There's a YouTube video for every imaginable topic. For those who take their YouTube videos seriously and would like to show their appreciation for their favorite channels, it is now possible to show their love through monetary means.
It's called Fan Funding and it's a voluntary way to send payments to YouTube creators as a way of supporting their works. The service is optional, however, so it is up to channel creators to enable it. But when it is enabled, Fan Funding will be represented by an icon in the corner of a channel's video and may be accessed through a Support button in a channel page.
To get started on Fan Funding, simply click the Support button on the channel page or info card. Select the amount to be donated, choosing between $1 and $5 by default or setting a specific amount.
Fan Funders may also leave a comment alongside their voluntary payment, if they want to. Comments made as fans make donations will appear on the video with a special badge to let others know that a fan had supported the channel creator. The amount donated, however, will not be included in the comment.
Payments are made through Google Wallet so fans must make accounts first before they can show their support for channel creators. Once a Google Wallet account is in place, simply choose it as a form of payment and click on Buy. Signing up for an account is easy because YouTube will prompt for it during the process so everything remains seamless.
After a payment is made, a message is sent by the channel creator thanking the YouTube fan for the support. Those using Fan Funding will also receive an email acknowledging their donation.
Channel creators already receive a percentage from ads shown before their videos, but Fan Funding is a good way to supplement whatever they are earning. Google will take a five percent cut though for every donation made, plus additional fees depending on the country. Say, a fan in the U.S. sent $10 in Fan Funding. YouTube will get five percent of that, which is $0.50, plus $0.21, totaling $0.71. This leaves the channel creator with $9.29.
At the moment, Fan Funding is only available in the U.S., Mexico, Japan, and Australia. More countries will be added as soon as possible. As for platforms, Fan Funding is supported by Android devices and desktop browsers. Others are coming soon.
