The Oscars may be over and the Emmy’s have come and gone. But here on the internet, awards season is in full swing!

First, get on over to Dogooder.tv and vote for the best nonprofit videos of 2009. There are four categories with four contenders each. That’s culled from over 400 entrants! It comes as no surprise that charity:water is nominated. Their entry is a PSA set to Beck’s “Time Bomb”. So odd to be bopping along to a very catchy song while reading incredibly disturbing facts on water access in Africa. Odd, yet effective.  I SWEAR I am not on their payroll- they just make great content!

In the short form category, I instantly liked “Children Need a Bailout Too” from the Children’s Defense Fund. Though, my support (for the video- NOT the cause!)  wavered when the adorable kid started spouting out script that was clearly adultspeak.

By the way, Dogooder.TV is partnered with See3 Communications. Their much referenced Guide to Online video, which is really a collection of short, informative videos, is a solid starting place when contemplating video strategy.

Second, it is Webby voting time again, and I want to congratulate a few of our friends- Causecast which is pretty fresh out of the gate is nominated- and rightly so. If you haven’t been over there, check out their site. They champion some really dynamic causes and also create their own content. Also nominated for a webby in the same category as Causecast- the nonprofit category, is charity:water (ahem). In the film category, I was excited to see Jesse Ashe’s Magical Cure.

This video was an entry in Stand Up to Cancer’s film competition last summer. It is moving, personal and affecting.

Check out both competitions- it’s a great way to learn what works, and hear lots of opinions on why. And you can be a spin doctor too- come back and share your opinions here by leaving a comment.

As the benefactor of this year’s Twestival, charity: water received over $250,000 from events held in over 125 cities.  Just two months later, founder Scott Harrison and his team have already started digging wells in Northern Ethiopia. And they are letting the people who partied and gave know all about it. This is something donors love, that many organizations do relatively little of- the post-party follow up!

Progress on the project was parceled out in four simple videos. Although they are named Day 1, Day 2, Day 3 and Day 4, the content is so much more than a feelgood journal.

Day 1- Illustrating the Need

Donors often wonder, “Am I being effective in my giving?” This video says, yes. You are. The joyous village celebrating the groundbreaking is intercut with moving tales of hardship faced by those who must trek many long hours and carry up to 40 lbs of often disease and leech infested water. This effectively reminds me that my time and money are going to solve a very real problem for people I can see directly benefiting.

Day 2- Illustrating the Problem- and an Unexpected Call to Innovate

We watch as the team see for themselves what it is to carry the water. Interestingly, one of the volunteers says: “OK, all my fellow geeks who are watching this- we gotta innovate around this process. This is absurd.” This moment was way more fascinating to me than watching a bunch of healthy men struggle with carrying water through a desert. His call for innovation was not the reason for the video.  But it reminds us that this is a brilliant, underused tactic. The viewer sees the problem. The environment. The desperate need. Given our economy, you may have better like mining ideas than money. And why not?

Day 3- Letting the Locals Speak

Being the social media mavens they are, charity:water is taking questions online. I was heartened to see locals in the form of recipients and staff of partner organizations speaking for themselves. All too often, recipients of aid are represented by images of 1000s- refugees or jubilant celebrations. Giving voice to individuals is a powerful way to humanize the issue.

Day 4- The Payoff- and the Ask

The last video is short and sweet. Results are shown and shared and viewers are reminded the work is not over. It is never over. And what better time to remind your supporters than right after rewarding them! Hey buddy- that party you went to 3 months ago? Now 3-400 people’s lives are VASTLY improved. Thanks! So simple- and yet so often overlooked.

So- what are the take-aways?

Use video to:
1. Remind supporters of your mission and demonstrate need.
2. Call on supporters to help problem solve- engage their minds not just their wallets.
3. Give voice to the people you are serving- both the recipients and your partners who help make it all happen. Supporters can feel a greater connection to your mission.
4. Demonstrate success with gratitude. Show your support base what their involvement has tangibly achieved. And don’t forget to re-engage them while the iron is hot!

Click here to see charity:water’s update page.
And congratulations to Scott, Amanda and the rest of the charity:water team on a job well done and very well reported!

In reviewing organizations and videos for Call2Action, I come across some remarkable campaigns. Each week I will spotlight one or two items so that we can support the fantastic work going on out there.

This week’s candidate is the Courage Campaign’s advocacy video, “Fidelity”. Here’s a little background on the cause from their petition:

“Ken Starr and the Prop 8 Legal Defense Fund filed legal briefs defending the constitutionality of Prop 8 and seeking to nullify the marriages of 18,000 devoted same-sex couples solemnized before Prop 8 passed. The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in this case on March 6 with a decision expected in 90 days.”

