YouTube needs no introduction. If you do not regularly use the service (and that is a very big if), then chances are extremely high that you at least know of it. This is due to the fact that YouTube is massive. It is so big, that headlines are regularly generated highlighting how much select YouTubers earn from the content they post. Not to mention, YouTube themselves have been recently looked to increase their own revenues from the service. Well, when it comes to such a massive user base and number of subscribers, YouTube also has the power to really affect change and this is exactly what Google is hoping to do going forward.
In a blog post this morning, Google makes it clear that the large user base of YouTube is one which can certainly make a different. According to the blog posting, “YouTube has over a billion users“, adding “And everyday those users watch hundreds of millions of hours of video, racking up billions of views“, which google notes “are now billions of opportunities to do good.” As a result, Google has announced that they have now begun rolling out the ability to make use of ‘donation cards’ to YouTube content provider accounts. In the shortest of terms, these donation cards allow YouTube content providers to offer a way for their subscribers to help various charities and nonprofit organizations by offering a direct means to donate. The content provider is able to choose which organization they would like to help drive traffic towards, and thereby, donations towards. As a result, YouTubers can specifically choose to help a charity or organization which is close to the heart or of course, just help to spread the word in general. Either way, Google and YouTube hope that the use of donation cards will help to achieve an impact.
Generally speaking, there does not seem to be a major caveats with the new donation cards and Google does note that 100% of the donated money will be donated. However, the nonprofit does have to be one which is an IRS-validated nonprofit organization in the U.S. and it would seem only U.S. YouTube content providers can currently employ the donation cards. If you want to take a look at how the new donation cards function, check out the video below.