There's no doubt that video is the key to successful fundraising. While a picture maybe be worth a thousand words when conveying an important cause message, a video can be worth a million.

 

Imagine the Obama campaign without the Will.i.am video (which allegedly helped to raise millions in campaign contributions overnight) or the Charity:water campaign without Beck's super slick "Time Bomb" video, or Trees for the Future without the great video featuring David Depner. Watch my friend's video on the Youth Mentoring Center and try not to cry... I dare you.

 

Video not only makes the cause real by showing actual footage of the program in action, it adds the element of emotion. Music and the smiling face of the child can do wonders to tug on both the heart and the purse strings of a prospective donor.

 

No one realizes that better than Channel G, a repository of great videos about a wide range of causes. Channel G produces video exclusively about the work of great nonprofits around the world in 3 main categories -- animals, people, planet. Their footage has been featured on television and at film festival like Telluride and Patagonia's upcoming Wild & Scenic Film Festival.

 

The mission of Channel G is to provide for nonprofits a "...nexus point where people, projects, and resources come together."

 

A friend suggested I check it out and I planned on a brief visit but ended up spending hours going through their catalog of great video and great causes, many of which I had never heard about, like this month's featured Colorado Wolf & Wildlife Center.

 

Similar to CauseCast, each project page features a video, news, photos and info about the nonprofit as well as a funding goal and an easy way to contribute.

 

Unfortunately (like CauseCast) the video is a bit small and not embeddable, which means you can't really share the great content with your friends via facebook or blog.

 

Neverless the site is great and well worth a visit. And if you know of a nonprofit that should be featured on the site you can suggest a project.