YouTube Case Study for Nonprofit Organizations

You Tube for Nonprofit Organizations

The Background
Happy Playgrounds builds new playgrounds for children in areas of need. It started in a small section of Chicago and over the last two years it has grown to include a larger area of the city as well as other areas of the state. All of Happy Playgrounds are built by volunteers and sponsors help with any supplies needed. They share all of their successes and gratitude through their website, facebook page, twitter, and blogs. The Executive Director knew what it felt like to organize and attend one of these events and that could never be fully conveyed in writing and pictures. Happy Playgrounds wanted their volunteers, sponsors, and the general public to see the process and show the impact their work has on these children. They decided to film the process and share it on YouTube.


The Challenge
As Happy Playgrounds began filming their videos they wondered how to market them. Once they had videos they weren’t sure how to showcase them and gain exposure. They wondered how their videos would get people to know their story. Ultimately, they weren’t sure if this would get people to know more about Happy Playgrounds and visit their website.

The Solutions
YouTube allowed Happy Playgrounds to deliver their message to the world's largest online video community. They decided that frequently updated content would keep people coming back for more. They opted for a series of short videos, rather than one long one. They spread their message by embedding the videos in their blog, on their website, and on social-networking sites like Facebook. They also included the link in their newsletters and emailed it to their members with an invitation to view, comment, and share. They found other nonprofits on YouTube who are working for a similar cause and partnered up to promote each other’s organizations. Since YouTube is now the second largest search engine they also added relevant keywords to the video titles.



Lessons Learned:
Happy Playgrounds learned that YouTube offers a user friendly and efficient way of uploading and showcasing the organization's videos. Video proved to be a great way to tell their story while making a personal connection. Since raw and genuine footage resonates well with the YouTube audience it was not necessary to hire a professional videographer. The fact that all of the searches on YouTube are users looking for video content, there is no doubt for Happy Playgrounds that this is a great search/discovery destination for their videos.



This case study was prepared by Netta Dankel of the Center for Nonprofit Success. For more case studies on nonprofit management, visit the Center for Nonprofit Success website at: http://www.cfnps.org/research.aspx For a calendar of our upcoming seminars on nonprofit management, go to http://www.cfnps.org/education_calendar.aspx