I would love to be able to talk /correspond with a real life person to get it straightened out because I think we’d be ideal candidates, but so far no luck.
That’s the biggest frustration with the program. Nonprofits fall through the cracks during the application process. Not enough staff obviously and no customer service. 🙂
Were you at the #google4np meeting today? Did Google address the lack of customer support at all?
Wasn’t there. My guess is they don’t know how bad it is. 🙂
I really like the possibilities that social networks offer to nonprofits. But with most of them it is restricted to the US, and the UK. Can anyone tell me why they do not yet offer these possibilities to NGO’s in other parts of the world?
It’s because their is no master database i.e. Guidestar that can instantaneously verify a nonprofit’s legal status. They would have to hire a lot of people to research nonprofits… Guidestar now operates in US, UK, Canada and Australia. They want to do more countries, but are a nonprofit themselves. It’s not that these tools don’t want to help nonprofits in other nations… it’s that the technology isn’t there yet to make it financially feasible. 🙂
Our NPO applied for YouTube for Nonprofits eons ago (at least a year ago, if my memory serves) and never heard back. It wouldn’t let us reapply, either, as our previous application was in limbo.
Tried again today, and got a whole new series of hoops to jump through for “Google for Nonprofits”. Applied through that, and it says we’ll hear back within 30 days. Hope that works!
Yehp. Same thing happened to me. Applied and never heard back. In limbo. This is the conundrum the nonprofit sector is in now… using free sites that are built primarily for the for-profit sector. I think many nonprofits would be willing to pay $20 a year if it meant customer service. 🙂
Thank you for including an Arts sector non-profit in your examples. Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival has been utilizing a YouTube non-profit channel for their PillowTV programming and experiencing increased referral traffic to the homesite from YouTube as a direct result of the premium capabilities. For those orgs who feel like they are waiting in line, it is worth the wait ; )
Lisa
Virtual Pillow Projects Manager
Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival
http://www.youtube.com/JacobsPillow