Video Sharing Site for Charities 'See the Difference' Not a Great Success

In an interview published at ThirdSector.co.uk, Whitewater’s Mark Roper reported that charities have not been as eager to sign up with the new 'See the Difference' video-sharing site as developers had hoped. He said The sticking point for a number of them is the fact that the name of the donor is not necessarily released to the charity. But the upside is that the videos will be seen by a wider audience than they otherwise would be.

The 'See the Difference' site was launched recently to provide charities with a central location where videos about particular projects and fundraising causes can be seen by potential donors. Viewers can then donate directly through the site. They hope to list 120 videos in their first month online and to raise £500m in donations over the next five years. Videos are also released to other sites with the See the Difference logo. The organization retains 5% of donations.

Roper, managing director of the Whitewater marketing firm, said he knows of one large charity that has declined to participate because by default donors’ information does not get forwarded to the end receiver. Donors have to take the extra step to have their details forwarded to the charity.

In her article, Kaye Wiggins of ThirdSector stated that this in fact was not the primary reason the charity had not joined, but that it was still deciding whether or not to do so. However, Roper believes charities may find promoting their campaigns through their own resources to be more economical and practical.

A 'See the Difference' representative said, If a donor would like to share their details with the charity, they can of course do so. We are about giving choice to donors, so they can choose if they want to stay in touch when they make a donation.