More than a place for cute cat and dog videos, YouTube helps people share causes

As a visual medium, videos are a powerful way for people to reach other people -- not sure for entertainment, but to call attention to important causes. And combined with the power of the internet, the impact can be still more powerful. YouTube, for example, has 800 million unique visitors a month, or roughly 12 percent of the world’s population online -- not just waiting to be entertained, but also informed and inspired.

 

The Philippines is no stranger to social initiatives effected through YouTube. One recent outreach was the effort of seven-year-old Bronte Henfling, daughter of Skip Henfling, who was part of the ‘Borne Legacy’ film crew. During their stay in the Philippines, Bronte witnessed the devastation wreaked on Cagayan de Oro and Iligan by the tropical storm Sendong. This led the seven-year-old to appeal for toys for the affected children in Mindanao over YouTube. The clip, entitled ‘Bronte and Frank’s Typhoon Toy Drive’, raised 2,000 stuffed toys from California and Australia, to help comfort the children of Mindanao.

 

Earth Hour, a sustainability campaign that started as an local initiative in Sydney in 2006, also used YouTube to reach a global audience. It’s 2012 campaign, ‘I Will if You Will’, uses videos to encourage people to pledge to little actions to help save the world. The campaign has people pledging dares -- “I will do the polar bear swim...if 2000 people agree to pick up trash by the beach” -- and accepting the creative challenges.

 

Clearly, netizens are harnessing the power of video and the internet to inspire social change in a cost effective and efficient way. The YouTube Nonprofit Program, launched in 2007, offers free brand channels to non-profits and is already home to thousands of non-profits -- whether big or small -- like the World Food Program, Invisible People TV, RSPCA, and World Vision. Non-profits actually uploaded over 42,000 hours of content in 2010 alone. And as of November 2011, over 270 non-profit partners had over one million views, while 31 non-profits got over 100 million views. Currently, around 16,000 non-profits have signed up with the program.   

Here are some examples of successful non-profit campaigns on YouTube:

 

“It Gets Better”: In the US, Dan Savage responded to a series of gay teen suicides by launching a video campaign to reassure gay teens that they will find communities that accept them. His videos have been viewed over 2.3 million times and have inspired response videos by high-profile celebs and even President Obama.

 

“Invisible People”: Mark Horvath (or @hardlynormal on Twitter) started Invisiblepeople.tv, a program to empower the homeless, and to give a voice and venue to tell their stories.

 

“I talk because...”: In 2009, on World AIDS Day, the New York City Council and HIV/AIDS organizations, launched this YouTube campaign to create awareness about HIV/AIDS and start a global conversation about AIDS. Around 145 people uploaded videos where they talked on their views of and experience with the disease.

 

Looking to start a non-profit channel of your own? Sign up here and check out YouTube’s Playbook Guide: YouTube for Good, which contains tips and how-tos that help non-profits

activate their campaigns, create compelling content and raise funds on a tight budget. Press release from YouTube