Explore this guide to learn about leveraging the Google Ad Grants program.

Google Ad Grants: The Complete Guide + How to Get Started

The Google Ad Grant combines marketing and fundraising opportunities so nonprofits like yours can amplify their missions and reach larger pools of donors, volunteers, and advocates. By equipping eligible organizations with $10,000 in ad credits per month, the program enables them to increase website activity and digital conversions.

Your nonprofit can strategically leverage your website and push your mission forward by getting started with Google Ad Grants to establish a dependable marketing foundation. In this complete guide to Google Ad Grants, you’ll learn:

At Getting Attention, we specialize in Google Ad Grants management so nonprofits can take full advantage of the program. With professional guidance on the latest best practices, your nonprofit can effectively connect with a larger pool of motivated prospects. Let’s dive in!

Our agency can help you make the most of the Google Ad Grants program.


What Is the Google Ad Grant?

Google Ads are a digital marketing solution that businesses and nonprofits use to promote their products, services, and other content to web users. Essentially, advertisers bid on keywords that strategically target their ideal audience. If they win the bid, their ads will appear on Google’s search engine results pages (SERPs).

The Google Ad Grant program is a free version of Google Ads for select charitable organizations. While regular Google Ad accounts have to pay per ad click, Google Grant participants can display their advertisements for free. That way, nonprofits can allocate less of their budgets toward marketing.

The grant gives eligible nonprofits $10,000 in free monthly advertising credits. As long as the organization complies with the program’s rules, the grant will automatically renew each month.

Organizations can use their grant money to bid on different keywords and promote specific pages on their website through text-based ads on the SERPs for those keywords. These promoted pages most often include:

  • Donation pages
  • Service pages
  • Educational content

For example, when you search for “ocean conservation” on Google, you’ll see advertisements at the top and bottom of the page for content from nonprofits dedicated to supporting this cause. Some of these are donation pages, while others are service pages or blog posts that explain the organization’s work.

The program’s overall goal is to make a positive impact by enabling nonprofits to increase awareness of their causes. Since 2003, Google has awarded more than $10 billion in free advertising to more than 115,000 nonprofits across 51 countries.

While the Google Ad Grant program is entirely free, creating and maintaining your account will take substantial time and effort. To truly be successful, you’ll need to either devote staff time to managing your ad campaigns or outsource the work to a Google Ad Grants agency.

How Do Google Ads Differ From Organic Search?

Google Ads and organic search results serve different purposes but are both essential for online visibility. While Google Ads are paid placements that appear at the top and bottom of SERPs, organic results are unpaid listings that appear based on SEO factors and each page’s relevance to the search query. Organically achieving high rankings requires optimizing website content, building backlinks, and ensuring a good user experience.

While both are essential for improving online visibility, nonprofit SEO and Google Ads are best suited for different goals:

A chart comparing Google Ads and Google organic listings

  • SEO is best for long-term growth and creating a sustainable online presence. By optimizing content to rank organically on SERPs, your nonprofit can generate more leads for revenue-generating programs, services, and products. SEO can increase traffic from qualified online audiences and grow your brand recognition. Essentially, it’s a cost-effective strategy for attracting consistent traffic over time.
  • Google Ads are best for immediate visibility and targeted campaigns. With Google Ads, nonprofits can quickly appear at the top of SERPs for specific keywords. It’s ideal for time-sensitive campaigns, fundraising events, and promoting specific actions like donations and volunteer sign-ups.

Nonprofits should leverage both strategies to maximize their online impact. Plus, when you optimize your website for SEO, you’ll also have effective landing pages to promote via Google Ads.

While our team at Getting Attention can help craft your Google Ads strategy, we recommend turning to the experts at Nexus Marketing for your SEO needs, particularly if you generate significant revenue by selling products, programs, or services.

With more than 10 years of experience in ROI-driven SEO within the mission-driven sector, Nexus Marketing’s talented team can craft strategic SEO content that captures your brand and reaches your audience. The agency has an extensive network of 500+ partners in the nonprofit, association, faith-based, education, and healthcare sectors, so you can scale your organization’s authority-building strategy and fuel your SEO growth.

Work with our recommended SEO experts to sell your programs, products, and services.


Google Ad Grant Eligibility Requirements

To be considered eligible for the Google Ad Grant, Google requires that nonprofits meet several requirements. After all, $10,000 per month is a sizable contribution! We have an entire article that walks through the program’s eligibility requirements, but let’s cover the highlights.

What Are the Google Grant Eligibility Requirements for Nonprofits?

To apply for Google Ad Grants, nonprofits must first meet the program’s universal standards, which include:

  • Holding current and valid charity status. For U.S.-based organizations, you must have current 501(c)(3) status, meaning that the IRS recognizes you as an official charitable organization and exempts you from tax obligations. Google requires organizations to be verified by Percent.
  • Acknowledging and agreeing to the Google Ad Grant’s required certifications. You’ll need to agree to Google’s process of receiving and using donations obtained from the grant, as well as the Google for Nonprofits and Google Ads terms of service.
  • Having a functioning website that provides valuable content on your nonprofit and mission. Any information you promote through Google Ad Grants has to live on your nonprofit’s website. As part of their standard eligibility check, Google requires that you own the domain, have unique website content, and feature a detailed description of your organization’s mission and activities.
  • Having an SSL certificate. SSL stands for Secure Sockets Layer and is a security protocol between a web server and a browser. It will cause a lock icon to appear in the navigation bar in Google Chrome. If there is no lock and you see the words “not secure” next to your website’s URL, it means SSL is not installed or there is another issue.

If your organization has a solid foundation in the digital space, it doesn’t take much to be eligible for the Google Ad Grant. However, to save time and trouble, Google Ad Grant managers can help you check your eligibility.

Which Organizations Are Not Eligible for Google Ad Grants?

While the Google Ad Grants program is widely available to many nonprofits, there are some exceptions. Organizations that are not eligible to apply for Google Ad Grants include:

  • Governmental entities and organizations
  • Hospitals and healthcare organizations
  • Schools, academic institutions, and universities—however, the fundraising arms of educational organizations are eligible!

The Google Ad Grants team implements these requirements to ensure that only organizations that will genuinely benefit from the program apply. However, Google also offers a similar grant program for educational institutions in addition to the nonprofit program. If that applies to your organization, check it out!


How to Apply for the Google Ad Grant Program

If your nonprofit meets all of the eligibility requirements and is ready to apply for the Google Ad Grant program, follow these basic steps:

This flowchart shows the steps to apply for Google Ad Grants, which are discussed in more detail below.

1. Enroll in Google for Nonprofits.

You must have an active Google for Nonprofits account to apply for the Google Ad Grants program. If you already do, you can skip this step. Otherwise, the application is available through Google for Nonprofits.

With a Google for Nonprofits account (for U.S. organizations), you’ll receive access to Google Ad Grants, along with these additional services:

  • Google Workspace for Nonprofits, which includes free access to Google’s apps like Gmail, Drive, Calendar, and Meet.
  • YouTube Nonprofit Program, which provides nonprofits with special features on YouTube, like a donate button.
  • Google Earth and Maps, which helps users locate community programs and resources in their area.

To enroll in Google for Nonprofits, you’ll need to provide your tax ID number, contact information, and other relevant information about your nonprofit.

When getting started with Google for Nonprofits, you will also register your organization with Google’s technology verification partner, Percent. Just click the “Get Started” button on Google for Nonprofit’s home page and fill out the requested information. Google will forward your information to Percent to complete the registration process.

2. Make Sure Google Analytics Is Installed on Your Website

While Google Analytics is important for your own website data tracking purposes, having it installed is also required prior to applying for Google Ad Grants.

Install Google Tag Manager on your website and set up conversion tracking goals for your site. To determine these goals, think of valuable actions that you want your audience to complete while on your site, like donating or signing up for your newsletter. These goals will guide your analytics strategies and provide insight into conversions for the pages that most effectively inspire visitors to take action.

3. Submit Your Website and Account to the Google Ad Grants Team for Review

After your Google for Nonprofits account is approved, you’re ready to apply for the Google Ad Grants program! You’ll need to submit your website for review to the Google Ad Grants team. They’ll certify whether you’re eligible by determining if your web presence and content are ready. This typically takes three business days. Once you’re approved, Google will send further instructions for you to start building out a basic Google Ads account, which you’ll also need to submit for review.

When you apply, you’ll be given the choice of a “Smart Campaign” or a “Classic” Google Ads account. To gain access to the full suite of tools and options, make sure you apply for the “Classic” account, as the “Smart Campaign” is a much more basic version of Google Ad Grants. Then, you’re ready to start building out your Google Ad Grants management plan.


How Nonprofits Can Use Google Ad Grants

The Google Ad Grant program does more than drive traffic to your website. It allows nonprofits to create targeted ads that spread awareness about a cause and recruit passionate supporters to take action.

This graphic shows six types of content that nonprofits can promote with Google Ad Grants, which are listed below.

Effective Google Ad Grants management empowers nonprofits to:

  • Inform and educate the public about their missions by promoting educational content.
  • Increase the visibility of upcoming events like webinars, conferences, and fundraisers.
  • Share volunteer registration forms and other volunteer-related content to boost recruitment.
  • Promote advocacy activities like online petitions or click-to-call campaigns.
  • Share donation and sponsorship opportunities to boost revenue generation.
  • Provide information to potential beneficiaries about the organization’s services.

You can promote a wide range of content with Google Ad Grants. Just think carefully about how the pages you choose support your nonprofit’s goals.

What Goals Don’t Align With The Google Ad Grant Program?

Certain goals may not align well with the Google Ad Grant program’s structure and restrictions. Here are some specific objectives that may not be suitable for the Google Ad Grant and how you can accomplish them with different marketing channels:

  • Direct Revenue Generation: The primary purpose of the Google Ad Grant is to raise awareness and drive engagement, not sales. Ads promoting commercial activities like professional development products or camp registrations might not perform well under the grant’s restrictions. Focus instead on email marketing, content marketing, and affiliate marketing since these channels allow for direct engagement with potential buyers.
  • Brand Building: While Google Ad Grants can help increase visibility, building a strong, recognizable brand requires a more comprehensive marketing approach. Paid multimedia ads, social media campaigns, affiliate marketing, and content marketing are better suited for brand building.
  • Targeting Highly Competitive Keywords: Organizations targeting highly competitive keywords may find that Google Ad Grant ads do not provide the desired level of visibility. The grant restricts bids to $2 per click, and while there are ways to exceed this bid cap, it might not be enough to get ads chosen for competitive keywords. Instead, focus on SEO efforts to rank organically for these terms, along with strategic investments in paid ads.

The experts at Nexus Marketing can help you create a comprehensive digital marketing strategy to achieve long-term goals like the ones listed above. From their high-quality SEO work and networking opportunities to email marketing and video production services, Nexus has the resources you need to boost sales via organic marketing strategies.

For instance, the Nonprofit Leadership Alliance (NLA) works with Nexus to increase its digital presence and drive more sales for its Certified Nonprofit Professional (CNP) credential and Leaderosity Programs. Through optimized product pages, educational blog posts, partner posts throughout Nexus’ network, webinars, and more, NLA now ranks on page one for 32 new high-priority keywords.


Maintaining Your Nonprofit’s Google Ad Grants Eligibility

Rather than being a one-and-done event, Google Ad Grants eligibility requires ongoing maintenance. While regularly visiting the official compliance page is your best bet for up-to-date policies, here are the most important requirements to remember as you develop your campaigns:

  • Don’t use single-word keywords unless it is one of the approved exceptions.
  • Avoid overly generic keywords that don’t indicate the intent of the person searching, such as “free videos”, “e-books,” or “today’s news.”
  • Ensure your keyword quality has a score higher than 1 or 2. You can determine keyword quality with expected clickthrough rate, ad relevance, and landing page experience.
  • Maintain at least a 5% click-through rate (CTR) each month. CTR is the number of clicks your ad receives divided by the number of impressions, or times your ad is shown. For example, if you had five clicks and 100 impressions, then your CTR would be 5%.
  • Have valid conversion tracking set up through Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager.
  • Have at least one responsive search ad per ad group.
  • Have at least two sitelink ad extensions that link to additional pages on your site.
  • Respond to the annual program survey sent to the login email addresses on each Ad Grants account.

Frequently check (and consider bookmarking) the Google Ad Grants compliance page to ensure you stay up-to-date, as the rules occasionally change. Failing to comply with the Google Ad Grants policies will lead to your entire account being suspended. Here are the most common reasons for account suspension:

  • Losing your organization’s 501(c)(3) status
  • Failing to meet the eligibility criteria
  • Abusing the ad network
  • Failing to re-verify your account
  • Repeatedly violating the program’s terms and policies
  • Misrepresenting your organization

These limitations not only ensure your nonprofit remains eligible for the grant but also help you make the best use of the grant money. If you have any questions, your best bet is to rely on a dedicated Google Ad Grants management team that spends its time familiarizing itself with the program rules.


Benefits of Google Ad Grants for Nonprofits

If your nonprofit has a website and is active online, applying for a Google Ad Grant is the natural next step for your marketing strategy. After all, current and prospective supporters are likely already looking up topics related to your mission.

While free funding and connecting with new supporters is undoubtedly a plus, there are additional, specific benefits of properly using the Google Ad Grant program. Let’s explore a few advantages that nonprofits experience when they invest in Google Ad Grants.

This graphic shows five benefits nonprofits can enjoy by leveraging Google Ad Grants, which are discussed below.

1. Better Site Engagement

You spend time creating valuable content for your nonprofit’s website because you want to provide high-quality information and resources that help visitors better understand your mission. Google Ad Grants allow you to direct visitors to the pages that they’ll find most valuable, improving the user experience.

By analyzing the search intent for different keywords, you can pinpoint what content searchers will find most valuable. For instance, someone who searches for “animal shelter volunteering” would be a strong prospect for an animal rescue’s volunteer program. In that case, that organization would want to use its Google Ad Grant money to promote its “Volunteer” page, where visitors can explore volunteer opportunities.

2. Increased Online Conversions

Backed by a strategic Google Ad Grants management plan, you can effectively promote key pages and forms to boost conversions for activities such as:

  • Event registrations and ticket sales
  • Donations
  • Volunteer registrations
  • Online petition signatures
  • Email list signups

Whether you’re focused on becoming well-known in the event space or advocating for a cause that’s important to your community, effective Google Ad Grants management can get you there. Think through the specific pages you promote and how they’ll help you meet your conversion goals.

3. Enhanced Supporter Communications

If you work in mission-driven marketing, you understand the ongoing challenges of increasing your email open rates, boosting social media interactions, and generally keeping your supporters informed.

Google Ad Grants are a natural addition to your communication strategies. While they certainly don’t replace your need to email and text supporters, they can help increase your visibility online. Strategically amplify your web content on Google so that it’s delivered directly to those most likely to support your cause, whether they’re longtime supporters or brand new to your nonprofit.

4. Insight Into Digital Supporters’ Motivations

When you leverage Google Ad Grants, you’ll be able to track campaign performance through Google Analytics, view the exact actions users take once they enter your site, and draw conclusions about what inspired them to get involved.

Google Analytics will provide you with in-depth data regarding:

  • The success of your ad campaigns
  • The sources driving visitors to your site
  • The actions users take on your website

With this information, you can optimize the content you’re promoting via Google Ad Grants, effectively inspiring more users to engage with your cause.

5. No Competition For Funds

One of the best parts of the Google Ad Grants program is that it doesn’t limit its grants to a select few organizations. Traditional grants require organizations to compete for funding, and whichever organizations craft the best proposals are most likely to win the grant.

With Google Ad Grants for nonprofits, there’s no competition to win the grant money. Instead, any organization that applies and meets the program’s requirements will be awarded $10,000 in ad credits each month.


Tips for Effective Google Ad Grants Management

After setting up your Google Ad Grants account, you still need to allocate your $10,000 smartly, create targeted campaigns with carefully chosen keywords, and track those campaigns. Here are 12 easy ways you can make the most of the program.

This graphic shows 12 tips for nonprofits to make the most of Google Ad Grants, which are discussed below.

1. Create Valuable and Promotable Website Content

For your Google Ad Grants account to provide value, you need to have high-quality website content that inspires your audience to take action. Your pages should have:

  • A high search volume topic. To get a better idea of the terms and topics your audience is actively seeking out, check out Google Trends or other search engine optimization (SEO) tools like Moz.
  • One single focus. While you should certainly target high-traffic keywords, don’t simply lump them into one page. Each distinct topic should have its own page or blog post on your website.
  • Enough content. Taking the time to develop researched and comprehensive pages will not only align your content better with your Google Ad Grants campaigns but also increase your organic search engine rankings.
  • Effective calls to action. Users should know the exact next step you want them to take. From filling out a form to signing up for text alerts, make this next step clear with a strategically placed call to action in the form of a prominent button or link.
  • Mobile responsiveness. According to Double the Donation’s fundraising statistics, more than half of all nonprofit website traffic comes from mobile devices. Ensuring that your content is mobile-friendly will encourage mobile users to stay on the site and continue exploring your content.

Valuable and promotable website content is not only critical to getting your account approved, but it also ensures that the Google Ad Grant actually helps you gain meaningful conversions.

2. Measure Campaign Performance

Upkeep is vital to your campaign performance. For the Google Ad Grant, it all depends on your ability to monitor (and translate) performance data and make adjustments as needed.

Managing your Google Ad Grant campaigns can be simple, but you need to set up conversion tracking and data analytics in order to do so successfully. The best part is that to apply for the Google Ad Grant, you’ll already have Google Analytics installed on your website, so use it! Set up one or more “Goals” within Google Analytics so you can track valuable actions on your website.

To determine the best goals to track, explore your website and note the actions that you want users to take the most to push your mission forward. Common goals include:

This graphic shows six common conversion goals for Google Ad Grants, which are listed below.

  • Online donations
  • Volunteer registrations
  • Email list sign-ups
  • Contact form submissions
  • Event registrations
  • Online petition signatures

Set up conversion tracking for each action using Google Analytics. Monitoring performance on an ongoing basis is key to ensuring your nonprofit continues to comply with all Google Ad Grant rules.

3. Understand Your Target Audience

Google Ads provides several options when it comes to how often your ads will appear and who will see them. That’s why you should define your target audience for each of your campaigns and the keywords you want to target. Then, you can leverage this information and configure your campaign settings accordingly to ensure ads show up for the intended audience.

Thorough keyword research also allows you to shape your content to meet users’ needs and make them more likely to convert. By understanding what your audience is searching for when they look up different terms, you can adjust your ads so that they’re more likely to show up whenever they’re searching online.

4. Focus on Generating Quality Conversions

This may come as a surprise, but the majority of nonprofits using Google Ad Grants actually don’t spend the full $10,000 every month. This could occur for many reasons, but two of the most common are:

  • Difficulty in management: Not every nonprofit has the resources and support to maintain multiple marketing campaigns, resulting in a large amount of credit not being put to use.
  • Lack of high-quality online content: If your Google Ads aren’t performing well, it might be because your website and other online content aren’t meeting the needs of your audience.

