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.
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.
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:
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.
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:
- 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:
- 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:
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:
- 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:
Google Analytics for Nonprofits: Tracking Web Performance
/in Nonprofit Marketing, Nonprofit Tools /by Jessica KingEvery 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.
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:
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:
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
Sessions and Interactions
Traffic and Attribution
Event-Based Tracking
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.
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:
You can use these goal types to track meaningful actions aligned with your nonprofit’s mission. Here are some examples:
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:
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.
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.
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:
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.
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.
Use these Google Products to enhance your online presence:
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:
Data Hygiene: How to Keep Your Donor Database Clean
/in Nonprofit Communications, Nonprofit Fundraising, Nonprofit Marketing, Nonprofit Tools /by Jessica KingImagine 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:
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:
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:
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:
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.
How To Create A Nonprofit Annual Report + Excellent Examples
/in Nonprofit Communications, Nonprofit Fundraising, Nonprofit Marketing /by Jessica KingA 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.
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:
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 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:
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.
Financial Breakdowns
A nonprofit annual report is the perfect opportunity to share comprehensive financial information with stakeholders. Include the following:
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:
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:
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.
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.
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:
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 Fund – Compelling Visuals
The World Wildlife Fund (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.
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.
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.
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:
Nonprofit Email Marketing: How to Create Clickable Messages
/in Nonprofit Communications, Nonprofit Marketing /by Jessica KingEmail 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.
The Power of Effective Nonprofit Email Marketing
When your team invests time into crafting strong nonprofit emails, you’ll experience these benefits:
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:
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:
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.
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:
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:
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:
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:
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:
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:
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:
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:
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:
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:
The Smart Nonprofit’s Guide to Volunteer Time Off (VTO)
/in About Getting Attention, Corporate Giving /by Jessica KingLet’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
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:
Employees:
Companies:
These benefits make VTO programs a win-win for everyone involved, fostering a culture of giving and strengthening communities.
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.
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:
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:
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:
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:
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:
Who Is Your Nonprofit Target Audience? Steps To Find Out
/in Nonprofit Communications /by Jessica KingWhen 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.
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:
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:
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:
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:
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:
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:
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.
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:
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:
10 Employee Engagement Strategies Proven to Boost Morale
/in Corporate Giving /by Jessica KingThroughout 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:
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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:
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.
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…
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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:
3 Types of Volunteer Software and Tools Nonprofits Need
/in Nonprofit Tools, Volunteers /by Jessica KingApproximately 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.
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:
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.
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:
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:
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:
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:
Get started with Double the Donation Volunteering by scheduling a demo to discuss its potential benefits for your nonprofit.
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:
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:
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:
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:
Using TikTok for Nonprofits: How To Grow Your Community
/in Nonprofit Communications, Nonprofit Marketing /by Jessica KingA 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.
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.
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:
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:
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:
Here’s an example of a complete profile for LLS:
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:
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:
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:
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:
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:
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:
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:
The nonprofit is also good about using trending sounds, like in this recent TikTok:
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:
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:
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:
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:
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.
So, Which Is Better for Your Nonprofit?
Choosing between TikTok Ads and Google Ads depends on your nonprofit’s specific goals, audience, and resources:
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:
8 Reliable Church Marketing Agencies to Expand Your Ministry
/in Nonprofit Communications, Nonprofit Marketing /by Jessica KingImagine 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.
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:
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:
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.
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:
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:
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:
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:
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:
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:
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:
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:
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: