Google Gives Back
Google tells their 2011 philanthropy story in this video. I received the video as part of a mass mailing to all Google customers. It was one piece of spam I was happy to see.
Google tells their 2011 philanthropy story in this video. I received the video as part of a mass mailing to all Google customers. It was one piece of spam I was happy to see.
Is it just cute and catchy branding, or a legitimate desire to help? Check out the Web site of Help Remedies and decide for yourself. I’ll admit, this video is pretty fun to watch.
Following their 2007 Internet video sensation, The Story of Stuff, Annie Leonard and crew are back with the Story of Broke.
I find the mashup of live action and simple, line-art animation really effective here. Annie has a great presence, and the interplay between her and the animations keeps things interesting — even through a video of this length.
Learn more about Free Range Studios and the Story of Stuff Project.
This video does a nice job explaining how public and private corruption has a deep impact on the lives of everyday people in the developing world and beyond. I might ask for a slightly streamlined, shorter presentation here. But, overall, it’s a great way to explain a big problem.
Learn more at transparency.org.
Never underestimate the power of star power. The We Give a Damn Campaign “is for everybody who cares about gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender equality.” Check out all their videos on YouTube.
Former Labor Secretary Robert Reich makes a powerful case against income inequality in this video. It’s well done, and I had no idea Reich could draw! The real power of this video, though, comes from its brevity. The video even announces that it’s going to be brief — a signal to the viewer that there’s no big time commitment to consume this content “snack”. It’s no wonder, then, that this video has more than 1.1 million views.
The ability to boil down a complex economics subject into two minutes is a pretty amazing feat. While a short video might not be the right choice in all cases for your nonprofit or organization, they are effective when used as part of a social media campaign that relies on viral distribution and quick impressions. Social media is all about making things sharable — a bite-size morsel that busy people can share with friends.
Check out the sharing buttons that live just above the video on MoveOn.org. It’s the perfect combo of sharable content with an interface that makes things easily sharable. Take notes on that!
This video was produced by MoveOn.org. Learn more about it here.
Launching a fundraising campaign soon? Look to Heifer International’s latest video for inspiration. The video explains in clear terms the challenges that Honduran farmers face. The power of animation to explain the stakes of an issue can make fundraising much easier. When people fully understand an issue, they want to get involved and give.
I like the way this video successfully balances educating the viewer on the issues with a powerful and effective fundraising pitch. Well done, Heifer, although I think you should be taking advantage of the YouTube Nonprofit Program!
Heifer International’s mission is to help “people obtain a sustainable source of food and income”. Learn more about them at heifer.org.
Kathy Edson of Nashville Public Television submitted NPT’s fascinating Next Door Neighbors series. NPT has created a landing page for the whole series here. This highlights an important component of any series that’s deployed online; give viewers and the press a way to view all the media in one place.
Here’s a brief description of the series:
Nashville Public Television’s award winning Next Door Neighbors series looks at Nashville’s status as a new destination city for refugees and immigrants, and explores the rich diversity of people now calling Nashville home. There are currently five videos in this series that have been viewed around the world.
The series was produced by Will Pedigo. Funding was provided by The HCA Foundation, The Nissan Foundation, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and the viewers of WNPT.
Thanks to Kathy Edson for sending this in!