However, just because you don’t spend $10,000 a month doesn’t mean you don’t have a fully optimized and successful Google Ads account. For instance, perhaps your audience is relatively narrow. If you’re promoting ads in one specific city, you probably don’t need to spend the full amount of money to target your entire audience.

The bottom line: It’s much more important to focus on the quality of your visitors and the number of online conversions than just maxing out your monetary quota.

5. Experiment With Your Ad Titles and Copy

Each ad within your Google Ad Grant account will be made up of several components, including a headline (title) and description (copy). Think of your headlines as a way to grab users’ attention and your descriptions as an explanation of why they should click through to your site.

This graphic visually explains that a Google Ad headline is the hyperlinked text on the SERP and the description is the text below.

With Google’s responsive search ads feature, Google will automatically test different headlines and descriptions for you. You’ll enter a variety of headlines and descriptions. Then, Google will algorithmically mix and match them to find the combinations that are most relevant to a search term and will drive more clicks.

This feature reduces the manual labor needed to manage your account, saving your marketing team time crafting multiple variations of each ad.

6. Choose Your Keywords Carefully

Your keywords—the word combinations and phrases that users enter into Google—are a vital part of your Google Ad Grant campaigns.

Put yourself in your supporters’ shoes and ask yourself which keywords you’d type into Google to find your nonprofit’s programs, services, and engagement opportunities. Then, head to Keyword Planner to find related keywords that users also search for.

Additionally, you can use negative keywords to indicate which audiences you don’t want your ads shown to. Monitor the search queries that lead people to your site and determine which terms aren’t relevant to your organization. This will allow you to continue refining your list of negative keywords and only show your ads to those who will be interested.

7. Pick the Right Landing Pages

When choosing keywords for different ad campaigns, think carefully about what landing pages you’ll assign to them. Remember, your goal is to meet searchers’ needs with your ads. A common mistake is to send users to your homepage, leaving it up to them to find the desired information. Instead, sending them to a page tailored to the initiative you’re promoting makes them more likely to take specific actions.

Let’s say you’re looking to boost registrations for an upcoming 5K fundraiser for your nonprofit. When users search terms like “upcoming races near me,” they expect to find information and registration pages for 5Ks, 10Ks, and other races. In this case, the best web pages to promote are your 5K race information and registration form.

You should also consider what types of content to create that your Google Ads will link to. If it seems like users are actually searching for an educational guide on the topic, you’d likely want to create effective “cornerstone” content that someone searching for your keyword would find useful. 

Cornerstone content refers to web content such as blog articles that are educational, high-quality, and align both with your organization’s overall purpose and potential searchers’ keywords. For example, a nonprofit with a mission related to protecting oceans might write an article explaining how beach clean-ups work and the positive impact they have on the environment and people living nearby. Then, someone who searches the term “beach clean-up” would see the nonprofit’s article and have their questions about the topic answered.

Cornerstone content can also promote your nonprofit’s other pages by including links to other blog articles, initiative information pages, and anything else relevant on your website. If your cornerstone content is detailed and valuable, readers will likely click on these links to explore the rest of your site.

8. Strengthen Your Ads With Geotargeting

Google requires all Ad Grant accounts to have proper location settings enabled. This allows you to use geotargeting to show ads in the locations where users will find your programs and services useful.

Here are a few tips for making the most of geotargeting:

  • If you primarily serve your local community, show your ads in your town and nearby communities.
  • If your nonprofit works in one area but primarily fundraises in another, adjust your ads to target users who are likely to donate. For instance, a humanitarian relief program that serves Indonesia but fundraises in the United States could use geotargeting to promote its fundraising activities to U.S.-based users.
  • If you offer different services in various geographic areas, create separate campaigns to ensure the right content is delivered to the users it’s made for.

In the example below, Google delivered a specific ad to a user based on their location.

This SERP screenshot highlights the organization name “PAWS Atlanta” to show that the Google Ad was geotargeted to users in Atlanta.

Without geotargeting enabled, ads like these would be delivered to people who aren’t geographically close enough to benefit. Targeting by location like this allows you to deliver content to your unique audience, meeting their needs and driving greater value for your cause.

9. Run Three to Five Ad Campaigns at a Time

Within your Google Ad Grant account, you’ll have separate ad campaigns composed of ad groups. These ad groups then host individual ads. For the best results, create your campaigns based on each core goal you want to reach, such as the content and opportunities you want to advertise. For most nonprofits, it’s best to run between three to five ad campaigns at a time to make the most of the Google Ad Grant funds without making managing your account overwhelming.

To create easy-to-manage campaigns, make sure to:

  • Set clear goals
  • Always keep the target audience in mind
  • Use mobile-preferred ads
  • Implement conversion tracking
  • Modify campaigns when needed

What campaigns you choose to run will depend on your nonprofit’s current goals, but you should aim to run a campaign for each of your ongoing projects. For instance, you might run four campaigns: one focused on earning donations, the second focused on recruiting volunteers, the third to spread awareness about a new initiative, and a fourth to promote an upcoming event.

Creating separate campaigns like this allows you to allocate your budget to the topics that are imperative to your mission. Then, you can create ad groups that target specific keywords related to each primary goal.

10. Focus Each Ad Group on a Central Topic

Each Google Ad Grant campaign you create should have multiple ad groups that target related keywords. For best results, include at least three ads in each group. One ad per group should be a responsive search ad, or an ad that adapts to show more text and relevant messaging to your customers.

Within each ad group, you’ll have a cluster of related ads that target different keywords and phrases. For instance, let’s say your organization provides at-risk youth with mentoring services. Within your ‘Volunteer’ campaign, create a series of related ads that promote volunteer opportunities. In this case, your ads might target keywords like:

  • Volunteer to teach kids
  • Mentoring opportunities for underprivileged teens
  • Teach underprivileged kids

Targeting specific topics with your ad groups will keep your Google Ad Grants account organized and structured properly. That way, you can see what goals the program is helping you to achieve.

11. Use a Liberal Amount of Ad Extensions

Ad extensions allow you to expand your ads with additional information and provide people with more reasons to click through to your online content.

In our Google Ad Grants account optimization guide, we dive into these extensions in detail. While there are several ad extensions to choose from, here are the most commonly used ones:

  • Callout extensions: Add short bullet point phrases beneath your ads to emphasize key information.
  • Sitelink extensions: Append links to other pages on your website.
  • Call extensions: Enable mobile users to call your organization by tapping a button.
  • Lead form extensions: Add a lead form directly to your ad.

This SERP screenshot highlights four different types of Google Ad Grants Extensions used in the context of WWF ads.

Ad extensions encourage more users to engage with your Google Ads. Plus, robust ads with extensions naturally draw readers’ eyes, giving you a competitive edge over other ads.

12. Use Google Ads in Conjunction With Other Marketing Efforts

At this point, it’s clear that Google Ad Grants are a great addition to your nonprofit’s overall fundraising and communications strategy. Join the program to drive people to register for your email list, follow your social media accounts, or sign up to receive texts from your nonprofit.

Not to mention, you’ll gather a lot of useful data through your Google Ad Grants campaigns, which will be applicable to other advertising methods. By applying for Google for Nonprofits, you also have access to a suite of other specialized marketing tools designed to amplify your cause.

You can also extend your Google Ad Grants management skills to the Microsoft Ad Grant program. This program allows you to create ads across the Microsoft Search Network, so you can tap into a new audience that may not use Google. Carefully consider how your Microsoft and Google ads can complement one another, rather than simply replicating ads on both platforms.


Working With a Google Ad Grants Manager

 

 

 

Google Ad Grants management is a full-time job. Oftentimes, nonprofits will turn to professional consulting agencies to manage their Google Ad Grants accounts.

Invest in an agency that’s a certified Google Partner. These professionals have been recognized by Google as agencies that have demonstrated exceptional skill and expertise in managing Google Ad Grant accounts. They know what it takes to help your nonprofit meet eligibility requirements, select the right keywords for your cause, write ads to stand out among search results, and continually monitor campaign performance.

Ultimately, the price you pay to outsource the work to a professional will pale in comparison to the $10,000 you’ll receive in free funding—not to mention the revenue you’ll generate from your ad campaigns!

How Getting Attention Handles Google Ad Grant Management

As a proud Google-certified agency, our team at Getting Attention specializes in Google Ad Grants management with the intention of handling every aspect of the process for you, no matter if you’re learning about the program for the first time or need help getting your existing Google Ad Grant account off the ground.

Some of our core services include:

This graphic shows five key Google Ad Grants services that Getting Attention offers for nonprofits, which are listed below.

  • Application and Eligibility Check: Our team of experts will verify your eligibility and can walk you through every step of the application process to ensure that your nonprofit is accepted.
  • Account Hygiene: Maintaining your data and keeping it clean can be a pain point for many nonprofits. We’re here to ensure you never have to worry about outdated or duplicate data bogging down your Google Ads.
  • Keyword Research: Through thorough keyword research, we’ll make sure you’re targeting the most relevant and useful keywords for your cause. That way, you can connect with valuable prospects who are likely to convert.
  • Landing Page Optimization Guidance: High-quality and valuable website content is one of the most important components of a successful Google Ad Grants campaign. We’ll provide guidance to help you update your most important landing pages.
  • Account Reactivation: Has your account lapsed or been suspended? We can help get your account reactivated, so you can continue doing the work that matters to your cause.

Even if you need solutions that don’t appear on our website, we’re open to chatting about our experience with the additional services you need. If you’re interested in a free consultation, contact us to learn more about how Getting Attention’s services can help your nonprofit grow!


Additional Resources for Better Google Ad Grants Management

The Google Ad Grants program is a great opportunity for nonprofit organizations looking to take control of their digital marketing and effectively expand their audience. However, getting started and maintaining your account requires time and effort.

Between developing high-performing landing pages and pinpointing the keywords that matter most for your work, there’s a lot of work that goes into effectively managing your account. That’s why we highly recommend outsourcing the work to a professional agency.

Ultimately, understanding all the Google Ad Grant rules in addition to best practices is your best bet when it comes to making the most of your account. If you want to continue your research on Google Ad Grants management and learn how to market your mission effectively, explore these additional resources:

Interested in $10,000 of free nonprofit advertising? Learn how Getting Attention can boost your Google Ad Grant strategy. Click here for a free consultation.

The title of the article, Google Analytics for Nonprofits: Tracking Web Performance

Google Analytics for Nonprofits: Tracking Web Performance

Every visit to your nonprofit’s website is an opportunity to drive donations, volunteerism, or advocacy. But are you making the most of these interactions?

Google Analytics offers nonprofits a powerful way to track website performance. With Google Analytics, you can analyze visitor behavior, track fundraising efforts, and identify improvement opportunities.

Whether you’re looking to boost volunteer registrations or monitor donation trends, this guide will walk through everything you need to know about Google Analytics for nonprofits:

When it comes to optimizing your online presence, guesswork doesn’t cut it. Your nonprofit needs data to make informed decisions. Let’s explore how to use Google Analytics to get the data needed to fuel your mission.

Drive supporters to your website with free Google Ads. Get a free consultation!


Overview of Google Analytics for Nonprofits

What is Google Analytics?

Google Analytics is a web analytics tool that provides data about website performance, user behavior, and the effectiveness of online campaigns. This information enables nonprofits to understand how supporters engage with their websites, outreach, and fundraising efforts.

By leveraging Google Analytics, nonprofits can make data-driven decisions to optimize their online presence and ensure campaigns engage donors, volunteers, and other stakeholders. The key benefits of leveraging Google Analytics for nonprofits include:

  • Track campaigns and conversions. Nonprofits can set goals within Google Analytics to measure success over time. For example, they might track donations, volunteer sign-ups, or event registrations. They can also evaluate their content’s effectiveness by tracking engagement metrics like session duration.
  • Understand user behavior and improve engagement. Nonprofits can identify popular pages and enhance user experience for underperforming content to reduce visitor drop-offs. With access to demographic data, nonprofits can also personalize outreach to connect with specific groups of supporters.
  • Maximize Ad Grant and SEO impact. Nonprofits can track search engine performance to maximize their advertising budgets and SEO efforts. With Google Analytics, monitor clicks, impressions, keyword performance, and landing page metrics like bounce rates, session duration, and conversions.

With Google Analytics, nonprofits can ensure every effort aligns with their mission and drives greater impact. Plus, it’s free to use!

Universal Analytics vs. Google Analytics 4

Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is the latest version of Google Analytics, replacing Universal Analytics (UA). While UA was optimized for tracking website sessions and pageviews, GA4 is a more flexible, event-based model designed for modern cross-platform measurement.

Here are the key differences between UA and GA4:

A chart comparing the differences between Universal Analytics and Google Analytics for nonprofits

  • Data Model: UA focuses on session-based tracking that groups interactions into sessions (e.g., a single visit to a website). Meanwhile, GA4 uses an event-based model where every individual interaction—a page view, click, purchase, etc.—is treated as an event, providing granular insights.
  • Cross-Platform Tracking: While UA primarily tracks website traffic, GA4 offers cross-platform tracking, allowing your nonprofit to track user journeys across websites, apps, and other devices.
  • Privacy and Data Control: GA4 leverages built-in tools to handle cookie restrictions and comply with data privacy laws, unlike UA’s cookie-reliant approach.
  • Reporting and Machine Learning: GA4 offers flexible, customizable reporting and uses machine learning for predictive insights, while UA has predefined reports with limited automation.

Essentially, when compared to UA, GA4 provides better cross-platform tracking, more flexibility in event tracking, and privacy compliance tools. This enables your nonprofit to better understand user behavior and optimize its web presence.

As Google sunsetted Universal Analytics in 2023, all organizations must migrate to GA4 to continue tracking performance.

Key Terms and Metrics to Know

As you start using Google Analytics, make sure your nonprofit’s marketing team understands these key terms:

Conversions and Goals

  • Conversion Rate: The percentage of users who complete a desired action, like donating or registering, showing the effectiveness of campaigns or pages
  • Goal: Goal: A predefined conversion action that aligns with organizational objectives, such as registering for an event or donating online
  • Macro Conversions: Primary goals like donations or event registrations, representing major achievements
  • Micro Conversions: Small actions, such as visiting a contact page or signing up for a

Sessions and Interactions

  • Interaction: Any action a user takes on the site, such as clicking a link, watching a video, or submitting a form
  • Session: A group of interactions that a user performs on a website within a specific time frame. It begins when the user opens the site and ends after 30 minutes of inactivity or when the user leaves.
  • Engaged Session: A session that lasts longer than 10 seconds, includes a key event, or has two or more page or screen views
  • Session Duration: The total time a user spends on the site during a session, offering insight into engagement and content relevance

Traffic and Attribution

  • Property: A specific website, app, or platform tracked in Google Analytics. Each property collects data independently and is configured during the setup process to generate tracking IDs and reporting views.
  • Source: The origin of website traffic, such as Google Search, Facebook, or an email campaign
  • Medium: The channel from which a user arrives on the website property, such as organic search, referral, or paid search

Event-Based Tracking

  • Event: A specific action tracked independently of page views, such as clicking a button, watching a video, or downloading a file
  • Parameter: Additional data attached to an event for context (e.g., a “donation” event might include parameters like the donation amount or campaign name)
  • Funnel: A visual representation of the steps users take to complete a specific goal, helping nonprofits track where users drop off in the process

Getting Started With Google Analytics for Nonprofits

To create a Google Analytics account for your nonprofit, go to the Google Analytics website, sign in with your Google account, and follow the prompts. The GA4 Setup Assistant will walk you through the configuration process, including creating your first property, selecting the appropriate settings, and generating a tracking ID to integrate with your website or platform.

Integrating Google Analytics With Your Site and Donation Platform

To track website activity, create a new Property in your nonprofit’s Google Analytics account. Follow the Google Analytics Setup Guide for additional help. Once complete, add the tracking ID or code snippet it gives you to your website builder, CMS, specific web pages, or Google Tag Manager.

Luckily, many nonprofit website builders and donation platforms have native integrations with Google Analytics, including HubSpot, Squarespace, WordPress, Wix, Bloomerang, Classy, Donately, Donorbox, and more! If you use these platforms, you can add the tracking ID without modifying the code directly.

If your CMS or donation platform doesn’t have an integration, work with your web developer to add the code to key pages, such as donation forms and thank-you pages.

Linking Your Google Ad Grants Account to Google Analytics

If your nonprofit uses the Google Ad Grant, you can link your Google Analytics account to it. When creating your Google Analytics account, use a Google Account with administrative access to your Google Ad Grants account.

You can also link your accounts later by logging into Analytics and clicking Admin -> Google Ads link  (under Product links) -> Link -> Choose Google Ads accounts (indicate the Google Ads accounts you want to link) -> Confirm -> Next. From this menu, ensure Enable Personalized Advertising is on and expand Enable Auto-Tagging (optional). Then, hit Next -> Submit.

A screenshot that indicates what to click to link your nonprofit’s Google Analytics account with your Google Ad Grant account.

If you haven’t completed the Ad Grant application process, do that before linking the account to Google Analytics.

Linking your accounts will help you track the full customer lifecycle. You’ll understand how people interact with your ad campaigns and what drives them to take meaningful actions like donating or registering for events. Using Google Analytics and Google Ads together provides insights into which ads and mission-related keywords drive engagement so your nonprofit can optimize its ads and allocate its budget effectively.

Tracking User Behavior and Setting Goals for Success

Understanding where users come from and how they interact with your site allows your nonprofit to map user journeys and make informed decisions to boost engagement.

Remember, Goals are specific actions or interactions you want to track. They align with your nonprofit’s objectives, whether that’s driving donations, increasing volunteer engagement, or spreading awareness.

In Google Analytics, every goal corresponds to a conversion event, but traditional goal types fall into these four categories:

A chart conveying different Google Analytics goals for nonprofits

  1. Destination Goals: Track when users reach a specific page (e.g., the “Thank You” page after a donation).
  2. Duration Goals: Monitor how long users stay on the site (e.g., sessions lasting longer than 5 minutes)
  3. Pages/Screens per Session Goals: Track users who view a specific number of pages or screens (e.g., three or more pages)
  4. Event Goals: Measure specific interactions (e.g., clicking a donate button or watching a video)

You can use these goal types to track meaningful actions aligned with your nonprofit’s mission. Here are some examples:

  • Donations: Set a Destination Goal to trigger when users land on the donation confirmation page.
  • Volunteer Sign-Ups: Create an Event Goal that tracks the completion of volunteer registration forms.
  • Awareness Campaigns: Use Pages per Session Goals to measure engagement with multiple webpages, such as blog posts and event announcements.

If your nonprofit uses Google Ads, note that ad-specific conversion goals differ slightly. These can include purchases or donations, sign-ups (like for newsletters or memberships), leads (like information downloads or clicks to call), or key page views (like time spent on the site or multiple pages viewed). You can find more details in our Google Grant rules guide.

