by Trish Fontanilla, Community Manager at Vsnap
Last week during #NPTalk (a hashtag for a nonprofit chat that’s every Wednesday on Twitter), end of the year video appeals came up and we got a mention! As a volunteer and a project leader at a nonprofit, I’ve always seen video as a great way to add a face to a cause and in turn deepen a connection to an organization. And with most nonprofits trying to find more hours in the day to connect with their communities in a personal and meaningful way, making short videos can be the perfect solution.
A great example of a nonprofit using video is charity : water. This year when they turned 5, they wrote letters, emails, and made 250 personalized videos to thank all of their supporters. Over the past 5 years, their community helped fund over 4,200 water projects in 19 countries, which provided over 2 million people with clean, safe water.
If you watched the video above, you can see that
charity : water went all out with the filming and props (including sock puppets, tutus, musical instruments, wigs, and cakes in different languages… the videos, not the cakes), thanks to the help of 100+ staff members, interns, and volunteers. This may seem like more effort than a nonprofit can afford, but is there any doubt that their supporters feel a little more connected to them?
With
Vsnap, you don’t need any fancy equipment, just a computer with a webcam. Mobile capabilities are coming early next year. Our key feature is attachments, so you can add pictures from projects, a letter from the CEO, or even donation links to your vsnap. Maybe even make a vsnap for different levels of contributions so that people can see just how much of a difference they’ve made. It’s a green (no cost for paper or shipping, of course) way to get in touch with your community and it’s currently free to use.
I think there are lots of other great ways nonprofits can use video, but what do you think? As always if you have any questions or if you’re looking for someone to bounce ideas off of, email me or comment below!
Filed under trish blogs nptalk nonprofits video video messaging calls to action charitywater
