Support a Charity Just by Watching YouTube

• Do Something - Thumb Wars PSA

BroadbandTV Corp. recently launched a YouTube destination to get your social good on. The site, named VISO Give, aggregates pre-existing video content from non-profits, sorts it by company name and type of cause, and lets you watch or search for your favorites.

VISO Give features videos from celebrities like the cast members of Community asking you not to text while driving, Usher speaking about getting out the vote and Nick Jonas promoting music education outreach on behalf of DoSomething.org. However, the channel also gives equal billing to smaller non-profits like a bobcat rescue or regional homeless job centers that might not have the same exposure or celebrity backing.


What makes the site interesting is its emphasis on providing a service not just to users looking for videos, but to the non-profits looking for help. Charities usually have to fight for two things: exposure and funding. VISO Give helps with both. VISO, the consumer branch of BroadbandTV, already rakes in more than 1 billion impressions through YouTube, via its video game and movie trailers channels. That built-in fan base will hopefully convert to the new channel and send new eyeballs to non-profits of all sizes.

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• Big Cat Rescue - Bobcat Kittens!

The channel also aims to help with funding by giving 60% of the non-profits’ associated ad revenue. The other 40% will be reinvested in the channel. While YouTube ad revenue is notoriously low (think: pennies per view), that number can quickly add up with enough views. Essentially, every time you watch a video on VISO Give, you’re indirectly donating to that charity. To help, there will be additional direct donation links posted with each video.

          There’s always the worry that big brands with aggregation services will end up co-opting content from their smaller content providers — using the videos to drive traffic to their own sites. However, it’s free for non-profits to sign up and VISO Give has intelligently made the channel non-exclusive, meaning non-profits can post or place their videos on rival sites or keep them native. It’s a nice move by VISO and BroadbandTV and reinforces the idea that the channel is there to help.
VISO Give has already partnered with a number of non-profits, including Livestrong and the United Way, but hopes to expand and grow its catalogue.
What do you think? Is VISO Give something you’d check out? What’s the merit of potentially passive philanthropy like this, as opposed to direct fundraising or awareness campaigns? Let us know in the comments below.