Example: Creating a Funnel to Measure Volunteer Registration

Creating a Funnel in GA4 helps you visualize steps users take to complete a specific action, like registering to volunteer. A Funnel for this process might include these stages:

  1. Visit the Volunteer Page.
  2. Click the “Register” Button.
  3. Submit the Registration Form.
  4. Reach the Confirmation Page.

By analyzing where users drop off, you can adjust the process to reduce friction and boost sign-ups. For example, if many users fail to submit the registration form, consider simplifying the form or offering guidance throughout the process.

Google Ads inspire people to donate, sign up for your nonprofit’s emails, and more. Read the guide!


Navigating Your Nonprofit’s Google Analytics Dashboard

The Google Analytics dashboard provides nonprofits with a clear picture of how users interact with their websites in real-time and over time. Understanding these metrics enables you to track site performance, monitor user behavior, and identify areas to improve supporter engagement.

Here are two tabs within your dashboard to pay attention to:

Audience Overview

This section helps nonprofits understand where users are coming from (geographic locations, traffic sources) and their behavior on the site. It provides insight into new vs. returning users, demographics, and devices used. Custom reports can be created to track audience behavior over time, helping nonprofits tailor their campaigns and optimize user engagement.

Realtime Overview

The Realtime tab offers insights into active users on your site at any given moment and highlights which pages and campaigns are performing well.

  • Traffic Sources: Monitor real-time referrals from social media, email campaigns, and other sources, helping you respond to traffic spikes or campaign engagement.
  • Content: Track which pages users are actively viewing, such as newly published blog posts or event pages, to see if recent content is driving engagement.
  • Locations: View geographic activity down to the city level to understand where supporters are. This insight helps you use Google Ads’ geotargeting to promote region-specific opportunities like local events or volunteer activities, tailor donation appeals to where donors are active, and promote services in areas you serve.

A list of use cases for geotargeting with Google Ads

By leveraging the right information from your Google Analytics dashboard, your nonprofit can gain valuable insights for your outreach efforts and website performance.


Tracking Emails and Donations With Google Analytics

Google Analytics makes it easy to track multiple campaigns’ performances, including your emails and eCommerce.

Tips for Tracking Email Campaigns

Nonprofit emails generate around 28% of all online fundraising revenue. To keep your email revenue high, integrate Google Analytics with your nonprofit’s email campaigns.

Using tagged links, such as UTM parameters, allows you to monitor the source, campaign, and type of engagement generated by each email. Let’s say you want to use the link yournonprofit.org/volunteer. Your tagged link might look like this:

yournonprofit.org/volunteer?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=spring_outreach

Additionally, integrating your email campaigns with Google Analytics allows you to connect data from your email marketing platform—such as open rate, bounce rate, unsubscribe rate, and click-through rate—with website engagement metrics, giving a complete view of campaign performance.

A list of email marketing KPIs to track within your email marketing platform, which metrics within Google Analytics can provide insights into

Tips for Tracking eCommerce

eCommerce reports in Google Analytics provide valuable insights into donation trends and supporter behavior.

Drive revenue by monitoring transaction information, average donation value, and time to donate. Within this report, you might notice that people consistently donate larger amounts at a specific time or day of the week. That way, you can schedule appeals for peak response times.


Other Google Products to Boost Nonprofit Efforts

Beyond Google Analytics, Google offers plenty of tools to amplify your cause. They even have a program called Google for Nonprofits. The program gives nonprofits free access to Workspace, special YouTube tools, Earth and Maps, and the Google Ad Grant application.

Tools available through Google for Nonprofits

Use these Google Products to enhance your online presence:

  • The Google Ad Grants program gives each eligible nonprofit up to $10,000 in Google Ad credits every month. Your nonprofit can use these credits to bid on mission-related keywords and amplify key pages that inspire conversions. Here’s a rundown of the program’s benefits:

  • Google Workspace includes free access to Google apps like Gmail, Drive, Calendar, and Meet to enhance team collaboration.
  • The YouTube Nonprofit Program enables nonprofits to create videos with integrated fundraising features like donation buttons.
  • Google Earth and Maps helps nearby users locate your community programs, services, and events.
  • Google Trends tracks trending topics and search patterns, helping your nonprofit align its website and campaigns with public interests.
  • Google Tag Manager simplifies tracking code management across websites and integrates with Google Analytics and Ads.
  • Google Business, formerly called Google My Business, lets you create a profile that displays information about your nonprofit (like hours, location, and services) in Google Search and Maps.

Beyond these tools, explore any other Google Analytics integrations available for your nonprofit’s existing tools. Look at your donation, marketing, volunteer, and event tools to find integration opportunities.


Resources To Enhance Your Online Presence

Google Analytics gives nonprofits the necessary insights to understand supporter behavior, optimize campaigns, and measure real-world impact. When used strategically, it becomes a powerful tool for nonprofits to uncover hidden opportunities, refine messaging, and make data-driven decisions.

As you improve your online presence, check out these resources:

Google Ads amplify your site’s valuable content to supporters. Our experts can determine if your nonprofit qualifies for free Google Ads. Get a free consultation!

The title of this article, “Data Hygiene: How to Keep Your Donor Database Clean.”

Data Hygiene: How to Keep Your Donor Database Clean

Imagine that a monthly donor contributes an additional donation to your organization’s latest campaign. When they signed up for your monthly giving program, they listed their address as “123 Smith Street.” However, when they gave their additional contribution, they listed their address as “123 Smith St.”

While both addresses are technically correct, your constituent relationship management platform (CRM) may register them as different and create a new profile. Since your system will treat these entries as two separate people, you could forget to thank the supporter or accidentally solicit another donation at an inappropriate time, potentially harming your relationship with that donor.

Avoid these situations by keeping your donor database clean and organized. That way, you ensure you’re reaching out to the right people at the right time to build stronger relationships. Follow the tips in this guide to develop a comprehensive data hygiene routine.

Maintain the information you collect regularly.

Create a schedule to regularly maintain the information you collect and save in your donor database. That way, you’ll have dedicated time each day or week to make changes and ensure your data is as accurate as possible. Some of these regular maintenance activities include:

  • Entering new data. Record new information from donor interactions, meeting notes, survey data, and other engagement metrics in your CRM as soon as possible. Bloomerang recommends using a CRM that compiles this information in robust donor profiles and interprets this data into actionable engagement and generosity scores for best results.
  • Updating existing data. Data decays at a rate of about 30% per year, partly due to changes in donors’ lives. For example, if a donor moves and gets a new phone number, you’ll want to update this information in your CRM to power text communications and text-to-give campaigns. Survey your donors regularly to obtain their most recent contact information. Integrating your CRM and payment processor can also help you pull updated information from donation transactions and incorporate it into your donor profiles.
  • Backing up your database. To avoid losing important supporter information, back up your database as frequently as possible. Some donor database software automatically updates your organization’s data to the cloud or a hard drive, allowing you to focus on other areas of data hygiene.

Prevent donor data entry errors or inconsistencies by creating rules that get your team on the same page. For instance, you may solely use address abbreviations like “St.” and “Rd.” and inform team members to edit entries that don’t use abbreviations to streamline your database.

Perform larger-scale maintenance and analysis activities monthly.

In addition to the previous maintenance activities, you should handle a few more complex tasks monthly to keep your database clean and equip team members with the latest information about your organization and its campaigns. These include:

  • Identifying and merging duplicate records. Identify duplicate records and determine whether you’d like your team to merge these records or simply delete the extraneous entries. That way, you ensure all supporter information is in a single location, allowing you to reach out to them and build relationships based on the most accurate data.
  • Running reports to update your team members. Clean data is actionable data. Once you’ve organized the information in your database, pull reports on relevant metrics and share them with your team to update them on your organization’s current state. For example, you may report on how many new donors you obtain each month to evaluate your donor acquisition efforts month-to-month. This exercise can also help you prepare for your annual report since you’ll regularly summarize and analyze key data points.
  • Reviewing fundraising campaign activity. In addition to more general reports, review your fundraising activity and inform your staff members about your progress. Whether you’re hosting a capital campaign, push for major gifts, peer-to-peer fundraising campaign, or a one-time event, this data will motivate and drive them to reach their fundraising goals.

Consider assigning a data steward to preside over these activities each month. Alternatively, you may appoint a team member in each department to clean and report on their own data.

Cleanse your data.

With the help of external providers or resources, you can run more extensive data cleanses that rid your database of unuseful or outdated information. Take the time to cleanse your data by:

  • Running an NCOA update. On average, 12.6% of Americans move each year. Use the National Change of Address database to be sure you have the latest address information for your supporters. That way, you can contact donors with fundraising and marketing materials via direct mail and segment them based on location. Better yet, leverage a CRM that includes automatic nightly NCOA scans to take one more task off your plate
  • Leveraging suppression services. Purging your donor list of those who can’t or don’t want to engage with your cause ensures you preserve resources for those eager to lend their support. For example, removing deceased individuals from your mailing list prevents you from contacting their surviving spouses or household members with appeals. Additionally, you may suppress supporters on the “Do Not Mail” list so you don’t send them direct marketing messages.

You should also audit your entire database annually to pinpoint the most glaring problem areas and resolve them.

Append missing information.

Cleaning your database may reveal that you’re missing vital information about your supporters. In this case, conduct a data append to fill in any gaps and round out your database.

The main types of data your organization can append include:

  • Demographic data, such as age and gender
  • Contact information, such as phone numbers and email addresses
  • Geographic data to target supporters based on location
  • Financial information, such as income and net worth
  • Lifestyle data, such as other causes your donors contribute to

Let’s say you’re running an email marketing campaign but find that you only have email addresses for 40% of your supporters. To rectify this issue, you can work with a data provider to source supporter email addresses and add them to your database.

Look for a provider with comprehensive security measures to protect sensitive donor data. Inquire about your provider’s own data hygiene strategy as well to ensure they provide accurate, updated information.


Data is only valuable for your nonprofit if it’s clean and tidy. Use these best practices to be sure your organization effectively sorts, organizes, and updates supporter information. Then, you can leverage it for segmentation, personalization, and stewardship to build stronger donor relationships.

The title of the article, How To Create A Nonprofit Annual Report + Excellent Examples

How To Create A Nonprofit Annual Report + Excellent Examples

A nonprofit annual report isn’t just a collection of financial data—it’s the story of your organization’s impact over the past year. For nonprofit leaders, fundraisers, and marketers, it’s a unique opportunity to deepen supporter engagement by showcasing not just what you did but why it matters.

So, how can you transform pages of data into a compelling narrative that inspires continued support? We’ll explore key strategies to create a nonprofit annual report that informs and motivates supporters by going over:

Let’s make your annual report an inspiring read by exploring exactly what makes a nonprofit annual report compelling.

Reach your nonprofit’s supporters with compelling Google Ads. Get a free consultation!


What is a Nonprofit Annual Report?

A nonprofit annual report is a comprehensive document that provides a detailed overview of a nonprofit’s activities, accomplishments, and financial performance for the previous fiscal year. It presents data alongside storytelling, visuals, and financial milestones to convey the organization’s impact.

While similar to an impact report, an annual report has a broader scope. While an annual report offers a holistic view of the organization’s work over the past year, an impact report focuses more narrowly on the specific outcomes of particular programs or initiatives. Instead of addressing the organization’s entire constituency, an impact report typically zeros in on funders. Meanwhile, annual reports build trust with donors, volunteers, partners, and the wider community.

Does a 501(c)(3) Need An Annual Report?

Your nonprofit isn’t legally required to produce an annual report in the same way it must file a Form 990 with the IRS. However, creating an annual report is a best practice that leads to these benefits:

A list of benefits of creating a strong nonprofit annual report

  • Increased transparency and accountability. Annual reports inform supporters about how your organization uses its resources to further its mission. Sharing financial breakdowns, volunteer activities, and program developments indicates that your nonprofit is trustworthy to donors, grantmakers, corporate sponsors, and the public.
  • Encouraging further support. Your annual report should highlight the value of supporters’ contributions, encouraging continued support. You can even use your report to thank generous donors and volunteers.
  • Clear performance evaluation. By explaining your goals and mission performance, you’ll communicate strengths and areas for improvement. This helps grantmakers and corporate sponsors understand your nonprofit’s reliability and effectiveness.
  • Compelling marketing opportunities. Nonprofit reports create powerful marketing opportunities. Your report presents your impact, mission, and community contributions so prospective supporters can better understand your unique purpose.
  • Preparation for the coming year. The process of creating a report is a time to reflect on your nonprofit’s performance and make plans to improve in the following year.

Along with showcasing your nonprofit to your supporters, your annual report can your internal decision-making and be leveraged in marketing materials to call supporters to action.


Paper vs. Digital Annual Reports for Nonprofits

The format of your nonprofit annual report depends on your organization’s size and engagement goals. For instance, a small nonprofit may print out a one-page annual report and mail it to top stakeholders. In contrast, an established nonprofit should consider a digital format, like a downloadable PDF, to make their report interactive and shareable.

Large nonprofits might even go the extra mile and create an interactive web page for their annual reports to provide a dynamic multimedia experience. Engage readers by including branded videos, interactive charts, and navigation menus. Both a website and PDF format allow you to reach a broad audience by sharing the report via social media, email campaigns, or even digital ads.

By offering both a print and digital version of your annual report, you can cater to your audience’s diverse communication preferences.


What To Include In Your Nonprofit Annual Report

If you look up “nonprofit annual report examples,” you’ll encounter an array of annual reports of different styles, content, formats, and lengths.

The lack of guidelines can make it difficult to know exactly what you should include in your report. That’s why, to help you get started, we’ve pinpointed a few key elements you should consider incorporating.

This free nonprofit annual report template consolidates these elements:

A nonprofit annual report template that includes key elements that are explained below

A Short Opening Message From Leadership

Include a short message from your board president or executive director. This introduction sets the tone for the report, provides context, and previews your organization’s achievements.

Keep this letter to about half of a page or 200-300 words. Short is not asking your graphic designer to “make it fit,” leaving audiences to squint at six-point font.

Don’t be afraid to let your nonprofit’s personality shine through, either. Conveying the director’s sincere excitement about a particular accomplishment, his or her sense of humor, or a personal note makes your report more engaging.

If you feel like this letter is your one chance to say everything to your audience, revisit your communications plan. That feeling, and the resulting letter that goes on forever, often means you’re not regularly communicating with constituents the rest of the year.

A Table of Contents

A well-structured table of contents guides readers through the report and highlights key sections that may be of particular interest, such as financial summaries or program impact. That way, readers can find specific information without having to navigate the entire document.

Powerful Visuals

Include visuals in your nonprofit annual report to convey complex information in an engaging, understandable way. For example, charts can breathe life into otherwise dense financial information, and photos of beneficiaries alongside stories can drive emotional connections.

Here are some effective visuals to include:

  • Infographics, charts, and graphs: Use these visuals to present key statistics, financial summaries, donor contributions, and program outcomes in a digestible format. According to HubSpot’s Visual Content Marketing Statistics, about 30% of marketers use infographics for this purpose.
  • Images of programs and people: Showcase your nonprofit’s impact through high-quality photos of your programs, events, beneficiaries, staff, board members, partners, and volunteers.
  • Maps: If your organization operates in multiple locations, include maps to help readers visualize the scope of your work.
  • Timeline of milestones: Create a visual timeline to illustrate significant achievements or events.
  • Videos: For digital nonprofit annual reports, embed short videos to share personal stories or footage from impactful projects.

If you don’t have an in-house graphic designer, hire an external artist. They can ensure your visuals are polished and aligned with your brand’s message.

Experienced designers like our friends at Kwala understand how to present data and images in a cohesive, impactful nonprofit annual report that resonates with your audience.Design a beautiful nonprofit annual report that communicates your impact. Work with our recommended designers.

Financial Breakdowns

A nonprofit annual report is the perfect opportunity to share comprehensive financial information with stakeholders. Include the following:

  • Statement of Financial Position: Provide an overview of your organization’s assets and liabilities to give a snapshot of its financial health.
  • Expense allocation graph: Give insight into your research management by showing administrative costs, fundraising expenses, and how funds are distributed across programs.
  • Sources of support documentation: Include details about income streams, such as grants, individual donations, corporate contributions, and revenue earned from services, to highlight your nonprofit’s financial sustainability.
  • Major fundraising campaigns: Feature key fundraising efforts from the previous year by sharing various campaigns’ goals, achievements, and the impact of the funds raised on your programs.
  • Corporate sponsorships: Recognize corporate partners who provided significant support, and explain how their contributions helped advance your mission. Considering that companies donate $20-26 billion annually, showing sponsors you value their support can be vital for continuing to attract corporate partners.

Aim for transparency and acknowledge major sources of support. Some organizations also list major donors to publicly recognize their biggest supporters.

Achievements

Showcase the impact of your programs and projects over the past year. Highlight key milestones and success stories from both new and ongoing initiatives, such as volunteer efforts and beneficiary programs. Sharing these accomplishments not only celebrates your organization’s successes but also reinforces your mission’s value to stakeholders.

Challenges

You can highlight the good while still being honest about areas you know need addressing. Acknowledge setbacks and show your commitment to improving with phrases such as “In spite of difficult economic times, we were fortunate to… ”

You can also bring up anticipated challenges for the upcoming year, indicating a need for increased support.

Compelling Testimonials and Stories

People remember stories 22 times more than facts alone. Bring your data to life with compelling stories from beneficiaries, volunteers, and staff members. For example, instead of just stating that 500 meals were provided to families in need, share the story of a single mother who received those meals.

A Call To Action

Hint at a few things you’re excited about for the coming year. Keep your ending hopeful but not artificial, and invite readers to take actions like:

  • Follow your nonprofit on social media
  • Sign up for your newsletter
  • Donate before the year ends
  • Volunteer at an event

Anyone who reads your annual report is interested in your cause, so tell them how to start supporting you.


How To Share Your Nonprofit Annual Report

You’ve created the perfect nonprofit annual report, so what’s next? Spread the word with a multi-channel marketing strategy! Leverage these key marketing channels:

A list of ways to share your nonprofit annual report with supporters, written below

Your Nonprofit’s Website

Add a banner or prominent link on your homepage to encourage visitors to check out your new report. Then, highlight key insights from your annual report in blog content to encourage anyone researching your mission to read the full report. Add a link to your report in various blog posts you plan to promote.

Google Ads

Did you know Google owns over 91% of the global search engine market? Google Ads can skyrocket content from your website (like your nonprofit’s annual report) to the top of search results, connecting you with your supporters. Although advertising can be expensive, eligible nonprofits can take advantage of the Google Ad Grants program, which provides $10,000 in monthly ad credits for free.

Here’s how it works: you bid on keywords relevant to your ideal audience. When your bid wins, your ads appear on Google’s search results pages, helping you reach more people searching for topics related to your nonprofit’s mission and impact.

