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The Ultimate Guide To Micro-Donation Funnels

Posted on by Lúgh Studio

Micro-donation funnels are one of the quickest ways for nonprofits to acquire more donors. Because they generally focus on smaller overall donations, they don’t require a huge leap of trust. Built well, these funnels reduce hesitation. This can lead to higher conversion rates overall.

In this guide we are giving you everything you need to know about building micro-donation funnels at your nonprofit. This includes the psychological principles behind micro-donation funnels, why they can be effective, and how to create them.

Let’s get started.

CLICK HERE FOR THE PDF VERSION OF THIS GUIDE

What Is A Micro-Donation Funnel?

A micro-donation funnel is the journey a person goes through when choosing to donate. This involves several steps, which we cover later on in the guide.

Usually, the donation you as a nonprofit are aiming for is a bit smaller. Something around $10. The main goal with this kind of funnel isn’t a ton of donations. Rather, it’s efficiently acquiring more donors and creating the conditions necessary for them to donate again in the future.

As for why micro-donation funnels are important? We recently covered this in our article about the importance of micro-donation funnels. But here are a few important effects that these smaller funnels have:

  • Reduce hesitation. Somebody hesitating is one of the worst things that can happen when they are about to donate. But a $3 donation? It’s psychologically easier than a $30 decision.
  • Create immediate momentum. People like completing meaningful actions. And when they do that (which a micro-donation funnel allows for) that can lead to more “decisions” (donations) down the line.
  • Widen the top of the funnel. All things equal, you want more donors. And when you implement the power of a micro-donation funnel, more donors is exactly what you get.
  • Give you permission to follow up. Micro-donation funnels are not just about the money you generate up-front. They are about bringing people into your audience, communicating with them over time, and generating more donations down the line.

Most organizations and creators focus heavily on larger donations. These matter. But micro-donation funnels solve a different problem: how do you convert people that want to give, but aren’t yet willing to donate hundreds of dollars?

The Psychology Of Micro-Donation Funnels

To create micro-donation funnels at your nonprofit, it helps to understand the psychology that makes them effective. Why they work, what makes them compelling – and the psychology at work.

Here are some of the most important psychological factors to keep in mind:

1) Commitment and consistency

Once someone makes a decision, they want to stay consistent. This is one of the most important things to understand about micro-donation funnels. When somebody donates (even a small amount) they’ve crossed a certain threshold. They are now “the sort of person that gives”, and are more likely to give again in the future. This makes follow-up for larger donations easier.

2) Friction kills good intentions

When people decide not to donate, it’s not necessarily because they don’t care. Rather, the problem is often that the process simply feels too long or confusing. The brain avoids having to work too hard. In the context of a micro-donation funnel, this means you have to make it as simple as possible. Consider fewer form fields, clearer explanation, and fewer decisions overall.

3) Anchoring and “safe amounts”

Anchoring is a cognitive bias where we make decisions based on the first piece of information we see. It’s one of the most important psychological principles at play in donations.

Think about it. If the first number a donor sees is $50, the potential is much higher for them to mentally “opt out”. But if that number is $5? They are more likely to stay engaged – and get sucked into the donation process.

Microdonor Funnels Message4) Social proof reduces fear

Before somebody donates money, there is a natural hesitation. They want to be sure that it’s real and legitimate. They also need to know that their donation is actually going towards something.

This is where social proof becomes essential. And because smaller asks usually result in more giving, a micro-donation funnel is the perfect place to gather it. When you can state how many have given so far (“Join 2,438 supporters”), each subsequent donor becomes easier to convince.

When Micro-Donations Beat Bigger Campaigns

Before we get into the specific stages of a micro-donation funnel, it’s helpful to understand if they are right for you. We think most organizations can benefit from a micro-donation funnel. That said, these funnels aren’t magic. Treat them as an option in your fundraising toolbox. They should complement (not replace) your other fundraising strategies.

Want to know if a micro-donation funnel is worth creating at your nonprofit? Here are the conditions in which a micro-donation funnel is worth it – and the conditions in which might not be.

A micro-donation funnel is worth creating if:

  • You need a lot of donors. If your challenge is as simple as “we don’t have enough donors,” a micro-donation funnel can build a larger base quickly.
  • You consistently invest in content marketing. Nonprofits with a strong social media presence, newsletters, blogs, or YouTube channels can turn attention into action more quickly with smaller asks.
  • Your audience is large but not wealthy. Are the majority of your followers younger or budget-conscious? If so, the smaller amounts that a micro-donation funnel focuses on match their giving power.
  • You want to build a pipeline based on recurring giving. If monthly donations is your end goal, a micro-donation is often the easiest way to get that first “yes” before you scale from there.

A micro-donation funnel might not be worth creating if:

  • You rely on a small number of large donors. Does your model depend on a few bigger gifts? In that case, a micro-donation funnel might simply distract you from your main targets.
  • You have high acquisition costs. Non-profits that closely track their expenses (especially if they run ads) usually know how much it costs to acquire a new donor. If it costs 10 dollars to acquire a new donor, but your average donation in a micro-funnel is only three, you will quickly lose money.
  • Your cause is more complex or abstract. If people don’t understand your mission, or your storytelling skills don’t quite clarify what it is you do, your conversion rate will usually be much lower. In the case of a micro-donation funnel, this means even fewer funds coming in.
  • Your backend isn’t ready. As we point out below: a micro-donation funnel can be great if you already have retention systems in place. But if you don’t? Money slips through the cracks, and average donor value stays low.

The 5 Stages Every Micro-Donation Funnel Needs

Now that we understand a bit more about micro-donation funnels (and if building one is worth your time), let’s see how they are actually designed. While the details will differ between organizations, most micro-donation funnels share the same 5 steps.

Here they are:

Stage 1: Attention

Microdonor Funnels PopupYour funnel starts at the moment someone encounters your message for the first time. This will often take the form of:

  • an ad
  • an email
  • a partner shoutout
  • a social media post
  • a QR code at an event

The key for getting the right attention isn’t about volume. Instead, it’s showing the right message to the right person most likely to actually give. Fail here, and the attention you just got won’t lead to actual action.

Stage 2: The Click

You got their attention. Now it’s time to drive them to actually take action (the click).

This second stage is where your hook matters the most. Somebody seeing your message should be able to quickly answer why their donation matters and what they do next.

The click is where many funnels fail. The person might be willing to give, but difficult to convince. This is where effective copywriting earns its keep. Tell the person as clearly as possible what the donation is about, the tangible outcomes it results in, and any kind of “bonuses” they stand to gain for giving.

