Over the past few weeks, we’ve explored how YouTube can help you reach and engage new supporters, long term volunteers and donors on our Google+ page. We’ve shared tips on how to maximize the effect of existing videos, ideas for creating new ones and organizations who are already inspiring action with their Youtube channels and playlists. If you missed it, here are five ways your nonprofit can make the most of YouTube today.

  1. Reach goals with your viewers using the Campaigns feature. The Campaigns feature on YouTube encourages viewers to contribute towards goals that you set, such as increasing views or subscribers. We recently launched the ability to set the goal of number views for your whole channel. With the help of Campaigns, Sesame Street became the first nonprofit organization to reach over a billion viewers of videos on their channel. Learn how to create your campaign and begin using the feature here.


  1. Become a regular. Just as it's important for you to maintain a consistent fundraising schedule, the same rule applies to how you program content on YouTube. Stick to a consistent schedule and regularly produce and share timely and relevant videos. Making video a regular part of your fundraising activities can help extend the impact of your campaign. Looking for inspiration? Rainforest Action Network and Oxfam GB create regular thematic content and then organize the videos into featured playlists on their channels.

  1. Turn video views into dollars raised with the Google Wallet “Donate” Button. All registered YouTube nonprofit partners can use a Google Wallet “Donate” button. Once you sign up as a nonprofit, go to your Google Wallet Options, enter your ID and Merchant Key, and choose donation amounts. When you’ve filled in the information, the button will appear on your public profile and on your video pages. You can find the Google Wallet options in the upper right-hand corner of “My Channel” and click on the “Add Donation Module” button. The button appears on both your channel page and the watch video pages.
  1. Let your viewers drive with Annotations. If you want to be really creative about how you get your message across, try using Annotations to create an interactive, “choose-your-own-adventure” style video. This video from Droptheweapons.org for the “Drop the Weapons” campaign lets the viewer decide what to do in a series of life or death decisions. It’s intended to educate kids about the consequences of making the wrong decisions.


  1. Don’t let your shoestring budget keep you from making great videos. You don’t need fancy equipment and years of experience to tell a compelling story on YouTube. In fact, many nonprofits make the biggest impact with YouTube by posting authentic and scrappy videos on a regular schedule. You can hear these nonprofits’ stories (and more tips) by watching this Hangout:


If you want to learn more about how you can use YouTube to tell your story, your first step is to make sure you’re registered with Google for Nonprofits. If you’ve been accepted into the program, you can start using YouTube for Nonprofits. Then, check out our ‘Playbook for Good’ which is full of best practices and handy tips. We can’t wait to watch the stories you tell!

Posted by Jessica Mason, YouTube Nonprofit team