YouTube Introduces $5 Million Grant Program for Contributors

YouTube gave rise to a new breed of film makers, who, equipped with just a camera and a computer, are able to create productions that rival ones with a powerful financial backing, in terms of popularity. And, while they may have been able to generate impressive revenues, given the circumstances, these haven’t been enough to enable them to elevate their production values.

“[T]oday we are announcing the YouTube Partner Grants program that will invest five million dollars across select new and emerging YouTube partners. Our goal is to catalyze the creation of new ideas and production models from some of our most innovative and original content partners for the benefit and advancement of the entire industry,” George Strompolos, Partner Development Manager at YouTube, wrote.

“This new creative class often manages 360 degrees of their business operations, from the writing filming and producing of their content to the marketing, post-production and distribution of their videos. Despite their success, many partners lack the resources and deep financial backing available to studio-backed production houses,” he added.

The $5 million is targeted at a handful of partners who have proved their worth. YouTube will hand out grants based on what content partners may need. Eligible partners are contacted by YouTube and are asked to come up with a Grant Proposal if they need additional funding. The video makers can use the money for just about anything, better equipment, new staff, better marketing and so on, as long as it’s related to the actual videos.

However, the funding is less of grant and more of an investment from YouTube. Any money that the partners receive will later be recovered from their ad revenue share. As YouTube puts it, it’s an “advance” on those earnings. Still, it’s a very smart move from YouTube. The site relies on its contributors much more than it does on professional content and it wants those contributors to create high quality videos next to which it can serve higher quality ads.