Council of Michigan Foundations is doing some thing really interesting with their YouTube channel. President Rob Collier has recently been contributing video blogs. These are updates about what CMF is working on, what’s happening in Michigan public policy that impacts grantmakers, and opportunities for grantmaker education.
This is the kind of information you’d generally see in a President’s message in an e-newsletter or print publication. What makes this experiment so interesting to me is that while those more traditional media convey all the same information, they don’t necessarily capture Rob’s tone the way online video does. Whether he’s addressing the grave economic situation facing his state or getting excited about an upcoming program, there’s nothing like hearing it from the man himself.
Are any other regionals using video in this way? How have your members responded? How does your CEO (or other featured staff member) feel about having their face out there? Let us know in the comments.
FORUM'S Forum 
I think this is an excellent idea and I would like to consider it for our use. Could the good folks in Michigan share details on the process they use, the time it takes, the equipment they purchased, and much it all costs?
For example, who writes the comments, does Rob rehearse, who tapes it, where does it take place? Thanks much.