Stage 3: Donation Decision

For a micro-donation funnel to be effective, the donation form needs to do the heavy lifting. A high-converting page typically includes:

  • a fast loading time
  • a headline that restates the mission
  • a short story and the immediate need
  • impact framing for the suggested amounts
  • a donation form with minimal required fields (see below)
  • trust signals (security, testimonials, official nonprofit status, etc.)

Your job at this stage is to eliminate doubt and reduce the effort needed to donate. Do these two things (and continually test what actually works), and you will drive up your conversion rate.

Stage 4: Confirmation

Many organizations treat the thank-you page as a receipt. But if you want to set the stage for more donations in the future, how you thank your donors matters. A good post-donation confirmation page should:

  • celebrate the donor
  • show their immediate impact (“Your donation just…”)
  • invite them to take one specific “next step” (not five)
  • set expectations for what happens next (“We’ll send you a quick update in 3 days”)

Do these things, and you naturally lead into the final (and most profitable) stage: retention.

Stage 5: Retention

This fifth and final stage is all about follow-up. The purpose of a micro-donation funnel isn’t to generate a ton of donations. Rather, it’s about bringing in donors – and increasing the total amount they donate over time. And this happens through follow-up.

There are a few ways to do this (often via email or SMS):

  • gratitude sequences
  • updates on the impact donations have made
  • stories of the people your organization is helping
  • upgrade opportunities (monthly, matching, or a one-time ask)

Important to consider: try rolling out some kind of segmentation system. When you know exactly who has given, and how much, it becomes much easier to send more targeted messaging. This turns your audience from a bunch of “one time givers” to people that support your mission over the long-term.

7 Tips For Effective Micro-Donation Funnels

1) Use a single call-to-action

Your page should have one primary action: donate. If you include other CTA’s as well (sign up, volunteer, read more), people simply get confused. Trying to convince someone to donate? Focus on that.

Microdonor Funnels Card2) Frame amounts with impact, not math

Numbers without context aren’t convincing. But when you spell out in detail what a specific donation amount achieves? That’s when you turn viewers into donors. Don’t just say “$5 / $10 / $25” on your form. Instead, try something like:

  • $5 = one hygiene kit
  • $10 = two meals for a child
  • $25 = emergency transport for a family

Even if these are just (honest) approximations, the specificity will have better results.

3) Cut as many donation form fields as possible

For more conversions, your donation form needs to be basic. What this means in practice? You need to be aggressive with your editing.

Every additional field is an opportunity for someone to drop off. Only ask for what you need. This is usually just a name and email address. If you want more data, collect it later.

4) Optimize for mobile first

A majority of micro-donations will happen on mobile. Mobile optimization should be a priority. If you want your funnels to work on mobile (and they need to), here are a few things to avoid:

  • pop-ups
  • tiny buttons
  • long paragraphs
  • slow-loading videos
  • forms that require extensive scrolling

The best donation form is made for mobile: short, fast, and clear.

5) Build trust at the top of your page

There is always doubt before somebody pulls out their credit card. It’s hard enough to get somebody to buy something. But to donate their hard-earned money? Even more difficult.

This is why you need to include as many trust signals as possible (while still keeping your form simple). A few things you might consider adding:

  • recognizable partners
  • “secure checkout” indicators
  • a short transparency statement
  • a human face and real names

6) Make your thank-you page do real work

Only after you’ve gotten the donation should you add more information. Remember: doing it before simply leads to confusion. But after? That’s when you have a few options.

One obvious action is to give your donor the option to give monthly. This can immediately increase the lifetime value of donors. You might also ask them to “share this link” (to increase your reach) or embed a thank-you video from your founder.

Remember: the donor is most engaged right after they’ve given. The moment immediately following a donation is a moment you want to fully utilize.

7) Build a simple follow-up sequence before you launch

You don’t need a complex system before you start. But you do need a plan for gathering more donations after the first one. Here is a sample schedule for follow-up:

  • immediate thank you
  • impact update within 3-7 days
  • story + next step within 10-21 days
  • invitation to give more within 14-30 days

Remember: micro-donation funnels don’t need to bring in a lot of donations upfront. But the ongoing follow-up? That’s where you can massively increase the total funds collected.

The Metrics That Matter

Before we move on to the most important tools and resources you can use, we wanted to cover one last topic: metrics. Micro-donation funnels can look successful on the outside (amount of donors), while actually failing (losing money).

Staying on top of your numbers is how you prevent this from happening at your organization. Here are most most important metrics to track:

#1: landing page conversion rate

The percentage of visitors who donate. This is your first “health” indicator. Too low of a number usually means unconvincing copy or too much friction on your form.

#2: donation completion rate

The percentage of people who start donating that actually finish. A low number usually means your form is simply too long.

#3: donor acquisition cost

Microdonor Funnels CheckoutThe amount of money you need to spend on average to bring in a new donor. This is especially relevant if you run ads. Remember: this number is irrelevant without knowing how much your average donor actually gives.

#4: average lifetime value

The average amount your donors give over their “lifetime” with your organization. Admittedly, this can be a bit tricky to calculate. Still, it gives you a useful baseline to calculate long-term donations.

#5: recurring conversion rate

What percentage of donors give again without a certain time period. Especially with the low amounts that a micro-donation funnel generates, this is often the most important metric for long-term performance.

Tools And Resources

You don’t need an expensive stack to run an effective micro-donation funnel. You only need a few essentials. Here are a few tools you might consider:

Donorbox

Donorbox is a great tool if recurring giving is a core part of your funnel. The software gives you everything you need to create high-converting donation forms.

Givebutter

Similar to Donorbox (but a bit easier to use), Givebutter lets you build fast, shareable donation pages. If you want to move fast, Givebutter is worth checking out.

Bloomerang

When it comes to micro-donation funnels, effective follow-up isn’t just nice to have. It’s non-negotiable. This is where Bloomerang can help. The CRM centralizes donor data and manages outreach so you can build retention systems that actually work.

Google Analytics 4

You can only improve it if you measure it. As we’ve pointed out, staying on top of your metrics is essential. And if you want to take your data more seriously, Google Analytics is a great place to start.

ActiveCampaign

Email marketing is an essential component of any micro-donation funnel. It enables more sophisticated segmentation, and makes automated follow-up much easier. ActiveCampaign is one option. That said, there are plenty of ESP’s that we recommend.

Conclusion

Micro-donation funnels don’t need to be complicated. Set one up, and they are a great option for bringing in more donors quicker than a bigger fundraiser ever could.

We hope this guide has given you a useful framework to follow at your nonprofit. And if you ever need help with your own micro-donation funnels, just let us know!