They created a fantastically simple and very effective video made mainly from pictures sent in by supporters to put a human face on what mass nullification means. This video has been viewed over 900,000 times.

By clicking here you will see the same video within a request to take action, namely, sign a petition. (Please do!) Now let’s take a look at what works.

Attached Action
OK, you saw that coming from the girl who works at a company specializing in video and action mashups. The email about the campaign includes a link so with one click you can view the video and the petition. Much more effective than having a video on a homepage, then an action to take several clicks later. Well done!

The Human Connection
Often the issues surrounding same sex union get clouded by theology, biology and politics, leaving out the very real human beings whose lives will be immediately affected. Seeing the faces and the families of those people helps the viewer connect an issue and action to concrete results that affect real people. That always makes for a more successful campaign.

Affordability
Creating an effective video from stills means less money on the video and more money being spent elsewhere. Nonprofits and others- take note! It is possible to create a video with tangible results and not too much cash layout. Production values don’t determine your success. What does? A-ha – fodder for another post!

Supporter (User) Generated Content
Asking for these photos was a great way for the Courage Campaign engage their support base. Those who can’t give money have another meaningful way to contribute. And the creativity and ownership unleashed can have far reaching effects. What starts as a call for photos can very easily turn into a video project. As the internet and digital tools make sharing photos, film and other media easier, it makes sense to harness the interest of your support base.

Measured Success
This video was sent around the internet with the goal of attracting 300,000 signatures. Smart. With a stated target, they know if they are succeding or failing. Just asking for signatures is fine. But stating a target goal gives everything purpose, and something to measure against. Definite best practice. Happily, that goal was surpassed and their new target is 350,000. Great motivator for the support base!
If you would like to the Courage Campaign reach their new goal of 350,000 signatures, just click here.

Amy Eldon-Turteltaub and Kathy Eldon of Creative Visions Foundation

I am happy to announce that the inimitable Kathy Eldon, founder of Creative Visions Foundation (CVF)  has joined our board. Creative Visions Foundation supports “creative activists:” people who use media, the arts and technology to create awareness of critical issues and catalyze positive change in local and global communities. Kathy and CVF have been a support for many worthy projects: Oscar winner Born into Brothels, Invisible Children,  Dying to Tell the Story, Genghis Blues,  and more. Skateistan.org, Afghanistan’s first co-ed skateboarding school recently joined the ranks of CVF’s Creative Activists  -check it out on the NY Times, it was just featured last week!

CVF also produces their own documentaries, many of which we are excited to feature on our site. These include the Global Tribe Series in which Kathy’s daughter Amy features people from around the world creating local and global change with the resources available to them. Stay tuned for plenty of opportunities to see their films and take action on our soon to launch site… And  to give you a taste of what they are capable of, here is a promo they helped get made for Global Youth Fund- it was made a while back, but I still love it:

Our connection with the Eldons and Creative Visions goes beyond a shared mission. Like I said, I’ve known Charlotte, C2A’s founder, since high school. I met Kathy then, too.  Her daughter Amy, also part of Creative Visions, and a producer in her own right was my lab partner. We became close over the remains of a sad and very dead frog. Her big brother Dan Eldon was the epitome of a creative activist. As a teen in Kenya, he threw a ROCKING party to raise money for a local girl’s heart transplant. I first heard of him when Amy was selling bracelets at school for his efforts to support a Masaai family. Then he led a group of college kids on safari to provide aid to a community in Malawi. His journals documented all he saw in his travels, glorious and gruesome, sordid and sexy. Undeniably talented, Reuters sent him to Somalia at just 22, where he was lovingly known as “The Mayor of Mogadishu”. All the while he continued to sell bracelets and postcards of his photos to raise money. His pictures broke that story in the west. And tragically the story broke him. Dan was killed in Somalia – after the US bombing of Gen. Farah Aideed’s compound an angry mob directed their fury at Dan and journalists Hansi Krauss and Hos Maina.

From grief came great inspiration. Dan’s story as an artist who used his skill to tell a story has captured so many hearts and inspired so many to make a difference. To be honest it used to kind of freak me out that all these people who never knew him were talking about him. Now, I am awed by it. And by Kathy, who turned a defining moment of sadness into a beacon of inspiration for others.  As one of their first projects, Amy bravely documented the struggle of war correspondents like Dan in the Emmy-nominated Dying to Tell the Story, and it’s still resonant 10 years later. Creative Visions Foundation, and the women behind it do incredible work. And we are honored that our journeys are intertwined once more!

