Have You Adopted YouTube’s Donation Cards?

It’s easier than ever to turn a video viewer into a financial supporter

Social media continues to expand its reach and become a complementary fundraising tool for nonprofits and brands. In 2015, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube added donate buttons, and just last month, YouTube launched Donation Cards, which allows viewers to donate directly from a YouTube video to a cause.

While nonprofits have had the ability to implement this feature on their own YouTube videos for a while now, the potential of extending it to nonprofit partners, brands, influencers or really anyone aligned with your cause is powerful.

Now when a blogger, news outlet, social media influencer or brand partner posts or embeds your campaign video, or better yet, creates one of their own in support of your mission, they too have the ability to prompt viewers to give directly to the organization via a YouTube Donation Card. This tool can be particularly effective during major campaign push periods, potentially creating a multiplier effect in giving by both empowering your supporters to seamlessly make an ask, and also making it easier for viewers to give.

Ultimately, this feature is another medium for your organization to reach your audience. According to Hubspot, 55% of people watch videos online every day and 57% of all consumer internet traffic is video. By 2018, that number is expected to approach 80%.

But it’s not just consumer video traffic that’s exploding. In the same report, Hubspot found that 75% of business executives watch work-related videos at least weekly, and 59% prefer video to text when presented with an option between the two. Whether your audience is consumer focused, business focused or a mixture of the two, your message has the chance to be seen.

In a nutshell, video is where the internet is going, and the Donation Cards help both content creators and the causes they support. Nonprofit Quarterly reports that content creators have the option to designate up to five causes to support, which helps assuage any scale concerns.

It’s important to note that Google takes NO cut from the donation. 100% of the money goes directly to “IRS-validated 501(c)3 public nonprofit organization.” While this feature is only available to nonprofits in the United States, a global rollout is forthcoming.

The Donation Cards are a great step to expand your reach and secure additional fundraising. The ability of your partners and supporters to make an ask through their own channels, AND making it easier for your supporters to give at the moment they are most inspired is a powerful combination.

Want to get the most benefit from the Donation Cards? Get in touch with us today.