CLICK HERE FOR THE PDF VERSION OF THIS GUIDE

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Are you an enterprise, nonprofit or small business looking for help on your website? Give us a shout! We provide a free consultation. Email us at [email protected] or call us at (718) 855-1919!

B2B Lifecycle Email Marketing: Emails For Each Stage

Posted on by Lúgh Studio

B2B lifecycle email marketing is an email system based on the different stages a B2B client will usually take. It includes emails for everything from first touch to renewal, and uses behavior and account-specific content to trigger the right messaging.

Ignore it and you make less money. Embrace it, and you make more (and keep your clients happy). In this post we are covering why B2B lifecycle emails matter, and the right ones to send at every step of working with a client.

Why B2B Lifecycle Email Marketing Matters

The lifecycle of a B2B sale often takes awhile. There are multiple stakeholders, the price is a bit higher, and each account is going to be slightly different. This is why any marketing channel you have to move the sale along can be quite useful. 

Enter email. Set it up correctly, and B2B lifecycle email marketing has a number of benefits for your organization (and the clients you work with). Here are just a few of them: 

  • Creates momentum. It’s common for B2B sales to stall because of lack of communication. Implement emails, and you move potential clients closer to meaningful actions. 
  • Reduces friction. Big price points usually come with more questions. Ideally, you want to have these questions answered before you ever even get on a call with a prospect. Good email systems are how you answer any potential objections as they arise. 
  • Delivers value for your clients. Once they sign up to work with you, providing continued education and value is how you delight your clients. Email is a great way to deliver this. 
  • Drives more revenue for you. With the right B2B lifecycle emails being sent, you continually remind your client of the value you are creating for them. This makes retention and expansion more likely. The result? More revenue month-on-month.

How To Approach Email At Every Stage Of The B2B Lifecycle

Below you will find every stage of the B2B lifecycle, as well as what your goal is with emails at this stage. We’ve also included the specific kinds of emails you should be sending at each stage to move your prospect further down your B2B funnel. 

One important note: your exact labels of each stage may differ. Still, most B2B lifecycles will include some version of these steps – and it helps to understand email’s role in each one.

1) Awareness

The goal of your emails at this stage:

Earn attention and establish some kind of relevance in the mind of your prospect. 

Best email types:

  • Organizational stories that show your prospect all the work you are doing.
  • An educational series that walks them through problems they are likely experiencing.
  • Great lead magnets. This is technically before you have gathered their email address, but it’s a requirement if you want to generate more leads.

2) Consideration

The goal of your emails at this stage:

Help buyers compare their options and reduce any uncertainty they might have about your offer.

Best email types:

  • Sequences that go over specific use-cases of your product or service. Ideally, they should be in a sequence that is hyper-targeted to their own industry.
  • Emails that handle possible objections (pricing and ease of implementation are common ones).
  • Social proof. Think case studies, quotes, and testimonials from past clients. The more you have of this, the quicker your prospect will trust you.

3) Sales Pipeline

The goal of your emails at this stage:

Support converting them into a paying customer. Important note: these emails should work seamlessly with your sales team (if you have one) – not contradict them.

Best email types:

  • Emails that lay out the benefits of your product or service from multiple perspectives (there are usually multiple stakeholders involved in deciding to buy).
  • Detailed timelines for implementation so the prospect knows the exact “next steps” of signing on.
  • Comparing your own offer to competition + how you differ.

4) Onboarding

The goal of your emails at this stage:

Reassure your new customer that they have made the right choice + get their forst real outcome as quickly as possible. 

Best email types:

  • “Day 0” emails that detail where they start and/or any actions they need to take.
  • Detailed checklists for set-up (with simple clickable links for all related actions).
  • Role-specific onboarding information (depending on which members of their team will be involved in your product or service).

5) Retention

The goal of your emails at this stage:

Prevent churn and justify continuing working with you. This stage is all about making the value obvious and difficult to say “no” to.

Best email types:

  • Monthly recap of outcomes (what they achieved, specific wins, and the outcomes of working with you).
  • Up-front timelines for renewal + information on what they can expect if they move forward.
  • Any upsells or cross-sells (triggered by their usage) that feel particularly useful for their account.

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Are you an enterprise, nonprofit or small business looking for help on your website? Give us a shout! We provide a free consultation. Email us at [email protected] or call us at (718) 855-1919!

The Importance Of Micro-Donation Funnels

Posted on by Lúgh Studio

At Lugh Studio we have written several times about the role of nonprofit funnels. But a topic that’s just as important? The importance of micro-donation funnels specifically.

A micro-donation funnel is a great way to engage a broader base of supporters. Set it up correctly, and you can build awareness, create advocates for your cause, and bring in more donations overall. Below we cover what exactly it is – as well as seven reasons a micro-donation funnel is worth creating for most nonprofits. 

What Is A Micro-Donation Funnel?

Before we talk about why micro-donation funnels are so important, it helps to have a clear idea of what they actually are. As we’ve written before, a donation funnel represents the typical journey a potential donor takes before deciding to donate to your nonprofit or organization. This will usually involve several steps: awareness, engagement, consideration, conversion, retention. 

The crucial difference with a micro-donation funnel? The end result you are aiming for isn’t a large donation. Instead, it’s a much smaller one (think around $10). This changes the overall strategy and the way you market to people. You aren’t trying to get potential donors to make a large commitment, but rather, a “micro commitment.” 

The Importance Of Micro-Donation Funnels

1) Your Bring In More Donors

The majority of donors aren’t planning on giving large amounts. What that means in practice: if all of your marketing is focused on getting giant donations, you won’t appeal to the majority of people.

This is the importance of micro-donation funnels in a nutshell. When you meet donors where they are (and give them a chance to donate regardless of the amount), you bring in more donors as a result. This allows you to scale your fundraising efforts across a much larger audience. This volume can make a huge difference.

2) You Can Diversify Your Revenue Streams

Related to our first point but just as important: diversification. Relying on just a few large donors can be risky. Think about it: what happens when one major donor pulls their funding? That’s the kind of thing that can destabilize an entire campaign.

This is where micro-donation funnels come in handy. They give nonprofits the breathing room to avoid relying on just a few large donors. These organizations are then able to mitigate the overall risk by spreading funding across a broader base. This is the power of funnels aimed at micro-donations.

3) You Build Increased Engagement And Advocacy

One of the most important aspects of micro-donation funnels is that they bring in more people. However, it’s not just about the money. Just as important is whether or not these people advocate for your cause. 

And who are the people most likely to become advocates? Almost always, the ones that give. This is true regardless of the total amount. This is why a micro-donation funnel isn’t just about the donations. Rather, it’s also a way to build community. Donors are the ones that share campaigns with others and take further actions. In this way, micro-donation funnels play an important part in amplifying your nonprofit’s reach.