Our Google Ad Grant agency can help your nonprofit maximize the value of the grant by creating ad campaigns that promote your most important content. Our expertise drives qualified traffic to content like your annual report and donation form, increasing visibility without straining your resources.

Did you know Google Grants have the highest ROI of any digital marketing platform? Learn more about Google Grants impact.

Social Media

32% of donors are most inspired to give by social media, making these platforms ideal for sharing your nonprofit annual report. Share teasers, testimonials, and research from the report to pique your followers’ interest leading up to and following your report’s release.

Here’s how we recommend leveraging each platform’s unique features:

  • Facebook: Using your nonprofit’s Facebook page, share a link to the full report, highlight key sections with engaging visuals, and encourage sharing.
  • Instagram: Use photos, videos, Stories, and Reels to showcase program highlights and add a report link in your nonprofit’s Instagram bio.
  • LinkedIn: Focus on professional audiences by sharing posts about impact, financial transparency, and major achievements with links to the full report.
  • X/Twitter: Post bite-sized highlights or stats with a link to the report, using a series of posts to build anticipation.
  • YouTube: Create a summary video with testimonials, visuals, and program footage. Remember to link to the full report in your YouTube video’s description.

By playing to each platform’s strengths, you’ll maximize your reach and engagement.

Email

Nonprofit emails generate 28% of all online fundraising revenue, making them effective for sharing your annual report.

Draft emails to highlight your report’s release and importance. Update a section of your newsletter to highlight the report.

Be sure to segment your email subscribers and send emails directly to relevant stakeholders such as major donors and community partners.

Year-End Event

Turn your nonprofit annual report into an opportunity to celebrate your accomplishments with a year-end event. This event can serve as a launch for your report and a chance to share successes with major donors and other key stakeholders. Include a brief presentation highlighting key findings, and express your gratitude to the generous supporters who made the past year possible.


Standout Nonprofit Annual Report Examples

Check out these stellar nonprofit annual report examples to spark your creativity. For each example, we’ve highlighted a standout feature you can incorporate into your strategy.

World Wildlife Foundation – Compelling Visuals

The World Wildlife Foundation (WWF)’s visuals make it a great example of a strong nonprofit annual report. Each page highlights different key initiatives, such as improving sustainable fisheries, protecting wildlife like rhinos, and safeguarding freshwater resources. For each initiative, there’s a compelling photo that represents that program, such as forests, rivers, rhinos, and fishermen.

Most pages also feature a compelling fact or statistic in large font to emphasize the organization’s impact and mission urgency.

World Wildlife Fund’s annual report.

Public Radio Exchange (PRX) – User Experience

PRX, a nonprofit public media company, supports independent producers and organizations by connecting them with supportive audiences.

Their commitment to user engagement is evident in their impact report’s interactive design. The “choose your own adventure” format allows each audience to follow their own digital path. This innovative approach enhances the user experience by catering to specific interests.

Screenshots of PRX’s nonprofit annual report.

You can achieve a similar effect by segmenting your annual report based on the expectations and interests of your target audience.

CURE International – Storytelling and Digestibility

This nonprofit annual report brings CURE’s impact to life through storytelling. The report features quotes from beneficiaries and impact stories about children like Natnael whose leg mobility was restored by life-changing surgery.

Screenshots of CURE’s nonprofit annual report.

This nonprofit annual report also features compelling images of beneficiaries as well as staff and volunteers in action. All information is presented in a digestible format with bulleted lists highlighting key facts, a map indicating service areas, and infographics breaking down financial data.


Next Steps

Think of your nonprofit’s annual report as more than a summary of the past year; it’s a tool for shaping the future. For executive directors and fundraisers alike, it represents an opportunity to tell your organization’s story and cultivate deeper connections with stakeholders.

By focusing on impact and authentic narratives, you can turn this document into one of your most effective fundraising and marketing tools. As you start designing your report, check out these resources:

Google Ads amplify your site’s valuable content to supporters. Our experts can determine if your nonprofit qualifies for free Google Ads. Get a free consultation!

The title of the article, Nonprofit Email Marketing: How To Create Clickable Messages

Nonprofit Email Marketing: How to Create Clickable Messages

Email may not be the newest digital marketing tool, but when done right, it’s one of the most impactful for nonprofits. Effective nonprofit email marketing gives you a direct line to your supporters, allowing you to share project updates, promote events, and drive donations.

From crafting the perfect subject line to sending the right types of emails, this guide will provide the insights you need to elevate your email strategy and transform your nonprofit’s emails into a game-changing communication channel:

Let’s turn your emails into a powerhouse strategy for supporter engagement and fundraising success.

Strengthen your nonprofit's digital presence with free Google Ads! Schedule a consultation today.


The Power of Effective Nonprofit Email Marketing

When your team invests time into crafting strong nonprofit emails, you’ll experience these benefits:

  • Save on marketing costs: Email marketing is an affordable way to reach a large audience. In fact, email marketing generates about 28% of all online nonprofit revenue, demonstrating its power to drive donations.
  • Build relationships: Regular email communication nurtures and strengthens connections with supporters. Targeted personalized messages create a sense of community.
  • Educate supporters: Emails inform your audience about your mission, updates, and impact. Sharing compelling stories and data will deepen their understanding of your mission.
  • Promote events: Email campaigns boost attendance at upcoming events. Whether it’s a virtual webinar or an in-person fundraiser, emails spread the word.
  • Inspire donations: Well-planned drip campaigns guide supporters through the giving journey, inspiring donations over time. Marketing research indicates that, on average, nonprofits raise $90 for every 1,000 fundraising emails sent, highlighting the potential impact of consistent communication. What’s more the average nonprofit raises $5,598.51 per email campaign.
  • Easily track results: Email marketing platforms provide metrics like open rates, click-through rates, and conversions, allowing for easy tracking and optimization.

Revenue-related statistics regarding the impact of email marketing for nonprofits

By leveraging cost-efficient and trackable email campaigns, your nonprofit can develop an educated community of supporters, earn revenue, and ultimately maximize its impact.


Nonprofit Email Marketing Best Practices

To experience all those great benefits, you need to be strategic with your nonprofit emails. From sending inspiring content to making your emails accessible across all devices, boost your ROI by focusing on these nonprofit email marketing best practices:

Make It Easy To Sign Up for Your Newsletter.

Regular communication keeps donors, volunteers, and all other supporters engaged with your work. An email newsletter is one of the easiest ways to maintain contact, and you need a streamlined signup process to capture interest. Here are some ways to improve your sign-up process and grow your subscriber list:

  • Use timed or exit-intent pop-ups to encourage visitors to sign up for your newsletter before they leave your nonprofit’s website. For reference, only 28% of nonprofit websites use email subscribe pop-ups, so don’t be one of the nonprofits that overlooks this strategy.
  • Add calls-to-action (CTAs) urging people to sign up within your blog posts, About Us page, homepage, footer, and social media posts.
  • Create a streamlined subscription process by only asking for a name and email address. Each additional information field deters potential subscribers.
  • Repurpose select newsletter content on social media and encourage people to subscribe for future updates and insights.
  • Make it easy for people to share your newsletters and recommend it to their personal networks, because 92% of people trust recommendations from people they know. You might create specific sections in your newsletter designed for sharing like a quotes or statistics.
  • Use advertisements to target likely supporters based on demographics and interests, so you can promote your nonprofit’s newsletter to promising audiences.

Red Cross leverages some of these best practices by featuring a call-to-action on its homepage that leads to a streamlined sign-up form:

A signup button for Red Cross's email newsletter list

A nonprofit email newsletter sign-up page for the Red Cross

The average nonprofit email list contains around 4,191 contacts, but don’t be deterred if you have fewer! While small nonprofits have about 547 subscribers, large organizations average 6,602. Make it as easy as possible for people to sign up, and you’ll grow your subscriber list in no time.

Google Ads inspire people to donate, sign up for your nonprofit’s emails, and more. Read the guide!

Send Nonprofit Emails Regularly.

To retain supporters, you need to send emails frequently enough to keep supporters engaged and informed without overloading their inboxes. Not only can over-emailing land you in people’s spam boxes, but it will likely encourage people to unsubscribe altogether.

According to the latest Nonprofit Tech For Good Report, here’s how often nonprofits send newsletters:

These statistics about how frequently nonprofits send emails are written below.

  • 41% monthly
  • 27% quarterly
  • 17% twice monthly
  • 10% weekly
  • 3% twice weekly
  • 2% daily

If you go longer than a month between newsletters, you might be missing out on engagement opportunities. Conversely, if you email more frequently than every week, you might fatigue your subscribers, leading to lower open rates. Align your email frequency with industry norms to encourage people to read your emails.

Above all, make sure each email includes valuable, new content. Remember, you’re not limited to your newsletter. Send other content, like donation appeals and upcoming event announcements, to stay in touch between your newsletters.

Know How To Avoid Spam Folders.

As of December 2023, spam messages accounted for over 46 percent of email traffic. If your nonprofit emails are delivered to spam folders, your supporters will likely never see them.

Avoid your messages getting marked as spam by following all relevant online privacy and marketing laws. For example, the U.S. CAN-SPAM Act requires marketers to include an opt-out mechanism and avoid deceptive subject lines. Canadian Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) mandates explicit consent before sending emails, prohibits misleading content, and requires clear identification of the sender. Meanwhile, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is an EU regulation that requires marketers to obtain consent for email marketing, provide clear privacy policies, and offer the right to withdraw consent.

From here, use these nonprofit email marketing best practices:

  • Use a recognizable sender name and email address to build trust.
  • Only send emails to people who have opted in.
  • Craft clear, non-spammy subject lines by avoiding all caps, excessive punctuation, and words commonly associated with spam like “urgent.”
  • Provide a clear unsubscribe option.

These strategies will improve your nonprofit email deliverability and make your emails appear more trustworthy.

Personalize Your Nonprofit Emails.

Knowing who you’re writing emails for is essential for creating relevant, engaging email content that resonates with subscribers’ interests and needs. Start by looking at your subscribers’ demographics, giving history, interests, and preferences.

Our guide to nonprofit target audiences explains how to define your audience step-by-step, so you can craft content that speaks to different segments. In turn, you’ll refine your tone, timing, and calls to action to make your email marketing efforts more effective.

Your email marketing tools may offer additional personalization and segmentation features, so you can easily:

  • Refer to each recipient by name
  • Reference past gift amounts
  • Send relevant appeals based on engagement history, such as upcoming event invitations to past attendees

Personalized emails see average open rates that are 82% higher than generic emails, making this strategy essential for building strong connections with your audience.

Improve Your Subject Lines.

Subject lines determine whether people open your nonprofit emails. As supporters scroll through their inboxes, your emails can catch their eyes if you use these best practices:

  • Aim for 40-50 characters to ensure the subject line is fully visible on most devices.
  • Personalize your subject lines by using recipients’ names or referencing past support. Emails with personalized subject lines are 26% more likely to be opened.
  • Use action-oriented language, like “Join,” “Support,” or “Discover.”
  • Highlight urgency or exclusivity by using phrases like “Last chance to give” or “Exclusive update for donors.”
  • Add relevant emojis to make the subject line stand out, but use them sparingly to maintain professionalism.

Preheader text can influence open rates too. This is a short summary that appears below your subject line in a recipient’s inbox. Emails with preheader text have an average open rate of 44.67%, compared to 39.28% for emails without preheader text. Consider providing a teaser or a compelling preview of the email’s content to boost your open rate.

Optimize Your Nonprofit Emails For Mobile Devices.

Did you know that 3 in 5 people check their email on the go? And considering that 42.3% of users delete emails that aren’t optimized for mobile devices, your nonprofit emails need to be readable on smartphones.

Use emails with responsive design, meaning they adjust automatically to different screen sizes. Also, keep content concise since mobile users prefer scannable content with CTAs that are easy to find and click. Finally, compress images to load quickly and add alt text, so recipients can understand your messages even if images don’t load.

Focus on Each Email’s Design.

Your nonprofit emails’ design enhances readability and grabs attention. A strong design makes it easy for supporters to understand your content and take action, whether you want them to donate, sign up for an event, volunteer, or share the message. Plus, a visually appealing design reinforces your nonprofit’s brand and creates a professional, trustworthy impression.

Include these design elements in each email you send:

An illustration showing the key elements of a strong nonprofit email

  • Clear CTAs that are visually distinct and easy to click on mobile devices
  • Compelling images that convey your mission, tell a story, or highlight the impact of donations
  • Bulleted lists to break up text and make emails scannable
  • Whitespace to avoid clutter and keep your design clean
  • Consistent fonts, colors, and logos that align with your nonprofit’s visual identity
  • Readable font sizes and types
  • Links to your social media channels, so people can follow your nonprofit on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and other platforms

Save time by creating templates with these elements. That way, you don’t have to start from scratch every time you write an email.

Automate Some Nonprofit Emails.

Email automation saves your team time and ensures timely, consistent communication with supporters. This can help nurture relationships by sending relevant content based on supporters’ behavior, improving their engagement.

Here are examples of emails that nonprofits can automate:

  • Welcome emails should send automatically when someone subscribes to your newsletter or joins your community by taking another action, such as donating.
  • Donation confirmation and thank-you emails provide immediate acknowledgment when a donor makes a contribution, showing appreciation and providing a donation receipt.
  • Recurring donation reminders to alert supporters of upcoming or missed recurring donations.
  • Event registration confirmations include details and next steps after signing up for an event.
  • Lapsed donor re-engagement emails to reconnect with donors who haven’t given in a while.
  • Volunteer follow-up emails after an event or activity to thank volunteers and share results.
  • Impact updates that share how donors’ contributions make a difference, triggered by milestones or project completions.
  • Birthday and anniversary emails to recognize birthdays, donation anniversaries, or other significant supporter milestones.
  • Survey and feedback emails that gather feedback after an event or donation.
  • Year-end giving appeals that encourage supporters to make their year-end donations.

Your email marketing software should make automation easy. Determine which actions (e.g., signing up for your newsletter, making a donation) will trigger the automated emails. You can then design emails for different automated messages and use segmentation to ensure emails are sent to the right groups.

Monitor Your Nonprofit’s Email Marketing Performance.

Monitoring email marketing performance helps your nonprofit fine-tune its campaigns. Pay attention to the best times to send emails by testing different days and hours to see when supporters are most likely to engage.

You should also A/B test subject lines, CTA buttons, and design elements. This allows you to optimize individual components, ensuring the highest possible open and click-through rates.

We’ll explore the exact email marketing metrics you should track in a later section.


Types of Nonprofit Emails To Send

Diverse email content maintains supporters’ interest and meets different audience segments’ needs. By mixing donation appeals, impact updates, and more, you can show your nonprofit cares about more than just fundraising. Here are several types of emails you might send:

Types of nonprofit emails to see, explained in the text below

Onboarding Emails

Welcome messages have an average 202% higher open rate than traditional email campaigns. Make sure people receive a warm welcome when they first donate, sign up to volunteer, register for an event, or subscribe to your newsletter.

Your welcome email serves as an introduction to your nonprofit’s mission, provides information on how supporters can get involved, and sets the stage for future communications, ensuring they feel valued and informed right from the start. Prompt onboarding emails create a strong first impression and build early engagement with new supporters.

Newsletters

As mentioned, newsletters enable consistent communication. In them, share mission updates and impact stories to reinforce the impact of supporters’ contributions. We also recommend showcasing program milestones or behind-the-scenes updates to foster transparency.

Additionally, highlight upcoming involvement opportunities like fundraising events, volunteer opportunities, and advocacy efforts to encourage meaningful action. A well-rounded newsletter keeps supporters informed, involved, and inspired.

Donation Appeals

Requesting donations is essential for sustaining your nonprofit’s work. These emails should clearly communicate the urgency and impact of giving.

Whether you’re fundraising for your annual fund or a specific campaign, use compelling language to illustrate impact, mention past contributions, and include a clear call to action that links to your donation form.

Appreciation Emails

Around 55% of U.S. donors prefer to be thanked for their charitable gifts by email. That makes appreciation emails a smart addition to your nonprofit email marketing strategy.

Thank-you emails are a heartfelt way to thank supporters for their donations, volunteer efforts, and other contributions. These emails should express genuine gratitude and highlight how their support has positively impacted your cause. Including a brief story or statistic about the difference the supporter helped create reinforces the value of their involvement and strengthens donor loyalty.

Success Stories

Showcase the tangible outcomes of your nonprofit’s work and give supporters a clear picture of how their contributions make a difference through powerful storytelling. Use real stories, images, and quotes from beneficiaries to create an emotional connection. You may even include a video to bring your story to life further.

These emails serve as both a thank-you and a motivator to continue giving by showing supporters the direct results of their generosity.

Event Invitations

Spread the word about your nonprofit’s upcoming events. Send personalized invitations that encourage recipients to attend or volunteer. Be sure to clearly communicate the date, time, and location. Then, share registration links or ways to participate virtually, so everyone can get involved.

Other Calls to Action

Empower supporters to engage with your cause in new ways by promoting involvement opportunities other than donating. You might encourage volunteerism, advocacy, or event attendance.

These nonprofit emails can be segmented based on the recipient’s past behavior, ensuring the right appeals reach the right people. For example, lapsed donors could be sent re-engagement emails with impact stories to remind them of how their past contributions made a difference. Meanwhile, volunteers who participated in specific events might get follow-up emails inviting them to similar future events.


Key Nonprofit Email Marketing Metrics To Track

Within your email marketing software, you’ll find metrics like open rates and click-through rates. This data indicates what types of emails resonate with your audience and how well your messaging drives engagement.

To refine your outreach and better target supporters, monitor these data points:

Email metrics that an organization should track related to nonprofit email deliverability and engagement, which are listed below

  • Bounce rate refers to how many of your emails successfully reach subscribers’ inboxes, similar to nonprofit email deliverability. If you have a high bounce rate, that means your messages aren’t being delivered. To increase your deliverability, reach out to supporters via methods other than email or conduct email appends.
  • Open rate is the percentage of recipients who open your email. This tells you whether your subject lines and timing are effective.
  • Click-through rate is the percentage of recipients who click on a link within your email, indicating the effectiveness of your calls-to-action.
  • Conversions tell you the number of recipients who take a desired action, like donating or signing up for an event.
  • Unsubscribe rate is the percentage of recipients who opt out of future emails. If your unsubscribe rate is high, you might be emailing too frequently, or your content might be misaligned with supporters’ interests.

Tracking email metrics gives you valuable insights into your audience’s behavior, so you can fine-tune your outreach. Look at these messages for each email, so you can determine what’s working well and what can be improved.

You can also compare your metrics to industry benchmarks. We recommend looking at key performance indicators (KPIs) for your specific email platform. For instance, Mailchimp has a 40.04% average email open rate for nonprofits, while GetResponse has a 54.54% average email open rate for nonprofits.

If your metrics underperform compared to your platform’s benchmarks, make adjustments and A/B test specific elements until you see improvement.