See you at Twestival NYC tonight?

Maha

Keep up with Kathy and Amy at www.creativevisions.org

Learn more about Dan at www.daneldon.org, and read The Journey is The Destination, a book of his beautiful journals.

Hi everyone!

I’m Charlotte, founder of Call2Action and along with Maha I’ll be writing on here. Since the first post we’ve received a lot of encouragement and questions. Thanks for all your interest and support! We are loving the feedback so be sure to follow us on twitter @call2act and keep commenting away here on our blog.

The backstory.
A couple of years ago, when online video was making major waves in the form of Joost, I read a great article about it that got me all geeking out.  ”This is the future” I told my husband, “TV is going online and we can interact with it!”  Move over TIVO, here comes Jooslean.  (Did I just date myself?)  Before I knew it, he was equally excited.  Daniel (a busy man) is also the Commercial Director at Peace One Day (POD is an amazing organization with lots of powerful video content that I will talk more about later).  And pretty soon, POD founder Jeremy Gilley was just as excited and securing his own channel on Joost (which, unlike YouTube, has broadcast standards and is not an option open to everyone).  Well that set my mind ablaze.  What would I do if I could create my own channel?!

‘TV no longer has to be a passive experience,’ I realized.  We no longer have to sit there taking the onslaught of sound bite news, clips that are so removed from our realities, coverage that we seemingly cannot do anything about.  Now we can see media with some depth on subjects that matter and immediately engage with it by commenting, sharing, connecting and TAKING ACTION. ‘Now that is an antidote to cynicism and complacency,’ I thought.

This is TV you can engage with, so why not TV content worth engaging for!

Long story short, I called up all my old documentary buddies and put together a pitch. I dreamed up the channel I have always wished existed.  The channel with the most inspiring, and worthwhile content.  All of those films that had affected me, that I wanted everyone else to see.  The hilarious and poignant clips that were forwarded to me.  The short and long videos that reached my heart like a calling.  Pictures of our planet’s future.  Obama.  Heroic children in the Favelas of Rio.  A comedian’s tale of cancer.  The Palestinian and Israeli children who defy their communities to try and befriend each other.  I could go on and on.  Each of these films has lifted me, awed me, humbled me and motivated me.

But to make this work, we would need much more than a channel; We would need a sophisticated site.  A site where the USERS can add, create and share films and actions, or Calls to Action.

Call2Action is Born!

Our pitch was a hit and the channel was born.  It quickly became apparent that we should have a presence on other video platforms as well, so we have a plan to publish widely as soon as our site goes live.  They will act as windows into our action center.

We are still working on the site, which will host video and exist independently of these platforms. It is due to launch in Beta next month and go public in the spring.  Be sure to sign up for our newsletter and stay abreast of our updates and developments. Just click on the image in the right hand column!

We have learned so very much already and now, in the spirit of the site and collaboration, we want to share our steep learning curve and late-night brainstorms.  We want to learn from you and together make the best tools and have the largest impact.

Very excited.

Charlotte

Welcome to the Call2Action blog where you’ll find the latest news on C2A, video advocacy, and other ways the web can be harnessed for change.

Call2Action- what’s that?

In a nutshell, we make it easy for people to take action and create change, using online video as a starting point. We’re building a site where you can watch and share exceptional and inspiring documentaries and pair them with effective actions. Hear the call. Take action.

The Blogging Team

Maha Chehlaoui: I’m the C2A community builder.  I’ve been studying up on nonprofits, video advocacy, and social media as a tool for change. I’m a longtime New Yorker and  relatively recent convert (fanatic, even) to the church of social media.

Charlotte Rademaekers: Our founder and CEO. She’s been working on documentaries since I met her –in high school! She dreamed this idea up out of a love of good films, good causes and the web.  She is another social media-junky.  Although her job description does not allow for as much online chatting as mine does.

We’ll be writing about our journey to launch and beyond- we’re building our site, growing our network, gathering our board, raising our funds. We’ll also be looking at other tools and sites dedicated to change, nonprofit technology, social media, and of special interest, online video advocacy. Should be an interesting ride so go ahead and subscribe to our rss feed and join in the conversation!

We’re excited about what we are building, and about hearing what you have to say about it when the time comes. Be sure to say hi and introduce yourself in the comments section. I look forward to hearing from you.

All the best,

Maha