4) You Get More Data-Driven Insights

To thrive in 2026 and beyond, nonprofits need to take analytics more seriously. This is another aspect that demonstrates the importance of micro-donation funnels: the data they give you. For each person that goes through your funnel, you can track:

  • click-through rates
  • conversion rates
  • donation frequency
  • average gift size

This turns micro-donation funnels into testing grounds. Learn what works. Leave what doesn’t. And finally: apply those insights to your other (larger) donation funnels. This is how your organization continuously gets better.

5) There Is Potential For Recurring Revenue

Micro-donation funnels can (counterintuitively) generate more funds than larger donations. A lot of this can be attributed to recurring revenue. Ten dollars a month is much less intimidating than 100 dollars at once. 

This is buyer’s psychology at its finest. Get it right, and you can bring in predictable, steady donations over time. Plus, these small asks are a great way to get a “yes”. This creates early momentum – and makes it easy to generate larger donations down the line. Related to this…

6) You Create More Social Proof

Social proof in fundraising matters. The more activity a campaign shows (whether that’s total donors, comments, or shares on social media), the more likely other people are to join. It’s a kind of “snowball” of participation. 

This is one of the big reasons a micro-donation funnel is important. Because of the smaller ask, it’s more likely to bring in more people (see point #1).This creates more visible supporters. This leads to more engagement – which funnels back to more donors. The end result? Visible movement surrounding your cause.

7) You Improve Campaign Agility And Speed

Large fundraising campaigns are important. And as any nonprofit will tell you, they can be a difference-maker. But they often require:

  • long timelines
  • intensive planning
  • collaboration with multiple stakeholders

As for micro-donation funnels? Because they are smaller, they can be launched quickly (and tested rapidly). The barrier is lower, which means you can get results faster. This keeps nonprofit organizations agile and able to adapt to dynamic circumstances like shifting donor behavior or platform changes.

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Are you an enterprise, nonprofit or small business looking for help on your website? Give us a shout! We provide a free consultation. Email us at [email protected] or call us at (718) 855-1919!

10 AI Best Practices For Nonprofits

Posted on by Lúgh Studio

We have written before on how AI will affect nonprofit organizations. But in this post? We get more specific about AI for nonprofits. Specifically, ten best practices your organization should remember when using the technology.

Implement this list, and you will be able to scale your impact more efficiently (and make better decisions overall).

Let’s check it out.

10 AI Best Practices For Nonprofits

1) Align AI With Mission Outcomes

AI is obviously a trending topic right now. But that’s not a good enough reason to adopt it at your organization. What to do instead? Start by identifying how exactly AI can help your organization achieve its core mission. 

Improving donor engagement? Enhancing delivery of your services? Identifying underserved communities? Connect AI to real-world outcomes that your team is striving for, and you avoid wasting your organization’s limited resources.

2) Prioritize Data Readiness

Using AI effectively requires extensive data. Unfortunately, not all of it is created equal. Your organization needs access to accurate and objective data. As for how you actually get that data? There are a few actions to take here for data readiness:

  • Invest in better data collection practices
  • Update any outdated systems that you use
  • Train staff in how to maintain and use reliable data 

This is absolutely essential. Poor data isn’t just unreliable, but can actually result in harmful insights.

3) Start Small Before You Scale

As exciting as AI for nonprofits is, no use diving into complex tasks headfirst. This is what leads to overwhelm. Start with a manageable pilot project instead. This might include using AI tools to automate simple administrative tasks. Or maybe you want to improve donor segmentation. The key here is to start slow and learn from these experiences. The more comfortable you become with this technology, the more effectively your team will use them later on.

4) Invest in AI Literacy Across Your Organization

AI should be used by your entire organization. Not just your IT team. Even if a team member doesn’t use it every day, a basic understanding can go a long way. 

Consider team-wide training. Invest in cost-efficient education that will help your team level up their AI skills. When you foster this kind of culture of continual learning, the results compound over time. And that’s how AI pays you back over the long-term.

5) Incorporate AI Into Strategic Planning

Assuming you are going to invest in AI literacy, it’s time to make some long-term plans. Generally, AI shouldn’t just be a side project. It’s powerful enough to be integrated into your strategic planning. That’s why it’s helpful to reflect on where it fits in at your organization over the next few years. What will it help your team with? What resources will your organization devote to further implementing it? Answering these questions keeps AI aligned with your future growth.

6) Choose The Right Tools

There is increasingly a larger number of AI tools out there. The overwhelm is real. Where do you start, and which tools can you leave aside? Take a moment to think about your organization’s primary goals. Only when you get specific do you understand which tools are actually worth your time. When you have an answer – only focus on a few AI tools for nonprofits. That’s how you get really good at a few that make a difference, instead of constantly switching back and forth. 

7) Monitor For Bias

One of the biggest problem areas with AI for nonprofits? The technology unintentionally reflects or amplifies biases in your data. A software like ChatGPT will recite something to you with all the confidence in the world – and then turn out to be completely wrong in its conclusion.

This is why regular audits are so important. Human oversight is not only important, but necessary (especially if you’re using AI in areas that affect people’s lives or access to services). Monitor your results closely, and you are able to learn (and correct) faster.

8) Be Transparent With Stakeholders

Once you do start using AI at your nonprofit, your stakeholders need to know. This is the sort of practice that builds transparency and trust over time. It also ensures a certain level of accountability.

That said, no need to go overboard here; simply use plain language to explain how AI fits into your operations. The most important clarification here? Making clear which decisions are made by humans, vs. which ones are aided by AI tools. This honesty is refreshing in an era of “AI slop”. 

9) Measure And Revisit Impact Regularly

Just like we say with email automations, AI is not “set and forget.” Rather, it’s essential that you continuously evaluate its overall effectiveness. You can do this through both quantitative and qualitative metrics. Are you:

  • Raising more funds? 
  • Reaching more people?
  • Improving your service outcomes? 

This information is essential in refining your approach and reporting results to funders and stakeholders. Remember: AI for nonprofits is not some kind of magic. Like anything else, it still requires your input. 

And our last tip about AI for nonprofits…

10) Use AI To Enhance Human Connection

Ultimately, a nonprofit is about the people. Even if your mission isn’t directly related to people, you are still working with them. This is why AI needs to be a way to improve human connection. Not replace it.

Use AI to free up staff time so they can focus on real interactions (conversations with donors or hands-on support for beneficiaries). AI for nonprofits is all about helping your team do their job better. And when you use it in the right way, you are able to scale your effectiveness as a result.

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Are you an enterprise, nonprofit or small business looking for help on your website? Give us a shout! We provide a free consultation. Email us at [email protected] or call us at (718) 855-1919! 

The Ultimate Guide To Multi-Channel Marketing For Nonprofits

Posted on by Lúgh Studio

For nonprofits that want to build awareness and increase their impact, one platform usually isn’t enough. Effective modern marketing isn’t just on one channel; it’s on several. This is why multi-channel marketing for nonprofits is so essential.

In our latest ultimate guide, we give you our playbook for expanding to several channels at your organization. This includes our own take on the marketing channels worth considering. We’ve also included important actions nonprofits need to take when expanding – as well as certain things to avoid.

The goal with this guide? A step-by-step (sustainable) process you can use to take full advantage of multi-channel marketing at your organization.

CLICK HERE FOR THE PDF VERSION OF THIS GUIDE

Why Multi-Channel Marketing Matters For Nonprofits

In 2026 and beyond, attention is fragmented. People spend their time across channels, on a variety of platforms, and are bombarded with information like never before. For organizations that want to succeed in this environment, being on multiple channels is no longer a “nice to have.” It’s a necessity.

Here are some of the benefits to multi-channel marketing for nonprofits:

  • You build more awareness because you give people more chances to interact with your nonprofit across different channels.
  • Your organization naturally builds a bigger audience when you “meet people where they are”.
  • You and your team aren’t reliant one single channel to drive results for your organization, as multi-channel marketing naturally diversifies your marketing assets.
  • It’s easier to build trust with new people: they don’t just see your mission on one platform, but several.

One important note before we dive into the rest of this guide: multi-channel marketing for nonprofits does not mean being everywhere. It’s about strategically using a variety of channels to bring you closer to your goals.

No use spreading yourself thin. Much better is to pick the 2-3 channels that you can actually stick with. “Selective” is the name of the game here

Understanding The Nonprofit Audience Journey

Before you develop a multi-channel marketing plan for your organization, it’s important to understand the steps your audience usually goes through. There is a journey that people experience from first contact until long-term commitment. And when you understand each step of that journey? Your marketing plan is more successful because of it.

Unlike for-profit customers, nonprofit audiences aren’t just buyers. They can be donors. They can be volunteers. Often, they are advocates or beneficiaries.

It’s important to understand that each of these supporters has a slightly different path and motivation. That said, here is the (imprecise) journey they will generally take:

  • Awareness: Potential supporters first hear about your mission. This often happens as a result of social media, events, or word-of-mouth. They now know you exist, and are at least partly interested in what you have to say.
  • Consideration: This person begins engaging with your content. Depending on how you approach content marketing at your nonprofit, this might mean a blog post, a video on your channel, or one of your email series.
  • Action: They take meaningful action. This can be a number of things. But in the context of multi-channel marketing for nonprofits, that action is often: donating, attending an event, signing a petition, or volunteering.
  • Loyalty: This is when ongoing engagement happens. Think recurring donations, continued volunteering, or peer advocacy. 

Understanding the nonprofit audience journey isn’t just a theoretical exercise. When you develop your marketing around it, you are able to deliver the right message at the right time to the right person. (For example, first-time donors might receive an email welcome series, whereas repeat donors get invited to an exclusive event.)

This is how you make someone’s interactions with your nonprofit feel tailored just to them. And at that point? Multi-channel marketing really starts to drive results. 

5 Core Channels That Nonprofits Should Consider

Each marketing channel offers unique strengths. The key to success? To align them with your audience’s preferences, your overall campaign goals, and the skillset of your team. 

With that in mind, here are the channels most worth your time:

Email:

Email marketing for nonprofits is still one of the highest-ROI activities for your organization. That’s because it’s a point of contact you actually own. Want to send a message to your donors? Email them, and (with the right email infrastructure set up) you’re guaranteed to land in their inbox.

Email is a channel all nonprofits should take more seriously. It’s great for newsletters, donation appeals, and even sharing impact stories. Add segmentation and automation to the mix, and email starts to play a fundamental role in your nonprofit’s marketing stack.

Social Media:

These days, most nonprofit organizations should be on a social media platform. Is it a direct line to more donors? Not necessarily: social media followers are usually low intent. 

But a social media presence does build awareness and a certain amount of engagement. And that’s a great way to build interest in future donors.

Each social media platform serves a slightly different purpose. Before you pick which specific platform/s you will use, consider two things: 

  • where your audience spends the most time
  • what your team is capable of committing to 

Regardless of which one you double down on, make sure you’re following social media best practices. For nonprofits, this often means using stories and live video to both humanize your brand and share your overall impact.

Website & Blog: 

No matter what you are trying to achieve with your marketing, your website is your home base. All other channels should drive people here.  

Just think about your own online behavior. When you see an ad or come across a new creator on social media, what’s the first thing you do? Check to see if they have a website. And if they don’t (or if it’s a bad website) you almost never take that next action.

Make sure you pay attention to your web design. Your site should be mobile-friendly, donation-optimized, and regularly bringing in traffic. And when it does? That’s when a website becomes the foundation of multi-channel marketing for nonprofits.

Paid Advertising:

Advertising platforms can get faster results for nonprofits. They allow you to skip the long process of building SEO results and avoid the hyper-competitive environment of social media. That said: you do need to have the budget for it.

If you are going to branch out into paid advertising, reflect on which platform you want to use. Google can certainly be effective. But if your audience is on Facebook, prioritize your efforts there.

And regardless of which platform you are going to start with, make sure you look into Google Ad Grants. This is a great program for nonprofits that have a limited budget to spend. 

In-Person Events:

Digital marketing channels are great. They allow you to reach more people quicker, and will always play a fundamental role in multi-channel marketing for nonprofits. 

But one of the most under-appreciated strategies for effective nonprofit marketing? In-person events. 

While events require a fair bit of planning, they can produce great results for your nonprofit. More awareness. More volunteers. And, crucially – more donors. Go deep on your mission, the stories of your beneficiaries, and try to connect with your audience. And of course: utilize digital follow-up to deepen the relationship after your event is over.

5 Steps To Build A Multi-Channel Marketing Strategy

Effective multi-channel marketing for nonprofits starts with intention. You need to be clear about what you’re trying to achieve, and specific about what your plan is. And when you are? Your multi-channel marketing plan becomes a bit easier as a result.

Here are the five steps we recommend for most nonprofits:

1) Set Clear Goals

It all starts with goals. What exactly are you trying to achieve? For your typical nonprofit, here are some of the most common goals worth pursuing:

  • Build more “brand awareness” 
  • Raising more funds during donations
  • Recruiting more volunteers to help at your organization
  • Landing more corporate donors throughout the year

Be specific here. The clearer you are about what your end goals are, the clearer you are about which specific channels you need to consider. 

2) Choose The Right Mix of Channels

Like we mentioned above, it’s essential that you pick the right channels for your organization. While there’s a lot of advice we could give you, here are a few key points that will determine which channels you go with:

  • Where your audience spends their time
  • Which “channel specific” skills you have on your team
  • How much time (or money) you are willing to invest in each one
  • What kind of content is particularly relevant to your organization’s mission

But the most important question of all? 

Which channels is your organization actually going to stick with? 

Like we say throughout this guide, it’s one thing to plan out a multi-channel marketing strategy. It’s another thing to actually do it. And when you choose marketing channels that your team will actually stay on top of, you are naturally more consistent.

3) Define Your Audience Segments

Not enough nonprofits properly segment their audience. This is a mistake. Before you start with content creation (step #4), it’s essential that you divide your audience. 

That’s because your audience is not just one solitary group of people. It’s a mix of sub-audiences. And all of them have slightly different preferences and behaviors. It follows that segmenting your audience is one of the most important things you can do. 

Create groups based on:

  • Demographics
  • Past behaviors
  • Demonstrated interests
  • Overall engagement with your organization

This helps you get more specific in how you communicate with your audience. And the more precise your communication, the more effective your marketing becomes.

4) Be Systematic With Your Content Marketing

Quality content is the foundation of multi-channel marketing for nonprofits. While this is a huge topic on its own, here are a few tips we recommend:

  • Plan everything far ahead of time (something like “per quarter”). This reduces chaos, helps your team work together, and allows you to be deliberate in your planning. A good content calendar is useful at this stage. 
  • Commit to at least one quality piece of content for each channel per week. If it’s your website, that means a blog post. Your YouTube channel? One long-form video. No need to go overboard here. But the algorithms reward consistency.
  • Adapt your content to the specific platform. Maybe an obvious point here, but it’s important to keep in mind platform-specific best practices. Instagram? More visual. LinkedIn? A better place to flex your achievements. The more suited to the platform, the better content will perform.
  • Remember the power of repurposing. If consistently creating content across a variety of platforms in the name of multi-channel marketing sounds overwhelming…. it doesn’t have to be. Just repurpose the content you do make. One blog post can turn into a video script, three social media posts, and 10 tweets. Work smarter, not harder. 

Multi-channel marketing for nonprofits lives or dies based on the quality of content you create. Follow these four tips, and you are well on your way to content that drives real results for your organization.

5) Maintain Message Consistency

Creating content consistently is essential. But just as important? Staying consistent with your overall message.

As we’ve implied, multi-channel marketing for nonprofits required a nuanced understanding of the differences between channels. But your voice? That needs to stay the same. This is how you reinforce recognition, build trust, and get people to act as a result.

Tools & Resources 

If you are working towards better multi-channel marketing at your nonprofit, it helps to use the right tools. We’ve covered the best nonprofit tools in the past. But the ones below? They are specifically made to execute a multi-channel strategy. Let’s take a look: 

CRM (Constituent Relationship Management): track the interactions of all your supporters across channels.

Email Marketing: stay in contact with your audience via email, and put relationship-building on autopilot.

Social Media Management: schedule social media posts ahead of time and track the performance of all your social media efforts.

Fundraising Platforms: track all of your fundraising campaigns while increasing the average donation amount.

Automation Tools: connect all of your software and apps and reduce manual (and repetitive) work in the process.

Conclusion

Multi-channel marketing for nonprofits is no longer optional for organizations that want to stay relevant. But again: it’s not about being everywhere. It’s about choosing the channels that are going to have the biggest ROI for your organization – and committing to them over time.

We hope this guide has been helpful. We’ve worked with multiple nonprofits to improve their marketing across channels, so let us know if you ever need any help!

CLICK HERE FOR THE PDF VERSION OF THIS GUIDE

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Are you an enterprise, nonprofit or small business looking for help on your website? Give us a shout! We provide a free consultation. Email us at [email protected] or call us at (718) 855-1919! 

15 Nonprofit Website Tips

Posted on by Lúgh Studio

Many nonprofit website tips are either outdated or ineffective. Maybe they worked in the past, but as they say: “what got you here won’t get you there.”

In this post, we dive into 15 current tips for your nonprofit website. Act on them, and they will boost donations, attract volunteers, and make it easier for people to understand your cause.

Let’s check them out below.

15 Nonprofit Website Tips

1) Have a Clear Mission Statement Above the Fold

The moment somebody lands on your homepage, they should instantly understand two things:

  • What your organization does
  • Why it matters

You can answer both of these questions with a good mission statement. First impressions matter. Make sure this mission statement is easily viewable by putting it front and center.

2) Make Your Donation Button Easy To Find

If somebody needs to work to donate money – they won’t. Your donation button should be impossible to miss. There are a few “quick wins” that will help it pop a bit more:

  • Use a bright color that stands out
  • Place it at strategic “high traffic” points throughout your site
  • Use clear text like “Donate Now” instead of vague phrases

If you want to increase conversions, this kind of button is a must.

3) Use Mobile-Responsive Design

More than half of your website users are now on a mobile device. If your site isn’t optimized for smartphones, you’re losing visitors. And donors.

Make sure your website design is responsive, and always remember to test things on your phone before you set them live.

4) Use Real Images Throughout Your Site

Wherever possible, stay away from stock photos. They usually feel impersonal and generic. What to do instead? Utilize the power of real images of your team, volunteers, beneficiaries, and events. This kind of authentic picture humanizes your organization and builds trust over time. 

5) Simplify Your Navigation

Cluttered menus create confusion. This makes more users bounce away from your site. The solution? Simplification.

Keep your top navigation bar to just a few items. Typically, these will be labels like “About,” “Blog” and “Donate.” This makes navigation easier, and conversions typically go up as a result.

6) Highlight Impact With Metrics (Or Testimonials)

People want to know their support makes a difference. And to show them how, it helps to get specific. This is where detailed metrics (“Over 1,200 meals served last month”) can be handy.

You should also try to pair them with quotes from beneficiaries or testimonials from donors. This makes everything you do with your website more effective.

7) Create A Simple Donation Form

High-converting landing pages are important. A long, complicated donation form kills momentum. But a simple one? Conversion rates go up, and you have more effective fundraisers as a result.

(You’ll notice a lot of our nonprofit website tips have to go with simplicity. And for good reason: simplicity is convincing, confident, and effective.)

8) Use Accessible Design

Accessibility isn’t just “nice to have.” If you want your website to do the heavy lifting for you, it’s essential. Here are a few things to add to your to-do list: 

  • Use proper contrast ratios
  • Include alt text on images
  • Implement keyboard-friendly navigation
  • Make your link text more descriptive (“Learn more about our mission” vs. “Click here”)

The more inclusive you can make your site to all visitors, the better it performs.

