The DoGooder Nonprofit Video Contest is back and calling for your best 2011 nonprofit videos!

Are you a nonprofit? Did your organization create impactful videos in 2011? Do you want your organization to be recognized for making great videos and maybe win some incredible prizes? Perfect.

The 6th Annual DoGooder Nonprofit Video Contest is taking submissions starting February 1st.

Debra Askanase, Founder, Community Organizer 2.0 and Seth Giammanco, Principal, Minds On Design Lab

If you're considering revamping your website to include social elements like the Facebook Like button, streaming from YouTube, or adding information from a social site through its API, it can be overwhelming to know where to begin. There are many ways to “get social,” and so many reasons for doing so. Primarily, it's about creating a fundamentally engaging experience for the website visitor that brings them closer to your organization.

The process of considering how to get social starts with considering goals.

For the 5th year in a row, the annual DoGooder Nonprofit Video Contest, presented by YouTube and See3 Communications, is open for submission during the weeks leading up to the Nonprofit Technology Conference. If you're a nonprofit and you made a video in 2010, you should:

> Submit your video today!

By Melissa Nelson, Media Production and Outreach Manager, Blackbaud

Video is a great way to engage constituents in your mission. It adds a visual element to what might be an otherwise text heavy email, blog, or website. Supporters react to hearing and seeing real people talking about issues or an organization’s mission coming to life with visual examples.

A video that actually empowers constituents to take action and interact with your organization is key to a conversational video. 

First, think through the four basic steps:

By Michael Hoffman, CEO, See3 Communications

It's important that nonprofits understand the world we're entering right now, a world that will fundamentally change how we communicate with our constituents.

Until recently, television had very little to do with nonprofit organizations and their missions. The only nonprofits on TV were the large, child sponsorship organizations running direct response ads --or, if they got lucky, a local organization covered on the local news. We were locked out, unable to use this powerful tool for social good.

We're entering a time, however, when the very meaning of television is changing and the barriers that have kept nonprofit organizations from tapping into this powerful force are crumbling. The bottom line is that video will become a primary means for every organization to educate the public, advocate for change, and raise the dollars needed to fuel their missions.

Now is the time to plan for this future.

If you weren't with us at 10NTC, you didn't catch See3 CEO Michael Hoffman announcing the winners of the DoGooder Nonprofit Video Awards in front of a packed lunch crowd in Atlanta, Georgia.

The lunch was good, but the videos were fantastic -- and we wouldn't want anyone to miss out on those.

Watch the 4 winning videos now!

We've been lucky enough to partner with See3 for the DoGooder Nonprofit Video Awards for several years now. In just that short time period, the use of video by nonprofits has exploded. This year, See3, NTEN and YouTube received over 750 submissions for the contest - a record! The amazing panel of judges have whittled it down to just 16 finalists, and now we want your two cents! Head over to YouTube and:

Watching videos online is no longer a passive experience! In fact, you can now use YouTube features to drive actions and donations, create "Choose Your Own Adventure" style experiences, and make your video the talk of the web (quite literally). Ramya Raghavan of YouTube was kind enough to preview her upcoming 10NTC session, Activating Your YouTube Audience for us last week. You can watch the full presentation here:

Session Slides

There are a whole host of new tools available through YouTube that can help you engage your audience.

You can drive sign-ups and donations straight from your videos, find skilled video-makers through the Video Volunteers program, and even create choose-your-own-adventure style videos.

In partnership with YouTube and ReadyTalk, we've enlisted Ramya Raghavan, Nonprofits and Activism Manager at YouTube, to run you through the possibilities at our (free for everybody!) 2010 NTC preview session, "Activating Your YouTube Audience". You should join us!

> You should register for this FREE workshop here.

Flicker photo: mastermaqEvery year at the NTC, we partner with See3 to bring you the DoGooder Nonprofit Video awards. You may remember "Children Need a Bailout" from 2009, or "Breathe In, Breathe Out," from 2008. We're at it again in 2010, this time with more YouTube-y goodness!

Check out today's announcement from See3: