All 1,500 Flip Video cameras made available through the Charity Technology Trust’s CTXchange donation programme were snapped up within five hours of the offer being made yesterday.

CTT received a donation of 250 boxes each containing six cameras, from Cisco Consumer Products which bought Flip in 2009. It is now closing Flip Video down and making discontinued stock available to charities through the US-based Techsoup donation programme, of which CTT is the UK partner.

Speaking to civilsociety.co.uk, CTXchange programme director, Richard Cooper, said: “We were not surprised that they went quickly but we were surprised by how quickly they went. We were thinking they would go between now and early in the New Year.”

It is the fastest response the organisation has had to the announcement of a new offer through the CTXchange programme.

Flip Video cameras come with software that allows users to edit and share videos across Facebook, YouTube and Twitter and CTT hopes that the charities who have received them will be able to improve their use of video in campaigns.    

Most of CTXchange’s programmes are ongoing but the Flip Video camera offer was a one-off and Cooper said that this might, “encourage other organisations thinking that they could do something similar,” with discontinued or end-of-line products, but do not want to sign up to an ongoing programme.

Currently there are about 10,000 UK charities signed up to the CTXchange programme, with about 7,500 having taken up a donation, which provides donated hardware and software from leading companies, such as Microsoft, for a small admin fee.