9) Include A “Why Give” Page

If you want a nonprofit website that does its job, you need to clearly explain why someone should donate to your organization. It’s not enough to ask people to give. You also need to give them some sort of justification. Here are a few things you might include:

  • Your organization’s mission (see tip #1)
  • The problems that you solve (get specific)
  • How the donations that you collect are used

It helps here to include visuals, testimonials, and examples of impact. This not only keeps donors coming back, but establishes trust with new visitors who have never donated before. And speaking of trust…

10) Add Trust Signals

Many of these nonprofit website tips center around trust. Trust that you are who you say you are, and that you can do what you say you do. Trust is essential – and that’s why you should add more trust signals to your site.

These are things like trust badges, transparency links, and any affiliations your organization might have. This all reassures potential donors before they decide to give.

11) Feature An Email Signup With Real Value

Email marketing is one of your most powerful tools for donor retention and advocacy. But what you offer people to join your list matters. To build your list effectively, look into the best lead magnets for nonprofits. Make sure it’s something valuable. Also make it easy to find: your lead magnet should be available on your homepage, in the footer, and across your blog.

12) Use Storytelling Throughout Your Site

People connect with stories more than they do with data. This is where effective nonprofit storytelling comes in. On your website, make sure you share short narratives of: 

  • The people you’ve helped
  • The volunteers who support you
  • The challenges your organization has overcome

This all makes your mission more real and memorable. And when you do that, your nonprofit website starts to perform better in key metrics.

13) Optimize Your Website For SEO

As useful as these nonprofit website tips are, they don’t mean anything if people can’t find your site. This is why SEO considerations are so important (even in the age of AI search results). Here are a few elements to pay attention to:

  • Clear page titles
  • Meta descriptions
  • Header tags in your content
  • Targeted keywords that are related to your mission

Take this stuff seriously, and you start to rank higher on search engines over time. This brings in more traffic, more people interested in your cause – and more donations.

14) Use Analytics

Detailed analytics are how you enable data-backed decisions about your website. Make sure you are using something like Google Analytics. This shows you exactly how people are actually engaging with your site. And when you do have that data? You are able to improve peoples’ experience with your nonprofit website as a result.decisions, not just sit in a dashboard.

15) Make Contact Easy

Lastly, your website should make it easy for people to contact you. If somebody does want to reach out, that’s often a warm lead (the exact sort of person you want contacting you). Include an easy sign up form. Also make your contact email easy to find. After all: clear communication (and quick responses) are how you build trust and relationships over time.

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Are you an enterprise, nonprofit or small business looking for help on your website? Give us a shout! We provide a free consultation. Email us at [email protected] or call us at (718) 855-1919!

Your Guide To Nonprofit Marketing Operations Strategy

Posted on by Lúgh Studio

For any successful nonprofit organization, marketing plays a crucial role in its growth and sustainability. But this growth doesn’t happen by accident. Almost always, a strategic system of nonprofit marketing operations is operating in the background.

If your organization is trying to grow, this guide to nonprofit marketing operations will help you along. Check it out below.

What Are Nonprofit Marketing Operations?

Let’s first answer a question: what actually are nonprofit marketing operations? It’s a phrase that sounds like it’s full of “buzzwords”. But they are actually quite simple. Generally, nonprofit marketing operations refers to the systems, processes, and tools that support a nonprofit’s marketing efforts.

In practice, this can include:

  • Campaign planning
  • Audience segmentation
  • Data and analytics
  • Technology and automation platforms
  • Performance tracking and reporting 

Essentially, marketing operations are how your marketing gets done. Ideally: efficiently, consistently, and strategically.

Why Marketing Operations Matter For Nonprofits

Nonprofit marketing operations sound good in theory. But we are all busy. Why should this be yet another thing that gets “prioritized”? 

Here are four reasons strong nonprofit marketing operations can benefit your organization:

  • Improves efficiency. By streamlining your team’s processes, marketing operations make it clear who is responsible for what. Your team can then focus less on “small tasks”, and more on larger impact. 
  • Enhances donor experiences. Leverage the right tools, and it’s easier to deliver consistent (and personalized) communication with donors. And if you think about it, this quality donor experience is one of the most important things for repeat donations. 
  • Supports data-driven decisions. Too much nonprofit marketing is built on assumptions. But these days (especially with AI) it’s never been more important to step up your game with data-based decisions. Solid nonprofit marketing operations? They help you do just that. 
  • Makes it easier to scale. Every nonprofit wants to grow. But few actually do over the long-term. Take marketing operations seriously, and you build a strong foundation. This is the foundation your organization needs to grow your operations without breaking them.

A great example from our own work? NeuSpark PDS, a nonprofit that empowers people with disabilities to live more fulfilling lives. We partnered with them during a full-scale rebrand and digital overhaul. 

The result? A more user-friendly website that helps with all of their marketing, and the ability to carry their mission into the future. Just one example of what can happen when you take your nonprofit marketing operations seriously!

Key Components Of A Nonprofit Marketing Operations Strategy

1) Define Your Goals and KPIs

Most nonprofit organizations have similar goals. But few actually take the time to map out what success looks like and how they will measure it.

This is where more precise questions come in. Here are a few to ask your team:

  • What are the top objectives for our marketing this year?
  • Which key performance indicators (KPIs) will monitor to track progress?
  • How will success be measured across channels?

Your answers will give you clarity on how to approach your nonprofit marketing operations over the long-term.

2) Map Out Your Campaign Planning Process

With your goals and KPI’s set, it’s time to map out your campaigns. This includes any content you are creating as well as bigger fundraisers throughout the year. The main goal here? An easy-to-understand overview of:

  • Timelines and workflows
  • The tasks to be done and who is doing them
  • Any potential collaboration with other organizations or programs

One of the most important reasons to take nonprofit marketing operations seriously? It makes it easier to plan all of this together.

3) Choose The Right Tech Stack

Technology is the backbone of nonprofit marketing operations. Here are the types of tools we think every nonprofit can benefit from (for more specific recommendations, check out our larger post on tools for nonprofits): 

  • Email marketing platforms 
  • CRM systems
  • Social media schedulers
  • Project management tools

Important note here: you don’t want to add tools just for the sake of it. Each one should have an obvious purpose. If you don’t clearly know what a tool will help you achieve, it’s probably not worth it.