How Google Ads Can Fuel Your Email Marketing Efforts

Use your nonprofit’s other marketing channels to build your subscriber list. As the world’s most popular search engine, Google is one of the best channels to promote your cause. According to our Google Ad Impact Report, Google claims over 90% of the search market and processes an incredible 3.5 billion search queries every day.

Considering that 98% of searchers click a result on page 1 of Google, you want your nonprofit’s website to rank as high as possible for mission-related keywords. That makes Google Ads a promising platform to get your site in front of people who are actively searching for causes like yours.

Not to mention, eligible nonprofits can claim free advertising credits via the Google Ad Grants program. With the grant, you can promote your website’s content to users for free. The goal of the program is to drive meaningful actions like donations and email subscriptions. Here’s a rundown of the Google Ad Grant’s benefits.

 

Here’s how to use Google Ads to grow your nonprofit’s email subscriber list:

  • Optimize landing pages. Direct your Google Ads to email sign-up pages with a simple, user-friendly process.
  • Use compelling calls to action. Highlight the benefits of subscribing, such as exclusive updates, special offers, and valuable content.
  • Offer exclusive content. Promote sign-up incentives like eBooks, reports, and other exclusive content.
  • Target specific audiences. Use Google Ads’ targeting features to reach users who are likely to be interested in your content and email list.
  • Use remarketing ads. Use Google’s remarketing feature to target users who have visited your website but haven’t subscribed yet to encourage sign-ups.

Google Ads can be a great way to build your contact list if you’re strategic about it! Even if you don’t want email subscriptions to be your primary conversion action, you can use features like sitelinks to add your email sign-up form to your ads.

If you need help creating compelling ads, reach out to our Google Ad Grants team. We work with nonprofits to help them apply for the grant and craft ads that drive results.


Next Steps To Improve Your Nonprofit Emails

Nonprofit email marketing is powerful for building lasting relationships, increasing engagement, and driving donations. If you already send emails, start by taking a look at your current performance. Are your open rates low? Are your emails driving conversions?

Then, implement the nonprofit email marketing best practices we covered, like segmenting your audience and delivering diverse content. In no time, this channel will become an indispensable part of your nonprofit’s marketing plan.

Need help refining other parts of your communications? Check out these resources:

Grow your email subscriber list with impactful Google Ads. Our experts can help you leverage the Google Ad Grant. Get a free consultation!

Getting Attention_The Smart Nonprofit’s Guide to Volunteer Time Off (VTO)_Feature

The Smart Nonprofit’s Guide to Volunteer Time Off (VTO)

Let’s say you’re having a hard time recruiting and retaining dedicated volunteers for your organization. As a result, you conduct a survey of your supporter base, asking what roadblocks keep them from getting involved. You might expect to hear answers like lack of free time, existing work commitments, or inability to take time from their busy days.

And that makes sense! According to Double the Donation’s volunteer time off statistics, 49% of individuals cite work as the primary obstacle to volunteering. Conversely, only 30% cite one of their reasons for volunteering as having had the time to do so.

In other words, it all comes down to time. Lucky for you, that’s where programs like Volunteer Time Off come in!

In this guide, we’ll cover everything you should know about these initiatives. This includes:

Ready to learn more about making the most of volunteer time off programs for your cause? Let’s begin with the basics.

Understanding Volunteer Time Off Programs

The better acquainted you are with volunteer time off opportunities, the better you’ll be able to target the programs for your organization. Here’s what you need to know to get started!

What is Volunteer Time Off (VTO)?

Volunteer Time Off (also known as VTO) is a type of corporate benefit that grants employees paid time away from their regular job responsibilities to volunteer for nonprofit organizations or community causes. Unlike traditional paid time off used for vacation or personal days, VTO is offered above and beyond these hours, specifically designated for volunteering activities.

By offering VTO, companies empower their staff to give back without sacrificing their personal or vacation time, making it easier for employees to participate in meaningful service opportunities. This type of program reflects a company’s commitment to corporate social responsibility while actively encouraging employees to engage in their communities and support causes they care about.

Volunteer Time Off Guidelines to Know

When promoting or participating in a Volunteer Time Off (VTO) program, it’s essential to be familiar with the specific guidelines that come with the program. It’s also important to recognize that these guidelines can vary widely from one company to the next.

Still, here are a few common guidelines to keep in mind:

Employee Eligibility: Some companies implement eligibility criteria regarding team members qualifying for the programs. For example, there may be a minimum tenure or full-time employment status required before employees can take advantage of VTO.

Allotted or Accrued Time: Employers typically set a specific number of VTO hours, often ranging from 8 to 40 hours (with an average of 20 per year), for their employees to use. This time may be allotted all at once (e.g., 40 hours per year) or accrued over a set time period (10 hours per quarter).

Approved Organizations: While VTO is generally limited to volunteering with registered nonprofits or schools, it’s a good idea to check if a company has any additional requirements. For example, some employers may have a list of pre-approved charities or causes that align with their corporate values.

Approved Activities: Beyond the organization itself, it’s also important to ensure that the activities completed as part of a VTO program are included in program guidelines. For example, an employee participating in their child’s PTA meeting may not qualify for VTO hours, while assisting with a school-sanctioned fundraiser would.

An Overview of the VTO Process

The Volunteer Time Off process typically involves a few key steps to ensure that the volunteer activities in question adhere to the appropriate program guidelines. Here’s an overview of how the procedure generally works:

Volunteer time off process overview

1. Identify Volunteer Opportunities: Employees begin by selecting a nonprofit organization or cause they’re passionate about. Some companies may offer a list of approved organizations, while others allow employees to choose their own.

2. Submit a VTO Request: Employees then submit a formal request for VTO through their company’s designated platform or directly to their supervisor. This step usually involves specifying the volunteer activity, the organization, and the date or time period requested.

3. Managerial Approval: The employee’s supervisor or HR department reviews the request to ensure it aligns with the company’s VTO guidelines and doesn’t conflict with business needs. Once approved, the employee can move forward with their volunteering plans.

4. Volunteer Participation: The employee uses the approved time off to volunteer, contributing to the selected nonprofit organization or community project.

5. Report and Track Hours: After completing the volunteer activity, employees may be asked to log their hours and provide a brief report or proof of participation. This helps the company track VTO usage and measure the overall impact of their program.

Key Benefits of Volunteer Time Off Programs

Volunteer Time Off programs offer significant benefits to nonprofits, employees, and companies alike. Here’s a look at how each group can benefit:

Nonprofits:

  • Increased Volunteer Support: VTO programs encourage a steady flow of committed volunteers, providing nonprofits with reliable and consistent assistance.
  • Access to Skilled Volunteers: Nonprofits benefit from the expertise and skills employees bring when they volunteer, helping them achieve their mission more effectively.
  • Corporate Partnerships: Nonprofits often form lasting partnerships with companies offering VTO, which can lead to additional support through donations, sponsorships, or grants.

Employees:

  • Increased Job Satisfaction: Employees feel valued and supported when their employer encourages them to give back, leading to greater job satisfaction.
  • Simplified Nonprofit Support: VTO allows employees to contribute to causes they care about without using personal time or vacation days. The easier it is to support their favorite nonprofits, the more likely they are to do so.
  • Skill Development: Volunteering provides opportunities for employees to develop new skills and strengthen existing ones, such as leadership, teamwork, and problem-solving.

Companies:

  • Enhanced Employee Engagement: VTO programs promote a positive company culture, boost morale, and increase employee loyalty, reducing turnover rates.
  • Improved Brand Reputation: Companies that offer VTO demonstrate a commitment to social responsibility, enhancing their image among customers, stakeholders, and potential employees.
  • Stronger Community Connections: By supporting employees in volunteering, companies build stronger relationships with local communities and charitable organizations.

These benefits make VTO programs a win-win for everyone involved, fostering a culture of giving and strengthening communities.

Drive volunteer time off with our downloadable resource

Top Companies Offering Volunteer Time Off

According to Double the Donation, more than 65% of companies provide some sort of paid-release time program. Becoming familiar with the businesses offering these programs will allow your team to better identify and target opportunities in your network. In order to aid you in doing so, we’ve compiled a list of exemplary VTO opportunities below:

Patagonia

Volunteer time off per year: 18 hours

Patagonia encourages its employees to engage in community service by providing 18 hours of paid volunteer time off per year. Not to mention, it also offers two-month internship opportunities in which employees can work with their preferred environmental charities while receiving their full pay and benefits!

This program reflects the company’s commitment to environmental and social responsibility, empowering employees to participate in causes they care about.

Hasbro

Volunteer time off per year: 48 hours (4 per month)

Hasbro offers an extensive VTO program that grants employees 48 hours of paid time off for volunteering, which breaks down to 4 hours per month. This initiative supports the company’s mission to inspire creativity and play while encouraging employees to give back to their communities.

Deloitte

Volunteer time off per year: 8 hours

Deloitte provides 8 hours of paid volunteer time off per year to its employees. This initiative allows team members to engage in meaningful volunteer activities, fostering a culture of service and community involvement within the organization.

Bank of America

Volunteer time off per year: 104 hours (2 per week)

Bank of America has one of the most generous VTO programs, offering 104 hours of paid time off for volunteering, equivalent to 2 hours per week. This robust program underscores the company’s commitment to community service and employee engagement.

Warner Media

Volunteer time off per year: 40 hours

Warner Media allows employees to take 40 hours of paid time off for volunteering each year. This program encourages staff to participate in charitable activities and supports the company’s commitment to social responsibility.

Cisco

Volunteer time off per year: 80 hours

Cisco offers 80 hours of paid volunteer time off per year, empowering employees to dedicate substantial time to community service. The program highlights Cisco’s commitment to social impact and encourages team members to engage with local organizations and initiatives.

GM Financial

Volunteer time off per year: 32 hours (8 per quarter)

GM Financial provides 32 hours of paid volunteer time off annually, which breaks down to 8 hours per quarter. This initiative encourages employees to volunteer regularly throughout the year, promoting ongoing community engagement.

Johnson & Johnson

Volunteer time off per year: 40 hours

Johnson & Johnson offers 40 hours of paid volunteer time off each year, allowing employees to contribute to various charitable activities. This program reflects the company’s long-standing commitment to health and community well-being.

Plus, in the event of a natural disaster, Johnson & Johnson increases its maximum threshold to 80 hours, enabling employees to get involved in times of crisis.

Get started with VTO with Double the Donation Volunteering.

Marketing Volunteer Time Off to Your Supporters

Volunteer time off programs can go a long way in strengthening volunteerism at your organization. However, a significant portion of your audience is likely unfamiliar with the opportunity⁠—including those who qualify for the programs through their employers.

That said, driving awareness by marketing VTO initiatives to your audience is a must. And we’ve outlined a few recommendations for doing so below:

Marketing VTO on your nonprofit website

Your nonprofit or school’s website is one of your most essential marketing assets. Luckily, it can be used to promote VTO programs with ease⁠—in a few different ways. These include:

  • Creating a dedicated “Volunteer Time Off” page or informational blog post
  • Adding a section about VTO to your existing “Volunteers” or “Ways to Give” pages

Regardless of where you promote the programs, it’s a good idea to make researching opportunities as quick and easy as possible. For this, we recommend implementing a company database search tool like Double the Donation Volunteering.

Then, once you have the information you need on your site, be sure to link to the resource from your other marketing materials as well.

Marketing VTO using email communications

Promoting Volunteer Time Off (VTO) through email can be an effective way to engage supporters and encourage participation. Here are some strategies to effectively market VTO using email communications:

  1. Create a dedicated email campaign: Design a specific email campaign focused on VTO, outlining the program’s details, benefits, and how supporters can get involved. Don’t forget to use a compelling subject line to grab attention and entice recipients to open the email!
  2. Add a section about VTO to your upcoming newsletters: Rather than a dedicated email blast, try slotting a blurb about the programs in an existing email resource. This will allow your team to get details about VTO out alongside other valuable information!
  3. Send follow-up emails to volunteers: Take a personalized approach to pursuing VTO opportunities by directly emailing potentially interested volunteers. After individuals support your organization, follow up with a reminder to check their eligibility for volunteer time off programs and more.

By implementing these strategies, nonprofits can effectively promote their Volunteer Time Off programs through email, encouraging greater participation and fostering a culture of volunteerism among their supporters.

Marketing VTO on social media

Marketing volunteer time off programs on social media can be a powerful way to reach a broader audience and engage supporters with the programs. While you’ll want to cater your marketing plan to your organization’s existing strategies, check out the following tips for promoting VTO through social media:

  1. Create Engaging Content: Develop visually appealing posts that highlight your VTO program. Use graphics, photos, and videos that showcase volunteers in action, emphasizing the impact of their work to capture your followers’ attention and encourage their involvement.
  2. Share Success Stories: Post testimonials or stories from employees or volunteers who have benefited from VTO. Highlight their experiences, the activities they volunteered with, and the positive changes they made in the community and on your mission.
  3. Use Hashtags: Incorporate relevant hashtags related to volunteering, community service, and VTO to increase visibility and reach a wider audience. Consider creating a unique hashtag for your nonprofit’s VTO program to track engagement and participation.
  4. Provide Information and Resources: Use social media to educate followers about VTO. Share posts that explain what VTO is, how it works, and the benefits for the community overall. Include links to your website or dedicated VTO pages for more detailed information.

By utilizing these strategies, nonprofits can effectively market their Volunteer Time Off programs on social media, engage their supporters, and inspire more individuals to take action.

Marketing VTO through text message

Text messages can be an effective way to reach your supporters where they are in a quick and direct manner. By marketing VTO through text, you can spread the word about the programs using mobile communications.

. Here are several strategies for doing so:

  1. Send Quick Announcements: Use text messaging to inform supporters about the VTO program and its benefits. Keep messages concise and to the point, highlighting key details such as the number of hours available for volunteering and how to participate.
  2. Promote Upcoming Events: Send text reminders about specific volunteer opportunities or events that allow supporters to use their VTO. Include details such as the date, time, location, and any registration links to make it easy for recipients to get involved.
  3. Create Urgency: Use text messages to create a sense of urgency around VTO opportunities. Phrases like “Limited spots available!” or “Sign up by Friday!” can encourage immediate action and participation.
  4. Provide Easy Call-to-Action Links: Include links in text messages that direct recipients to your nonprofit’s website or a specific VTO page. This allows supporters to quickly access more information and take action.
  5. Segment Your Audience: If possible, segment your audience based on previous engagement or interests. Tailor text messages to specific groups, such as employees who have utilized VTO before or those who have expressed interest in volunteering.

By leveraging these strategies, nonprofits can effectively market their Volunteer Time Off programs through text messaging, reaching supporters in a timely and direct manner while encouraging participation and engagement.

Marketing VTO with paid advertising channels

Advertising can be a great way to reach new audiences with your message⁠—and don’t let the “paid” in paid advertising slow you down. Nonprofits and schools can access up to $10,000 worth of free advertising credits through Google’s Ad Grant program.

With free access to this paid search advertising platform, it’s easy to increase visibility and engagement with your cause. All you need to do is target keywords related to VTO and volunteer time off and direct users to the educational resources on your website!


Next Steps & Additional VTO Resources

Volunteer Time Off programs present a powerful opportunity for nonprofits, companies, and employees to work together toward a positive community impact.

By understanding the benefits of and best practices for engaging in VTO, nonprofits like yours can better leverage these programs to fulfill their missions with greater volunteer support. Good luck!

Interested in learning more about Volunteer Time Off and other corporate giving programs? Check out these additional resources:

Drive volunteer time off with 360MatchPro Volunteer Hub

The title of this article: Who Is Your Nonprofit Target Audience? Steps To Find Out

Who Is Your Nonprofit Target Audience? Steps To Find Out

When you post on social media or publish an article on your website, do you know who your nonprofit is speaking to? If you’re unsure, your marketing efforts might not be resonating with people. Identifying your nonprofit target audience allows you to craft messages that inspire action and speak directly to your donors, volunteers, beneficiaries, and anyone else who plays a role in your mission.

Delivering your messages to the right people boosts engagement, increases your marketing efforts’ ROI, and ultimately amplifies your impact. But how do you find these individuals? And more importantly, how can you use that knowledge to create more meaningful outreach?

To answer these questions, we’ll cover the following topics:

Before diving into specific strategies, let’s start with the basics of what a nonprofit target audience is and why defining yours matters.

Inspire your nonprofit’s supporters with compelling Google Ads. Get a free consultation!


What Is a Nonprofit Target Audience?

A nonprofit target audience refers to the specific groups of people that a nonprofit seeks to engage in order to fulfill its mission. These groups commonly include donors, volunteers, corporate partners, beneficiaries, and advocates. Each audience member plays a crucial role in supporting the nonprofit’s goals, whether by funding the organization, offering their time, raising awareness, or benefiting from the organization’s work.

Shared characteristics that unify different nonprofit target audiences include:

  • Demographics: Age, gender, income, occupation, etc.
  • Location: Urban vs. rural, local, national, or global
  • Interests and values: Causes and beliefs they care about
  • Needs and challenges: Problems your nonprofit seeks to solve
  • Engagement: Previous involvement as donors, volunteers, or advocates
  • Communication preferences: Channels like email, social media, events, or Google

Knowing these details, you can create target audience persona, a fictional representation of one of your typical audience members. Your audience personas are an essential part of your marketing plan. For example, creating a persona for your target audience of volunteers might reveal that your typical volunteers are young professionals in their 20s and 30s who live in urban areas. Your research may tell you that these individuals are socially conscious, seeking meaningful ways to give back to their communities while building their personal networks and enhancing their leadership skills.


Why Understanding Your Nonprofit Audience is Important

When you understand who your audience is, your marketing becomes more focused, effective, and impactful. Instead of trying to reach everyone, you can speak directly to the people most likely to support your cause, whether they’re donors, volunteers, or advocates. In turn, your communication will build stronger connections, engage supporters, and inspire action.

Here’s a breakdown of the key benefits of understanding your nonprofit’s audience:

The benefits of knowing your nonprofit target audience, which are also written below

  • Personalized communication: You can craft messages that resonate with specific groups, leading to deeper connections and higher engagement. After all, 40% of donors are more likely to give when they experience personalized outreach.
  • Increased donations: You’ll be able to target individuals who are more likely to support your mission, boosting fundraising efforts and attracting more donors. Of the donors who are more likely to give after personalized outreach, nearly 10% would actually increase their donations by over 50% if they received regular updates about their impact.
  • More effective volunteer recruitment: Understanding common traits of your volunteers helps you attract other likely volunteers who are passionate about your cause.
  • Improved engagement across channels: Knowing your audience allows you to identify the best platforms to reach them, whether through social media, email, or paid ads (like Google Ads).
  • Effective ad targeting: You can use audience targeting to ensure your organization’s paid ads are shown to the people most likely to take action, increasing your return on investment.

Essentially, knowing who you’re crafting messages for takes the guesswork out of marketing. For instance, if your target audience for donations consists of people in their 20s to 40s who are passionate about environmental conservation and sustainable living, your messaging should align with their values.

These individuals may be well-educated, socially conscious, and committed to causes that protect the planet for future generations. They’re likely involved in local eco-friendly initiatives, and they support organizations focused on clean energy, reducing plastic waste, or protecting endangered species. For this audience, your messaging should emphasize the tangible environmental impact of donations, sustainability, and building a legacy for future generations. You might use channels like Instagram, TikTok, emails, texts, and digital ads to reach them.


Steps To Define Your Nonprofit’s Target Audience

Follow these steps to refine your outreach and make meaningful connections:

1. Identify Your Goals.

Start by identifying what you want to achieve. Your goals should push your mission forward in some way. Are you looking to increase donations, attract more volunteers, or grow attendance for your events?

Let’s say your goal is to find young adults to mentor at-risk youth. You’ll need to focus on audiences who are passionate about community involvement and youth empowerment.

You’re not limited to one target audience either. You can have two or even three goals and a different target audience for each one.

2. Analyze Existing Data.

Use your CRM to see who currently supports your nonprofit. Your tools should enable segmentation, allowing you to break your existing nonprofit audience down by demographics, past engagement, donation size, giving frequency, and preferred communication channels. This helps identify patterns and key characteristics within your current base.

You might segment your audience into groups of donors, volunteers, or customers for your revenue-generating services:

A nonprofit audience broken down into segments of donors, volunteers, and customers

Then, break those groups down further based on shared characteristics. If you notice a large segment of millennial donors who donate to youth programs and prefer social media outreach, tailor messaging to donors in that group. Then, publish on Facebook and Instagram since those are the most-used social platforms by millennials, according to Target Internet.

3. Look At Your Competition.

One of the best ways to define your nonprofit’s target audience is by observing how similar organizations are targeting theirs. While you can’t access their internal data, you can analyze their public materials to gather useful insights:

  • Browse their website. Look at the language and content they use. Who do they seem to be speaking to—families, young adults, or professionals?
  • Analyze their ads. Pay attention to their Google Ads, Facebook Ads, and any other paid campaigns. What demographics are they targeting, and how are they positioning their messaging?
  • Explore their social media pages. Who’s engaging with their posts, and what types of content generate the most response?
  • Sign up for their emails. What kinds of stories and programs are they promoting?

By gathering insights from competitors, you can identify patterns that work well and avoid ineffective tactics. Any positive insights will strengthen your audience-targeting efforts, and your analysis may reveal gaps in their outreach.

4. Start Conversations With Current Supporters.

Direct feedback from your existing supporters can provide valuable insights. Conduct surveys, interviews, or focus groups to better understand why they support your nonprofit and what matters most to them. You can even chat at your next fundraising event or volunteer opportunity. This will help in identifying similar audiences and making your messages more impactful.

5. Develop Audience Personas.

After all this research, create audience personas. These personas represent your ideal supporters, and you might have a few different ones to represent groups like donors, volunteers, advocates, and corporate partners.

Your personas should include demographics, interests, personalities, lifestyles, goals of supporting your nonprofit, and barriers your organization can help them overcome. You can even give this data a name to make it seem more realistic.

Here’s an example of a volunteer persona for an environmental organization:

An example of a nonprofit target audience persona

Name: Erin Matthews
Age: 35
Education: Bachelor’s Degree in Communications
Occupation: Marketing Manager
Interests: Environmental conservation, sustainable living, and outdoor activities like hiking
Lifestyle: Suburban mom balancing family time and eco-conscious choices
Personality: Passionate, strong sense of responsibility toward the environment, seeks transparency in organizations she supports, and cares deeply about making a difference
Goals:
Support environmental causes to ensure a sustainable future for her children
Barriers:
Needs to see how her contributions make a difference and prefers family-friendly, hands-on volunteer opportunities
Communication Preferences: Emails, text messages, Instagram, and Facebook

With this hypothetical supporter profile, your nonprofit can craft stronger messages by highlighting tangible impacts that align with Erin’s environmental goals, such as the number of trees planted or wildlife habitats restored. Messaging should emphasize family-friendly volunteer opportunities that allow her to engage with her children, making her feel that her contributions are both meaningful and aligned with her eco-conscious, family-focused lifestyle. Additionally, personalized updates will reinforce her direct impact, keeping her engaged long-term.


How To Engage Your Nonprofit Audience

Once you know who your nonprofit target audiences are and how those groups prefer to engage with your organization, put that information to use. Understanding their preferences, interests, and demographics will allow for more impactful messages.

Try these strategies:

  • Personalize communication channels. Different segments of your audience prefer different communication methods. For example, younger supporters might engage more with digital channels like social media, while older donors might prefer email updates or direct mail. Use what you know about your audience to select the right channels for each group, ensuring that your message reaches them where they’re most likely to engage. After all, segmented digital campaigns produce up to 760% more revenue compared to non-segmented campaigns.
  • Customize messaging based on audience insights. Your messaging should speak to your nonprofit audience’s values and motivations. For instance, the Literacy Empower Foundation ran a Google Ad campaign that targeted keywords like “free books for kids” to reach parents and educators searching for resources. The ad effectively targets its audience by highlighting both the urgency (“limited quantity”) and the organization’s long-standing impact, while offering valuable resources to its specific audience (free books for kids):

A Google Ad for the Literacy Empowerment Foundation that's geared toward the nonprofit's target audience

Digital paid channels also provide advanced audience targeting features. For instance, Google Ads allows you to target users based on location, interests, demographics, and online behaviors. You can also use remarketing to show tailored ads to users who have already visited your website or a specific webpage.

Discover impactful nonprofit advertising examples to spark creativity for your campaigns. Explore real-life nonprofit ads.


How Often To Reevaluate Your Nonprofit Target Audiences

Reevaluate your nonprofit’s target audiences after every campaign. This allows you to adapt future outreach to shifts in audience behavior. Use tools and ongoing strategies such as:

  • A/B testing: Compare two versions of your messages or campaigns to see which drives results. This strategy involves changing one element, such as your CTA button language or your email subject line, for two separate groups of your audience. You can use A/B testing on your donation form, volunteer registration page, emails, texts, or anything other materials.
  • Social listening: Monitor social media platforms to track mentions, comments, and discussions about your organization or cause. This tells you how supporters are discussing your campaigns, so you can identify trends, learn what resonates most with your community, and respond quickly to questions or feedback.
  • Audience Surveys: Directly ask your nonprofit audience what they think and feel about your organization. Ask for feedback on messaging, donation processes, event experiences, and overall engagement.

While post-campaign reviews are essential, conduct a more comprehensive evaluation quarterly or annually to account for broader trends.


Next Steps and Helpful Resources

Knowing your nonprofit target audience is essential for fostering meaningful connections and ensuring sustainable support. By tailoring outreach to your audience’s unique needs and interests, you’ll inspire them to support your work and do more for your cause.

Start by identifying your marketing goals and taking a look at who currently supports your work. As you move forward, listen to supporters’ feedback, pay attention to your campaigns, and make changes when needed. This ongoing evaluation will help you respond to your audience’s evolving needs and strengthen your connection with them.

For more insights and helpful resources to support your efforts, check out these resources:

Advertising platforms offer advanced targeting features. Discover how to create targeted Google Ads that reach your audience. Get a free consultation!

Getting Attention_Employee Engagement Strategies Proven to Boost Morale_Feature

10 Employee Engagement Strategies Proven to Boost Morale

Throughout today’s increasingly competitive business landscape, fostering a positive work environment is crucial to maintaining high levels of employee engagement and morale. Lucky for you, that’s where effective employee engagement strategies can come in handy.

In this blog post, we’ll explore ten tried-and-true methods for driving employee engagement, helping you create a motivated and thriving workforce. Specifically, we’ll cover the benefits of:

  1. Regular feedback
  2. Peer recognition
  3. Professional development
  4. Flexible work arrangements
  5. Team building activities
  6. Wellness programs
  7. Matching gifts
  8. Volunteer grants
  9. Team volunteerism
  10. Volunteer time off

When employees feel valued and supported, they’re more likely to be productive, loyal, and contribute to the overall success of the company. That said, it’s worth it to invest time and resources into employee engagement strategies that will keep your team involved and committed in the long run.
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Employee Engagement Strategy #1: Regular Feedback

Offering regular, ongoing feedback is essential for fostering employee engagement. Why? It provides team members with continuous opportunities for growth and improvement!

Rather than waiting for annual reviews, managers should offer timely, constructive feedback to keep employees informed about their performance. This practice creates a culture of transparency, allowing staff to understand their strengths and areas for improvement in real time. It also makes employees feel supported and valued, as they receive acknowledgment for their contributions and guidance on how to excel further.

When feedback becomes a regular occurrence, it fosters open communication, strengthens relationships between managers and employees, and enhances job satisfaction overall. Moreover, employees become more motivated when they see their efforts recognized and when they know that their development is a priority.

Getting Attention_10 Employee Engagement Strategies Proven to Boost Morale_Feedback

Employee Engagement Strategy #2: Peer Recognition

Next, peer recognition programs involve celebrating and appreciating the efforts of colleagues, ultimately creating a supportive and collaborative workplace environment. When employees recognize one another for their efforts or achievements, it fosters a sense of camaraderie and belonging⁠—thus driving engagement overall.

Peer recognition can take many forms, from informal shout-outs during meetings to formal recognition programs where employees can nominate each other for awards. This strategy is highly effective in boosting morale because recognition from peers is often perceived as more meaningful than recognition from management alone. It also encourages a culture of mutual respect and appreciation, which can enhance job satisfaction and retention.

Getting Attention_10 Employee Engagement Strategies Proven to Boost Morale_Recognition

Employee Engagement Strategy #3: Professional Development

Professional development is defined as the process of acquiring new skills, knowledge, and experiences that enhance an individual’s capabilities and career growth. While this can take many forms, it’s often considered through training, education, mentorship, or on-the-job learning opportunities.

Investing in professional development is a powerful employee engagement strategy because it demonstrates a company’s commitment to the growth and advancement of its employees. Offering training programs, workshops, mentorship opportunities, and other learning resources allows employees to expand their skill sets and advance their careers at the same time.

Employees who feel they are continually learning and growing are more likely to stay engaged as they see a clear path for their future within the company. Furthermore, professional development programs help employees feel more confident and competent in their roles, leading to improved performance and satisfaction.

Getting Attention_10 Employee Engagement Strategies Proven to Boost Morale_Professional Development

Employee Engagement Strategy #4: Flexible Work Arrangements

Flexible work arrangements, such as remote work options, flexible hours, or compressed workweeks, offer employees greater control over their work-life balance. This strategy is particularly effective in boosting morale because it allows employees to tailor their schedules to accommodate their own needs, largely reducing stress and burnout.

When employees have agency over their work arrangements, they often feel more trusted and valued, leading to increased loyalty and job satisfaction as a result. Moreover, flexible work arrangements can improve productivity and result in the attraction and retention of top talent, reduced instances of absenteeism, and an increasingly engaged and balanced workforce.

Getting Attention_10 Employee Engagement Strategies Proven to Boost Morale_Flexibility

Employee Engagement Strategy #5: Team Building Activities

Team building activities are designed to foster collaboration, communication, and trust among employees, making them an essential component of a successful engagement strategy. These activities can range from dedicated retreats to fun events like group outings or problem-solving challenges.

A few examples include:

  • Workshops and skill-building sessions
  • Escape room challenges
  • Outdoor adventure activities
  • Staff lunches or dinners
  • Office scavenger hunts
  • Company-wide volunteerism (more on that later!)

When employees engage in team-building exercises, they develop stronger relationships with their colleagues, which enhances teamwork and productivity in the workplace. Additionally, team-building activities break down silos, encouraging cross-departmental communication and helping employees understand each other’s strengths and perspectives. This improved sense of camaraderie can boost morale and contribute to a more positive, unified work environment.

Getting Attention_10 Employee Engagement Strategies Proven to Boost Morale_Team Building

Employee Engagement Strategy #6: Wellness Programs

Wellness programs focus on promoting the physical and mental well-being of employees, which is directly linked to higher engagement and morale. These programs may include…

  • Fitness challenges
  • Health screenings
  • Mental health resources
  • Stress management workshops
  • And more!

By offering wellness initiatives, companies show that they care about the holistic well-being of their employees, leading to increased loyalty and productivity. When employees feel physically and mentally healthy, they’re also more energized and motivated to perform well.
Additionally, wellness programs help reduce absenteeism, lower healthcare costs, and create a more positive and supportive work environment. Encouraging employees to prioritize their health not only improves individual performance but also fosters a culture of well-being, which positively impacts the entire organization.

Getting Attention_10 Employee Engagement Strategies Proven to Boost Morale_Wellness

Employee Engagement Strategy #7: Matching Gifts

More and more, employees want to work for companies that are devoted to giving back to their communities for the greater good. One of the best ways to leverage philanthropic benefits for employee engagement is by directly involving individual team members in your efforts. And for this, matching gifts is the way to go.

Matching gift programs are a form of corporate philanthropy where companies financially contribute to the organizations their staff support. As a result, employees feel increasingly connected to the company when they see their employer supporting their philanthropic efforts, which boosts morale and job satisfaction.

Additionally, matching gift programs align personal values with corporate ones, fostering a sense of shared purpose. Offering a matching gift program not only enhances employee engagement but also improves the company’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) profile, benefiting both employees and the organization’s reputation.

Getting Attention_10 Employee Engagement Strategies Proven to Boost Morale_Matching Gift

Interested in getting started? Check out Double the Donation’s complete guide to implementing a matching gift program here.

And don’t forget to enable matching gift auto-submission to make the engagement process as easy as possible for your employees. Doing so will allow you to join the ranks of CLMA-designated companies⁠—like Chipotle and more!

Employee Engagement Strategy #8: Volunteer Grants

Similarly, volunteer grants are another way for companies to engage employees through corporate giving. Rather than matching monetary donations, these grants provide funds to nonprofits where employees volunteer their time and skills (generally between $8 and $25 per hour).

By supporting employee volunteer efforts, companies demonstrate their commitment to both the community and their workforce. Employees feel valued and appreciated when their volunteer work is recognized and supported, which can significantly boost morale and engagement. Additionally, volunteer grants create a culture of giving back, encouraging employees to participate in meaningful community service. This strategy not only strengthens the company’s relationship with local nonprofits but also reinforces a sense of purpose among employees, making them feel more connected to both the company and their community.

Getting Attention_10 Employee Engagement Strategies Proven to Boost Morale_Volunteer Grant

Learn by example! Check out the volunteer grant programs offered by top employers here.

Employee Engagement Strategy #9: Team Volunteerism

Team volunteerism involves groups of employees participating in volunteer activities together, often organized or supported by the company. This strategy enhances employee engagement by combining the benefits of volunteering with team-building.

After all, working together on a common cause fosters stronger relationships among employees and creates a sense of shared purpose. It also allows employees to contribute to their communities while developing skills such as leadership, communication, and collaboration.

Getting Attention_10 Employee Engagement Strategies Proven to Boost Morale_Team Volunteerism

Employee Engagement Strategy #10: Volunteer Time Off

Finally, Volunteer Time Off (also known as VTO) is an invaluable benefit that allows employees to take paid time out of their regular working hours to volunteer for the causes they’re passionate about.

This strategy shows that the company values employees’ personal interests and their desire to make a difference in the community. Offering VTO boosts morale by empowering employees to pursue volunteer activities without sacrificing their pay or vacation time.

VTO programs can improve job satisfaction, reduce burnout, and create a more positive workplace culture, as employees feel they can make meaningful contributions outside of their professional responsibilities.

Getting Attention_10 Employee Engagement Strategies Proven to Boost Morale_VTO

Explore examples of leading employee engagement companies with standout Volunteer Time Off programs with Double the Donation’s guide here.


Final Thoughts & Additional Resources

Boosting employee morale doesn’t happen overnight, but by consistently implementing these proven engagement strategies, you can cultivate a workplace where employees feel valued, empowered, and motivated to give their best.

Remember: a positive and engaged workforce not only leads to higher productivity but also helps drive retention, creating a thriving and successful organization across the board. Take the first step by incorporating these tactics into your company culture, and watch morale soar. You won’t regret it!

Interested in boosting employee engagement with corporate giving and other leading strategies? We recommend the following resources to grow your knowledge:

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The title of the article: Types of Volunteer Software and Tools Nonprofits Need

3 Types of Volunteer Software and Tools Nonprofits Need

Approximately one-third of the nonprofit workforce is volunteers, and these supporters keep your nonprofit running by completing program-related tasks, assisting with fundraisers, spreading awareness, and generally lending their time and energy to support your organization. However, managing a team that can come and go randomly is a challenge, and to compensate, many nonprofits turn to volunteer software solutions.

Nonprofits can benefit from several types of volunteer software. In this guide, we’ll explore three kinds of nonprofit software focused on volunteers and how your organization can make the most of each platform. Specifically, we’ll cover:

First, let’s address the fundamentals of volunteer software. If this is your first time investing in this type of solution, you’ll have a baseline of what to prioritize.

Looking for a volunteer platform that can increase your revenue? Discover the power of volunteer grant databases. Check out our recommended provider.

Volunteer Software FAQ

What is volunteer software?

Volunteer software includes technology platforms designed for nonprofits to manage, engage, and interact with their volunteers. This includes tools that allow nonprofits to message volunteers, create shift schedules, and post volunteer opportunities. It also includes platforms that allow volunteers to complete specific tasks, such as fundraising on a nonprofit’s behalf.

Be aware that various volunteer software solutions include different features. For example, even if two vendors both offer volunteer management software, one might have features for recruitment and training, whereas another focuses specifically on communication and organization.

Why do nonprofits need volunteer software?

Small nonprofits can run volunteer programs without software supporting their efforts. However, as your volunteer program grows, so will its level of complexity. With more volunteers, programs, and tasks, nonprofits can benefit greatly from using a centralized system to stay organized.

With the help of volunteer software, nonprofits can:

  • Better manage resources. Volunteer software collects and monitors data related to your volunteer program. This allows you to understand what resources you have at your disposal, how they are being used, and if they could be better allocated. For example, you might notice certain programs are at capacity for volunteers while others need more support. In this case, you can edit your schedule to fix this discrepancy.
  • Improve volunteer retention. By running an organized volunteer program where supporters receive prompt communication and clear direction, you’re more likely to have returning volunteers.
  • Launch specialized programs. Certain types of volunteer initiatives require software to function. For example, if you plan to offer virtual volunteering opportunities, you’ll likely need software to connect with these supporters and assign tasks.

Volunteer software platforms vary in scale, and different nonprofits will need different levels of support. While a smaller nonprofit might be content using its CRM’s volunteer engagement features, a larger organization may prefer a highly customizable volunteer-specific management platform.

Is volunteer software free?

Volunteer software is available at a variety of price points. Some solutions may offer free packages with limited features, but most platforms operate on a monthly or annual subscription system.

For example, volunteer software vendor POINT has three price points, including a free option that provides core management features, such as time tracking and calendar management.

Volunteer software price points.

However, other desirable features, like background checks and waivers, require upgrading to a paid plan. Additionally, POINT, like many other volunteer software providers, offers custom pricing solutions for enterprise-sized nonprofits.

Volunteer Management Software

Volunteer management software is the most common type of volunteer software. These platforms help nonprofits organize and run nearly every part of their volunteer program, making them essential for any growing nonprofit.

Various volunteer management software platforms specialize in different aspects of volunteer management. However, every platform should offer these core features:

Features of volunteer management software, written out below.

  • Database. Many nonprofits use CRMs, which house donor data, such as their engagement history, contact details, and payment information. Some CRMs also provide profile management features for non-donors, such as volunteers, but dedicated volunteer management platforms are likely to provide more robust offerings. Look for platforms that allow you to easily build volunteer profiles, search your database for specific individuals, and store your supporters’ information securely.
  • Scheduling. Planning and managing volunteer shifts is essential for maintaining a functional volunteer program. Assess management platforms based on their scheduling-related features, such as calendar creation, shift assigning and claiming processes, and bulk scheduling.
  • Communication. To keep your volunteer program running smoothly, volunteer managers will need to coordinate with numerous supporters to provide direction, ensure shifts are filled, and answer questions. Your volunteer software should aid this process with communication tools, such as the ability to contact volunteers via multiple channels (like email, text messaging, and volunteer app notifications) and automatic messaging (like upcoming shift reminders).
  • Reporting. Reporting tools help you make sense of your data to determine where your volunteer program is succeeding and what could be improved. For instance, all volunteer management software should have basic hours tracking tools. You might use this information to determine which times of year your nonprofit has the highest volunteer capacity.

When assessing volunteer management software, consider your nonprofit’s needs. Some organizations might be looking for an out-of-the-box solution with an app volunteers can engage with, whereas others might want a customizable platform and sophisticated reporting features. Every vendor has its own specialties and strengths, so take note of what features they highlight and ask questions during demos and sales pitches about specific use cases.

Bonus: What are corporate volunteer management solutions?

While for-profit businesses don’t have volunteers, some corporations do have software with volunteer management features. Specifically, businesses with corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs often use software to manage these initiatives.

CSR programs include grantmaking, sponsorships, in-kind donations, and employee volunteer initiatives. Some examples of corporate volunteer programs are:

Types of corporate volunteer programs, listed out below.

  • Volunteer grants
  • Volunteer time off (VTO)
  • Team volunteer days
  • Mentorships
  • Internships

To encourage employee volunteering and track volunteer initiatives’ results, businesses use CSR software. These tools allow employees to report their volunteer hours, submit volunteer grant applications, and request VTO. With some platforms, employees can search for volunteer opportunities.

Some CSR vendors provide users with a database of reputable nonprofits. These platforms then allow users to search for relevant volunteer openings or even let leadership highlight and promote specific volunteer opportunities to employees. Explore top CSR vendors to see if it’s possible to submit your nonprofit for consideration to get featured in these databases. 

Volunteer Grant Database

While volunteer management software allows your volunteer program to function, tools like volunteer grant databases enable nonprofits to earn additional value from their programs.

A volunteer grant database provides nonprofits and volunteers with information about corporate giving and CSR programs related to volunteering. These databases allow volunteers to search for their employers and discover the following details:

An example of volunteer grant search tool.

  • Their program eligibility. If an employer offers volunteer grants or VTO, a volunteer grant database will provide relevant information about the program. This includes which employees are eligible. For instance, a company might provide volunteer grants to all employees, but only full-time staff are eligible for VTO.
  • Program requirements. Every company has its own volunteer grant requirements, making it challenging for nonprofits to provide guidance to volunteers. A volunteer grant database can help supporters find relevant information, such as how many hours they need to volunteer, what types of nonprofits are eligible, and when they need to submit their volunteer grant application.
  • Next steps. Discovering if a supporter is eligible for a volunteer grant or VTO is great. But what do they do next? Look for a volunteer grant database that provides links to relevant forms and pages supporters can follow to take the next steps to apply immediately after confirming their eligibility.

Volunteer grants and VTO earn your nonprofit additional revenue and additional volunteers. Many eligible supporters are unaware these initiatives exist, let alone if they qualify. By bringing them to your supporters’ attention, your volunteer program will become even more valuable.

Bonus: Our recommended volunteer grant database provider!

Currently, the top volunteer grant database on the market is Double the Donation Volunteering. Double the Donation originally specialized in matching gift software, but the volunteer functionality expands its offerings to provide users with information on overlooked volunteer grants and VTO opportunities.

A few of Double the Donation’s top features include:

  • Comprehensive database. Double the Donation’s matching gift database covers 99.68% of all match-eligible donors. This same comprehensiveness applies to the volunteer arm of the database, meaning all of your eligible supporters should be able to find their employers’ information easily.
  • User-friendly search process. 360MatchPro’s search tool is easy to embed on any page of your website, including your volunteer registration form. Use it to capture your volunteers’ employer data so you can streamline the search process and identify if they qualify for volunteer grants or VTO.
  • Extensive integrations. Chances are that you will use your volunteer grant database alongside your volunteer management software. 360MatchPro has over 100 integrations with various CRMs, volunteer management platforms, and donation tools, meaning chances are you’ll be able to add it to your current tech stack with ease.

Get started with Double the Donation Volunteering by scheduling a demo to discuss its potential benefits for your nonprofit.

Gain more volunteers and have more time to train and retain them by leveraging VTO. Discover how you can take advantage of VTO in Double the Donation’s complete guide.

Peer-to-Peer Software

Peer-to-peer campaigns are a unique type of volunteer initiative. While volunteers often help with various fundraisers, in a peer-to-peer campaign, volunteers essentially run their own fundraising campaigns on your behalf.

As a unique type of program, peer-to-peer campaigns require specialized software. A few specific features include:

  • Campaign page creation. Peer-to-peer campaigns succeed because volunteers are able to create unique donation pages that share their personal stories. This allows their friends and family to give in support of their loved one rather than a nonprofit they might be unfamiliar with. Choose a peer-to-peer solution that lets your volunteers add their own photos, share their stories, and even upload videos.
  • Social sharing options. Most modern peer-to-peer campaigns operate online and make heavy use of social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram. Your volunteers should be able to easily share their campaign pages and updates on social media to promote their fundraiser to friends, family, and followers.
  • Data and analytics. Like any volunteer program, it’s useful to have a bird’s eye view of your volunteers’ activities. Use your platform’s data and analytics tools to track how each volunteer’s campaign is performing so you can step in to lend a hand, provide encouragement, or offer congratulations.

Peer-to-peer campaigns straddle the lines between being fundraisers and volunteer initiatives. As such, you’ll likely find software guides and campaign tips categorized under both volunteer and fundraising management.

Regardless, look for software that enables volunteers to share their unique message and fundraise on your behalf with confidence.

Bonus: Peer-to-peer volunteer management tips!

Peer-to-peer volunteers operate fairly independently by managing their own outreach after getting their campaign pages live. However, that doesn’t mean your volunteers should totally handle it alone. Improve your peer-to-peer campaigns by:

  • Providing branded assets. While you should encourage peer-to-peer volunteers to design their own campaign pages and outreach content, doing so without guidance can lead to a hodgepodge of messages that don’t represent your brand well. Instead, share your nonprofit’s style guide with them, as well as a library of branded images and assets they can use, such as your logo and professionally taken photos of your programs.
  • Using gamification tools. Engage your volunteers by turning fundraising into a game. Some peer-to-peer platforms have gamification tools that do things like award volunteers badges and points for hitting milestones, such as raising a certain amount. Some even feature leaderboards, letting your volunteers engage in friendly competition with one another.
  • Checking in routinely. Make sure your volunteers know they’re not fundraising alone. Have your volunteer supervisor check in with them regularly to answer questions, troubleshoot problems, and provide encouragement. This will not only improve volunteers’ campaigns but also ensure volunteers feel supported by your nonprofit.

Like with any volunteer initiative, you should also thank your volunteers for their hard work. Many nonprofits end their peer-to-peer campaigns with an event as a final opportunity to fundraise and celebrate volunteers. Consider handing out awards to top-performing volunteers or thanking your peer-to-peer fundraisers as a whole in speeches throughout your event.

Volunteer Software Tips

After researching various types of volunteer software and vendors, you’ve hopefully found a platform you think is right for your nonprofit. However, the success of your volunteer software solution depends on how you use it.

To ensure your software powers your volunteer program successfully, be sure to consider:

  • Implementation timeline. If you’re investing in a highly customizable volunteer platform or changing volunteer software, you’ll likely have a considerable implementation timeline. Make plans to migrate data, work with technology consultants, and train your staff to use your new platform.
  • Onboarding. All volunteers should attend an onboarding session before working with your nonprofit. In this meeting, go over how to perform volunteer tasks, who volunteers should go to with questions, and what expectations for working with your nonprofit are. Additionally, if volunteers will use any software, give them a tutorial on how to operate it.
  • Integrations. Choose a volunteer platform that integrates with the rest of your technology stack. Software like 360MatchPro that has many integrations will let data flow seamlessly from platform to platform. This means you can access data on your volunteers with ease and without worrying about data getting siloed into one system.

Request demos for your top volunteer software candidates. During these sessions, ask questions not just about the software but about how the vendor will support you. Look for vendors who provide fast technical support, training, and extensive resource libraries.

More Volunteer Resources

Volunteer software can elevate your nonprofit’s operations by streamlining volunteer recruitment, management, and revenue generation. Explore the variety of volunteer platforms available to find solutions that fit your nonprofit’s need.

For more volunteering and software resources, check out these guides:

Ready to earn funding through your volunteer program? Discover how our favorite volunteer software can automate the volunteer grant process. Explore 360MatchPro.

The title of this article, Using TikTok for Nonprofits: How To Grow Your Community

Using TikTok for Nonprofits: How To Grow Your Community

A short 20-second video could reach thousands—if not millions—of viewers. TikTok’s powerful algorithm doesn’t just favor influencers; it’s also a valuable tool for amplifying worthwhile causes.

For nonprofits, TikTok is more than a platform for entertainment—it’s a game-changer for mobilizing the next generation of supporters. As attention spans shrink and competition for donors grows fiercer, TikTok for nonprofits has emerged as a surprising yet effective digital marketing tool to build community and drive action. But how can nonprofits transform fleeting scrolls into meaningful engagement?

In this guide, we’ll show you how to leverage TikTok for nonprofits to advance your mission:

Ready to tap into TikTok’s potential to inspire social change? Let’s dive into the basics of how this platform can enhance your nonprofit’s marketing efforts.

Strengthen your nonprofit's digital presence with free Google Ads! Schedule a consultation today.


The Basics of TikTok for Nonprofit Organizations

Let’s answer some common questions you might have about the platform and its impact on charitable causes.

Is TikTok Good for Charities?

Absolutely! Whether you’re a grassroots nonprofit or an international organization, TikTok provides creative ways to amplify your cause, connect with younger audiences, and share behind-the-scenes content, success stories, and ongoing campaigns.

With over 1.5 billion active users, TikTok is a powerful platform for nonprofits looking to expand their reach. Plus, 55% of TikTok users say the app helps them discover new brands.

Its focus on short, engaging videos opens the door to unique opportunities for storytelling, inspiring action, and sharing memorable messages. In fact, formatting your outreach as videos means viewers will retain 95% of your message, compared to just 10% when reading it as plain text.

Nonprofits can use TikTok to:

  • Raise awareness. Share bite-sized content about your mission, upcoming events, or important issues with a global audience by using viral challenges, interactive campaigns, and engaging content.
  • Secure donations. TikTok’s donation tools make contributing easy with stickers and bio links.
  • Build community. Cultivate a community of passionate supporters by engaging with comments and responding to user-generated content.
  • Show impact. Post real-time updates and success stories that show the tangible results of donations and volunteer work, encouraging continued support.

The benefits of TikTok for nonprofits, written above

Since TikTok’s algorithm promotes content based on engagement rather than follower count, even smaller nonprofits have the potential to go viral and make a big impact.

From climate change awareness to mental health advocacy, the potential for creating real-world impact through TikTok videos is staggering. Your nonprofit can build a passionate following, humanize your cause, boost donations, and increase support.

What Is TikTok For Good?

TikTok for Good is TikTok’s initiative that aims to spotlight nonprofits and causes making a positive social impact through the platform. While many features—such as Donation Stickers, fundraising livestreams, and Branded Hashtag Challenges—are available to any registered nonprofit on the app, TikTok for Good provides additional visibility and support to organizations making meaningful change.

The program highlights social impact efforts, fostering partnerships with nonprofits, creators, and communities, encouraging TikTok’s global audience to take action by donating, participating in campaigns, or spreading awareness. Through TikTok for Good, nonprofits can also access promotional opportunities, educational resources, and strategies to amplify their reach.

Additionally, the official TikTok for Good account shares inspiring charity content, offering best practices and ideas for your nonprofit’s videos.


How to Register Your Nonprofit on TikTok

Getting your nonprofit on TikTok is easy (and free!). Here’s a step-by-step rundown to creating your account and setting up your profile, so you can start posting videos and building your following.

Step 1) Download the TikTok App

First, download the TikTok app from your device’s app store. It’s completely free and available for both iOS and Android users.

Step 2) Create An Account

Once installed, open the app and select “Sign Up.” You can register using an email address or phone number. This will be the primary contact for your TikTok account, so choose a shared email that your marketing team can access. This ensures that multiple team members can log in and manage the account without needed to share personal login details.

During the sign-up process, you’ll need to choose a username, which should be your nonprofit’s name or an acronym. For reference:

  • The American Red Cross is @americanredcross
  • Habitat For Humanity is @habitat_org
  • The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS) is @llsusa

Once you’ve created your account, go to your account settings and switch to a business account. This unlocks important features, including TikTok’s analytics tools, the ability to run ads, and the option to add clickable links to your bio.

Step 3) Set Up Your Profile

Now that your account is active, it’s time to set up your profile. Create a strong, informative profile by taking these steps:

  • Craft a short bio. Your bio is limited to 80 characters, so be concise. Use this space to communicate your mission and encourage users to follow your organization. Think of it as a quick elevator pitch. For example, “Bringing Clean Water to Communities 💧🌍 Join us in creating lasting change!🤝”
  • Link to your socials. By linking other accounts like Instagram and YouTube to your TikTok profile, users can easily follow your other digital marketing channels.
  • Upload a profile picture. This image will appear at the top of your profile and on every TikTok you post. For nonprofits, using your official logo ensures brand consistency.
  • Add a donation link. If your nonprofit already has over 1,000 followers or is using a business account, you can add a direct link to your optimized donation page in your bio. This allows users to easily contribute to your cause without leaving TikTok.

Here’s an example of a complete profile for LLS:

An example of LLS's TikTok profile

  • Profile picture: LLS’s logo
  • Username: @llsusa with verification checkmark
  • Bio: United in progress toward a world without blood cancer
  • Links: LLS’s donation page, Instagram account, and contact page for beneficiaries

Step 4) Start Posting TikToks

Start sharing your nonprofit’s story with the TikTok community. While we’ll provide in-depth tips later, here are some suggestions to get started:

  • Film your videos in vertical orientation (9:16) to take advantage of the full-screen experience.
  • Have good lighting, whether you use a ring light, a lamp, or even the sun.
  • TikTok recommends using the app’s effects and text treatment options to make your content feel native to the platform and amplify it on For You pages.

Don’t worry if your early videos aren’t perfect. TikTok thrives on authenticity. As you become accustomed with the platform, you’ll find your rhythm and discover what content works best for your nonprofit.


Tips To Make the Most of Your Nonprofit’s TikTok

To effectively engage the TikTok community and grow your digital footprint, try these strategies:

Post Consistently

According to Rival IQ’s Social Media Industry Benchmark Report, most nonprofits only post an average of 1.59 times to TikTok per week, compared to 5.95 times on Instagram. Aim for 3-5 posts weekly. Consistency keeps your audience engaged, increases your chances of being seen by TikTok’s algorithm, and helps you stay relevant on the platform.

Your videos can be anywhere from 3 seconds and 30 minutes long, but Socialinsider’s 2024 research shows that TikToks between 90 and 120 seconds maximize views and view rate. That same research indicates that most brands tend to publish videos between 40 and 50 seconds long, but shorter videos or longer, engaging content up to 3 minutes can also perform well depending on the message.

Leverage Popular Sounds, Hashtags, and Trends

To maximize the reach of your videos, use trending sounds, hashtags, and challenges. TikTok’s algorithm favors content that taps into what’s currently popular. Here’s how to do it:

  • Trending Sounds: Add trending audio clips to your videos to increase your chances of appearing on people’s For You page.
  • Hashtags: Use a mix of general and cause-specific hashtags to help users find your content. Our nonprofit hashtags guide shares several popular options like #DoGood, #HumanRights, #CleanWater, and #ProtectOurPlanet.
  • Challenges: Participate in viral challenges and adapt them to your nonprofit’s mission to gain traction.

Engaging with trends makes your nonprofit’s videos more discoverable, potentially leading to more followers. For instance,  The Innocence Project launched the #SaveMelissaLucio campaign to raise awareness for a case involving a wrongful conviction. By encouraging users to duet, share, and stitch the video, they created a viral movement that engaged the TikTok community in supporting criminal justice reform​

Get Creative With The Content You Post

When creating TikTok content, keep your content fresh by alternating between these types of content:

  • Educational Content: Share statistics, facts, or insights related to your cause (e.g., facts about endangered species or hunger relief).
  • How-To Tutorials: Demonstrate your work, like how your team cares for animals, organizes donations, or sets up events.
  • Success Stories: Highlight impactful stories or testimonials from those who have benefited from your nonprofit’s work.

These types of content not only inform your audience but also build trust and credibility.

Interact with the Community

Engagement is key to strong visibility on TikTok for nonprofits. To foster strong community engagement, you should:

  • Reply to comments. Use the Reply-to-Comment or Video Reply feature to answer questions, thank supporters, and build relationships with your followers.
  • Duet and stitch. Create duet or stitch videos with other TikTok creators to expand your reach.
  • Like, share, and comment. Regularly interact with other content creators and supporters by liking, commenting, and sharing videos.

The TikTok community appreciates active creators, and frequent engagement will help your nonprofit build a dedicated following.

Use Donation Stickers and Links

TikTok’s Donation Stickers and Donation Links make it easy for users to support your cause directly within the app. Here’s how they work:

  • Add Stickers to videos and livestreams. Incorporate stickers into your regular TikTok videos or livestreams, allowing viewers to donate instantly. Supporters can also add these to their TikToks:

The process of how users can add Donation Stickers to their videos, one of the key features on TikTok for nonprofits

  • Add Donation Links where possible, such as in your profile bio or above video descriptions.
  • Encourage action. In your captions or video, remind users to tap the Donation Sticker or click links to support your cause.

This feature streamlines the donation process, making it convenient for followers to contribute without leaving TikTok.


Examples of Viral Nonprofits on TikTok

To get inspired for your nonprofit’s TikTok, let’s explore a few organizations that have done well on the platform and built an engaged following.

Not everything these nonprofits post on TikTok goes viral, but they do a good job of using popular sounds, jumping on trends, and interacting with their followers.

Aquarium of the Pacific

Located in Long Beach, California, Aquarium of the Pacific uses a mix of trending and niche hashtags. They also post a variety of content, like fun facts, staff life, and aquarium tours. This nonprofit is great about interacting with its community such as by creating Video Replies in response to users’ comments.

Here’s an example of one of their viral educational posts that racked up over 9 million views and 500K likes. It explains how the aquarium’s staff weighs its beloved octopus Goji:

@aquariumpacific

How we weigh octopuses at the Aquarium! 🐙 #STEM #LearnOnTikTok #aquariumofthepacific #octopus

♬ Pop beat BGM / long version(1283324) – nightbird_bgm

Bat Conservation International

Bat Conservation International tapped into the niche #BatTok community by using a fun video featuring a bat synced with trending audio, resonating with TikTok’s love for cute animals while promoting bat conservation efforts.

It’s a short, simple video that shows off Geoff the bat’s unique voice. The nonprofit’s TikTok generated nearly 640K views and over 125K likes:

@batconservation

Geoff has a v imp announcement. 🦇Geoffrey’s horseshoe #bat 📷Dr. Winifred Frick #animals #africa #bats #battok #Conservation #science

♬ original sound – Bat Conservation International

The nonprofit is also good about using trending sounds, like in this recent TikTok:

@batconservation

Bats but they get more derp 📷 Rachel Harper, Bat Conservation International #battok #ohlookastrawberry #cute

♬ original sound – amaliatown

UNICEF

UNICEF has participated in trends like #VoicesOfYouth, using popular hashtags and sounds to spotlight climate change and child protection. They share how-to guides, one-on-one interviews with benefactors, and user-generated content from ambassadors like Millie Bobby Brown and BTS’s RM.

Recently, UNICEF posted behind-the-scenes TikToks about their aid in Gaza. They also shared an interview with the boy band BTS and B-Roll of benefactors. The nonprofit’s TikTok drew 1.8 million views, 580K+ likes, and 20K+ shares:

@unicef

Feeling overwhelmed? @BTS has a message to brighten up your day. #BTSLoveMyself #OnMyMind #BTS 💙💜

♬ original sound – UNICEF

 

 


TikTok vs. Google Ads: Which Is Better For Nonprofits?

Paid advertising empowers nonprofits to amplify their content to likely supporters. At Getting Attention, we’re big fans of Google Ads, because eligible nonprofits receive free credits to spend on the platform!

However, that doesn’t mean other advertising platforms aren’t effective for reaching your audience. Social media platforms like TikTok offer unique opportunities to connect with supporters and boost donations. But how do the two platforms compare, and which is better suited for your nonprofit’s goals? Let’s look at the basic benefits, formats, and strategies for each platform.

TikTok Ads

TikTok Ads are ideal for nonprofits seeking to engage younger audiences through creative, short-form video content. The platform’s algorithm favors viral potential, meaning even small organizations can reach wide audiences. TikTok ads come in various formats, such as:

  • In-Feed Ads: These ads appear as users scroll, blending with organic content.
  • TopView Ads: This is the first ad users see when opening the app, ensuring maximum visibility.
  • Branded Hashtag Challenges: You’ll pay to promote a custom hashtag and encourage users to create content with it.
  • Branded Effects: These are filters and stickers that brands can create.

You can differentiate the In-Feed and TopView Ads from normal TikToks by looking for visual indicators like a small “Sponsored” label and a call-to-action button.

TikTok excels in awareness campaigns and building brand identity, particularly for nonprofits focused on visually compelling storytelling. However, it primarily targets a younger demographic (Gen Z and Millennials), so it may not be the best fit for reaching older supporters. Plus, TikTok’s visual, fast-paced nature requires a steady stream of fresh and engaging video content, which may be demanding for smaller nonprofits with limited resources.

Google Ads

With over 3.5 billion daily searches conducted, Google offers unparalleled reach, allowing nonprofits to connect with supporters globally. Thanks to its vast reach and highly targeted search capabilities, Google Ads is one of the most powerful advertising platforms for nonprofits.

Compared to other platforms, search ads provide the highest ROI for nonprofits using paid advertising. Even better, through the Google Ad Grants program, eligible nonprofits can receive up to $10,000 per month in free search ads, making it a cost-effective option for driving donations and website traffic. This makes the platform ideal for nonprofits focused on raising awareness or converting visitors into supporters without incurring steep advertising costs.

Google Ads offer several formats, including:

  • Search Ads: These ads appear at the top of Google search results, targeting users actively searching for related topics.
  • Display Ads: These banner ads are displayed across websites in Google’s Search Network.
  • YouTube Ads: These video-based ads run on YouTube.

However, know that the Ad Grant can only be used on Search Ads. You can also tap into Responsive Search Ads, which allow you to input up to 15 headlines and 4 descriptions for Google to test and maximize performance.

With Search Ads, your nonprofit can bid on mission-related keywords, targeting people actively searching for topics related to your cause. These ad formats are excellent for lead generation, website traffic, and donation campaigns.

However, the text-based nature of search ads may limit creativity compared to platforms like TikTok, which focus on dynamic video content. Outsourcing the work to experienced Google Grant managers will enable you to overcome these limitations and make sure your Google Ads drive genuine value.

Google Ad Example:

An example of a Google Ad created by the World Wildlife Fund

The World Wildlife Fund created a Google Ad that targets keywords related to “save elephants” and promotes landing pages for their elephant rescue efforts, a related campaign for polar bears, and their main donation page.

Google Grants have the highest ROI of any digital marketing platform for nonprofits, including TikTok. Learn more about the program's impact.

So, Which Is Better for Your Nonprofit?

Choosing between TikTok Ads and Google Ads depends on your nonprofit’s specific goals, audience, and resources:

  • TikTok Ads are great for nonprofits looking to raise awareness among younger, socially conscious audiences through creative and viral content. It’s perfect for organizations that thrive in visual storytelling.
  • Google Ads are ideal for nonprofits focused on driving donations, increasing website traffic, or generating leads. The platform’s targeting capabilities and the Google Ad Grants program make it a top choice for cost-effective, results-driven campaigns.

For many nonprofits, using both platforms can provide a balanced approach, allowing you to build brand awareness on TikTok while driving conversions and traffic through Google Ads.


Ready For Your Nonprofit To Go Viral on TikTok?

TikTok’s short-form video format is reshaping how nonprofits share their missions and connect with donors. With Gen Z and Millennials leading the charge on the app, your nonprofit has a rare opportunity to engage a whole new generation of digital do-gooders.

Use the tips we shared to harness the power of TikTok for nonprofits. While it takes some experimentation and consistency, you’ll get the swing of things and build a loyal follower base. In the meantime, check out these other resources to improve your digital presence:

TikTok ads for nonprofits are expensive, but Google Ads are free for nonprofits. Reach out to our team to get started with the program!

The title of this article: Reliable Church Marketing Agencies to Expand Your Ministry.

8 Reliable Church Marketing Agencies to Expand Your Ministry

Imagine your church’s message being heard by thousands of people—every sermon, event, and outreach opportunity resonating with those who need it most. A skilled church marketing agency can make this vision a reality.

Whether your church wants to connect with current members, increase community outreach, or simply share the Word more effectively, choosing the right church marketing firm can unlock your ministry’s full potential.

This guide will walk through how to find the best marketing agency for your church by covering the following topics:

During the era of information overload, you need an expert on your side to cut through the clutter and market your mission. By the end of this guide, you’ll have a solid starting point for better reaching your congregation and expanding your ministry.

Your church can connect with thousands of congregants for free. Connect with our church marketing agency to leverage the Google Ad Grant.


What Is a Church Marketing Agency?

A church marketing agency is a specialized service provider that helps churches and other faith-based organizations improve their communication and engagement efforts. The goals of a church marketing agency are to help their clients attract new members, build stronger connections within communities, and foster ministry growth.

To achieve those goals, agencies offer a range of marketing services tailored to the unique needs of churches, such as social media management, website design, content creation, SEO, and direct mail. They can help your ministry harness the latest marketing tools and trends and develop a consistent, compelling brand that congregants will remember.


What Is the Best Way To Market Your Church?

Every church’s congregation is different, meaning the best way to market a church varies. This is why it can be immensely helpful to work with a church marketing agency. They can analyze what channels, strategies, and tools work for your specific church. Conversely, they can determine what doesn’t work, so you can reach as many churchgoers as possible.

Channels a church marketing firm might specialize in include:

These are common services that church marketing agencies offer, written out below.

  • Social Media: Platforms like Facebook and Instagram can engage your congregation and attract new members through regular posts, live streams, and community interactions.
  • Web Development: A user-friendly, mobile-responsive website that’s optimized for search engines will ensure your church provides essential information to visitors and is easy to find online.
  • Google Ads: Targeted ads help reach people searching for churches or related activities in your area.
  • Video Marketing: Use video to share sermons, testimonials, and church activities in an engaging format.
  • Community Events: Local events build relationships with your community, raise awareness about your church, and encourage new members to join.
  • Direct Mail: Your agency might send personalized invitations, newsletters, or event announcements to maintain a tangible connection with your congregation and reach potential new members.

Some agencies are full-service, meaning they’ll handle every aspect of your marketing strategy. While this can be helpful, we recommend turning to agencies that specialize in a particular channel to meet specific needs.

For instance, paid advertising on Google requires an agency that understands keyword research, Google ad bidding strategies, ad copy creation, and Google Analytics reporting.


Church Marketing Firms to Consider

There are countless agencies and consultants with marketing services, making finding the best church marketing agency for your organization challenging. Here are some trustworthy agencies to kickstart your search.

Getting Attention

If your church wants to maximize its search presence with Google Ads, Getting Attention is your ideal partner. Our firm specializes in managing Google Ad Grants and is dedicated to helping nonprofit organizations (including churches!) reach a wider audience online without straining their marketing budgets.

The Google Ad Grant awards eligible organizations, such as churches, with free Ad credits to boost their websites to the top of search results for high-value keywords. We’ll help you apply for the Google Ad Grant, craft your ads, and make the most of your $10,000 monthly ad budget.

Our Church Marketing Services

With a deep understanding of the unique needs of faith-based organizations, Getting Attention is the go-to firm for churches interested in expanding their digital outreach through Google Ads. Here are the main services we offer:

  • Google Ad Grant application assistance to acquire the grant
  • Ad creation to target keywords relevant to your church and congregation
  • Ongoing management to ensure you comply with the program’s rules
  • Reporting to monitor results and improve performance
  • Google Grant reactivation if your account is ever suspended

As a certified Google Partner, we fully understand the Ad Grant program and Google Ads interface, so you can relax knowing your ads will inspire as many potential church members as possible.

Pricing: We charge $600 per month for our services. If you’re ready to maximize your digital presence, schedule a free consultation to learn more about what we can do for your church.

Read our Google Ad Grants playbook for churches before reaching out to our church marketing agency.

Fishhook

Fishhook is a full-service church marketing agency that specializes in helping churches and faith-based organizations improve their branding, communication strategies, and digital presence. They are known for their collaborative approach, working closely with church leaders to develop creative solutions that resonate with their congregations and communities.

When you partner with Fishhook, they’ll help you embrace your church’s unique story and share it with your audience through creative communication.

Fishhook’s Church Marketing Services

Fishhook offers these services to connect you with current and prospective church members:

  • Brand guide creation and full brand identity development
  • Communication assessments and marketing plans
  • Website development and support
  • Creative marketing campaigns and graphic design support
  • Ongoing monthly support for activities like video production, coaching, and social media strategy

For the past 20+ years, they’ve followed the same four-phase marketing plan: listen, plan, create, and celebrate. Through their proven method, they’ll learn your church’s unique story, craft a unique plan, design a program that combines their creativity with modern communication tools, and celebrate the results.

Church Communications Group

With an experienced team, Church Communications Group understands the unique challenges churches face and can help you navigate the complexities of modern communication.

They craft strategies that empower your church’s leadership, clarify your messaging, and deepen connections within your community. By combining their church marketing expertise with a deep respect for your mission, Church Communications Group ensures your message is powerful, authentic, and ready to drive your ministry’s growth.

Church Communication Group’s Marketing Services

This agency equips churches with communication best practices and helps their client bridge the gap between time-honored traditions and current technology. Some of their services include:

  • Communications strategy and consulting
  • Brand management
  • Web design and maintenance
  • Sermon reach
  • Blog and podcast management

You can even join their Facebook community of over 34,000 church marketers and leaders to see what others are doing and share your successes.

Parable Digital

Parable Digital is a Christian marketing agency dedicated to helping churches and faith-based organizations grow their online presence, engage their congregations, and reach new audiences through digital channels. They partner with ministries, Christian publishers, Christian schools, church tech (SaaS), faith-based filmmakers, and nonprofits.

By optimizing your digital outreach, Parable Digital helps you attract new members and deepen connections with your congregation.

Parable Digital’s Church Marketing Services

Some of their services that can expand your ministry’s reach include:

  • Paid social media advertising for platforms like Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, and others
  • Mobile-responsive email marketing campaigns
  • Content creation, including written content, like eBooks, and graphic design assets, like ad images
  • Advanced analytics and tracking to maximize marketing performance

Plus, Parable Digital knows that churches need to make the most of their budgets, so they focus on results. This means they use their own data on Christian audiences and church leaders, and continuously refine their approach to deliver high engagement and a strong return on investment.


Other Church Marketing Companies

In addition to church marketing agencies that offer one-on-one help, some companies offer valuable resources to help churches manage their own marketing efforts. These companies provide tools, templates, and educational content, empowering churches to create effective marketing strategies independently.

Whether you’re looking for guidance on digital outreach or need ready-made solutions, these resource-focused church marketing companies can support your organization’s growth.

Ministry Designs

Need help designing your church’s website? Ministry Designs might be your solution! This church marketing company specializes in church website design and digital solutions. Their primary focus is helping churches create effective sites that are both visually appealing and easy to navigate, without requiring advanced technical skills.

A strong site is crucial, as 80% of churchgoers will look at a church’s website before visiting for the first time. Additionally, 52% of your Sunday morning website viewers are first-time site visitors, making it essential that they can easily find the resources they need within seconds.

Ministry Designs’ Resources and Services

Trusted by more than 67,000 churches, Ministry Designs helps churches reach more people with resources and services like:

  • Pre-optimized site templates for a look that fits your ministry
  • Fundraising features, including free text-to-tithe tools
  • Done-for-you church website design and migration
  • A library of over 80,000 free church graphics

According to Google Keyword Planner, there are over 1.2 million monthly searches for “Church near me.” Make sure your church’s website pops up in these results with a design that inspires churchgoers!

Monk Development

Monk Development is a digital strategy and web development company that specializes in creating websites and digital solutions for churches, ministries, and other faith-based organizations. Unlike a traditional marketing or creative agency, Monk Development primarily provides tools and software solutions that empower churches to handle their own digital content and communication.

From house churches to mega churches, they focus on helping religious organizations communicate online with tools that make managing digital content easy.

Monk Development’s Church Marketing Tools and Services

Some of Monk Development’s core tools and services include:

  • Custom website design and development
  • A content management system designed specifically for churches with features for sermon management, event planning, and online giving
  • Comprehensive digital strategy development

Their services and solutions are designed to be scalable, supporting both small and large churches.

Church Fuel

Church Fuel is a resource company that provides practical coaching, online courses, and resources designed to help churches grow, manage their operations, and engage their congregations. They strive to help church leaders create meaningful relationships that start online and continue in person.

Church Fuel’s Resources and Services

Church Fuel teamed up with Church Marketing University to expand their services and provide even more resources to churches and other faith-based organizations. Here’s some of what they offer:

  • Personalized coaching programs and online courses that cover topics like sermon planning, volunteer management, and church communications
  • An extensive library of downloadable resources, including templates, checklists, and guides
  • Monthly blueprints, which are ready-made calendars that spotlight what to work on next and the necessary resources to do it
  • Exclusive events and community groups

If your church leaders and staff primarily want educational resources for connecting with church members, Church Fuel is a great option.

Pro Church Tools

Pro Church Tools helps churches navigate the complexities of modern communication. This church marketing company provides resources, tools, and training to help churches create compelling digital content, enhance their online presence, and engage with their congregations.

Pro Church Tools’ Resources and Services

Trusted by more than 46,700 churches, Pro Church Tools provides helpful resources, such as:

  • The Pro Church Podcast where the company’s founder chats with church leaders about best practices
  • Educational resources like a free weekly newsletter, downloadable guides, and blog posts
  • A church website builder called Nucleus that includes tailored tools for sermon uploads, a prayer hub, and more
  • SocialSermons, which is a custom social media service to help you identify ideas and segments of your sermons that would translate well to social media

Pro Church Tools provides a mix of free content to help churches get started and paid services for organizations that need advanced marketing and management strategies.


How to Hire A Christian Marketing Agency

Choosing the right church marketing agency is crucial for reaching your congregation and growing your church family. Here are some tips to help you select the best firm:

Follow these steps to find the best church marketing company for your ministry, written out below.

  • Consider Their Services: Ensure the agency offers the specific services you need, whether it’s social media management, SEO, website design, or video production. Some agencies provide comprehensive packages, while others focus on niche areas. Remember, specific needs are often best served by agencies that specialize in those areas rather than full-service firms.
  • Evaluate Experience: Look for agencies with a proven track record of working with churches or faith-based organizations. An agency that understands the religious sector’s unique challenges and opportunities will be better equipped to create marketing strategies for your church.
  • Check Reviews, Testimonials, or Case Studies: Speak with other churches the agency has worked with or check online reviews to get an idea of their reliability, communication style, and overall effectiveness. Some agencies even provide case studies and examples of their work on their site.
  • Assess Budget Alignment: Consider the agency’s pricing structure and ensure it aligns with your church’s budget. Remember, the cheapest option may not always provide the best value. Look for an agency that offers a balance of quality and affordability.

Above all, pick someone who has respect for the sector and will take time to understand your organization’s brand. In turn, you’ll find a church marketing agency that not only fulfills your needs but also helps your church thrive in today’s digital landscape.


Start Marketing Your Church

Selecting the right church marketing agency can make a huge difference in how your church communicates with its congregation and reaches new families. Whether you’re looking to enhance your online presence, boost attendance, or deepen community connections, the right agency will empower your church to thrive.

As you move forward, remember that investing in professional marketing support isn’t just about improving numbers—it’s about amplifying your church’s impact and making a lasting difference in the lives of those you serve.

To learn more about improving your church’s marketing, check out these free resources:

Claim your free Google Ad credits. Work with our church marketing agency to enhance your search presence.