4) Segment Your Audience

Modern nonprofit marketing is all about personalization. That’s why we are such big fans of segmenting your audience. Here are a few actionable tips that will give you the 80/20 of proper segmentation:

  • Segment donors by behavior and interests
  • Tailor your messaging for new vs. returning donors
  • Create separate donor journeys across different platforms
  • Automate your email nurture sequences based on engagement

When approached correctly, audience segmentation can result in higher engagement and stronger relationships. Certainly worth taking seriously!

5) Develop Standard Operating Procedures (SOP’s)

Nobody actually likes setting up SOP’s. But if you are trying to build out a robust nonprofit marketing operations strategy, they are essential. They make it easy to repeat essential tasks. They also make it easy to get new hires up to speed quickly.

Each organization will have slightly different ways of doing things. That said, here are the most important SOP’s we recommend:

  • How to pull reports from your CRM
  • How to build and send an email campaign
  • The naming conventions for files and campaigns
  • The various steps for onboarding a new tool or team member

The more you can document, the easier it is to repeat things in the same way every time. And that’s exactly how you grow well into the future.

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Are you an enterprise, nonprofit or small business looking for help on your website? Give us a shout! We provide a free consultation. Email us at [email protected] or call us at (718) 855-1919!

How To Improve Email Deliverability In 2026

Posted on by Lúgh Studio

Email marketing is still one of the highest ROI marketing channels. Unfortunately, that’s only true if your emails actually reach the inbox. This is where email deliverability in 2026 comes in.

In our latest post we are covering what you need to know. Ignore email deliverability in 2026, and you risk wasting your time and losing touch with your audience. But take it seriously? That’s when you unlock the true potential of good email marketing.

Why Email Deliverability In 2026 Is Essential

In the last few years, email inboxes have gotten smarter. And stricter. 

Platforms like Gmail, Outlook, and Apple Mail now use sophisticated algorithms (often AI-powered) to evaluate sender behavior, engagement, and overall email intent. This means deliverability “best practices” of the past just aren’t good enough anymore.

Here are some of the big changes that have affected deliverability:

  • Verified sending standards. Protocols like DMARC, SPF, and DKIM are no longer optional. Enforcement is tighter. That means failure to comply often leads to immediate spam filtering.
  • New privacy features. Companies like Apple continue to obscure open data with their algorithm updates. This makes deliverability diagnostics trickier – and best practices all the more essential.
  • Stricter domain reputation rules. “Burner” domains (especially for businesses that send thousands of cold emails, are being flagged faster and faster. This means your root domain matters more than ever. 
  • Engagement-based filtering. Is the content in your emails legitimate? If you routinely have low open and click rates, it doesn’t matter. Your lower-than-average metrics are likely signaling spam. 
  • AI spam filters. One of the things that’s changing with AI software is how algorithms analyze key data. If your subject lines, body copy, CTA language match their “patterns of abuse” (even if you’re completely unaware of it), there’s a good chance you’re landing in spam.

In short: inboxes are no longer a guarantee. If you want to reach your audience through email, you need a strategy that’s ready for 2026.

5 Ways To Improve Email Deliverability In 2026

1) Authenticate everything

Your technical foundation is where everything starts. You need to ensure your emails are authenticated with the right sending protocols. These show email platforms that your brand is legitimate, and land you in the primary inbox more often as a result.

Here are the most important:

  • DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance)
  • SPF (Sender Policy Framework)
  • DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail)

Neglect these and nothing else really matters. For email deliverability in 2026, these protocols are absolutely essential. (If these sound too technical for you, you can use a tool like ChatGPT to walk you through the setup process.) 

2) Send from a reputable domain

In the past, businesses can get started with cold outreach immediately. They’d simply open a new email domain and start sending. New clients were just a few emails away.

Those days are gone. In 2026 and beyond, your root domain’s reputation follows you. Subdomains can be helpful (especially if cold outreach is foundational to your business model), but you can’t rely on throwaways.

Warming up a new domain is essential here (especially before you start sending at scale or any sudden spikes in volume). This “slow but steady” approach gradually builds the legitimacy of your new domain. And the result? Higher deliverability, more opens – and more business.

3) Clean your list regularly

List growth is important. Often, the larger the list, the more money you can make. But here’s the nuance: you don’t just want a list of subscribers. You want a list of engaged potential buyers. (Or donors if you are a nonprofit.)

A large list that is unengaged isn’t particularly valuable. But a smaller list that actually opens your emails and interacts with what you have to say? Now that is a real asset. 

Here are a few actions you should take:

  • Set up sunset policies (15 straight unopened emails gets unsubscribed)
  • Periodically run re-engagement campaigns for your contacts that have dropped off a bit
  • Set up “double opt-in” for your lead magnets to ensure you’re only bringing in engaged subscribers

The fact is, engagement is now a core deliverability signal. Follow these steps, and you will end up with a healthier list – and better deliverability.

4) Personalize and segment

Generic blasts to everyone simply won’t cut it anymore. Good email deliverability in 2026 is built on a system of precision. 

This is where segmentation comes in. Set up automations that get triggered by specific actions. You should also consider sending different content to different “sub audiences” of your list based on the data you have of them.

Here’s a good mindset to have: your email list is actually a list of different groups. Each one has slightly different priorities, desires, and pain points. The more you take this into account, the more you create emails that people look forward to. This drives up opens – and your deliverability improves as a result.

5) Monitor metrics that matter

Open rates will always be useful for email marketing. But even more essential to track? Clicks, replies to your emails, and spam complaints. These are the numbers that give you a better idea of your overall deliverability, and what you can do to improve it.

Pro tip: if you are going to take your metrics seriously, use a tool that makes tracking them easier. We recommend monitoring tools like Postmark or EmailConsul. These can help you spot issues before they become larger problems, and will improve your email deliverability in 2026 and beyond.

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Are you an enterprise, nonprofit or small business looking for help on your website? Give us a shout! We provide a free consultation. Email us at [email protected] or call us at (718) 855-1919! 

The Ultimate Guide To Brand Messaging

Posted on by Lúgh Studio

Whether you’re a nonprofit or business, good brand messaging is essential. It’s how you stand out from your competition. It’s also how you build real trust with your audience by showing them exactly how you can help.

But here’s the thing: brand messaging isn’t just about making a clever tagline. Instead, it’s about crafting a clear and consistent voice that truly connects with your audience. So — how do you do that?

In our latest ultimate guide, we cover the most important elements of brand messaging. This includes what it is, how to get better at consistent messaging, and a few tools that can help.

CLICK HERE FOR THE PDF VERSION OF THIS GUIDE

Let’s get started.

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What Is Brand Messaging?

Brand messaging is the core language you use to describe the most important parts of your organization. This includes what you stand for, what you do, and why it matters.

It’s important to understand that brand messaging isn’t just one statement. Instead, it’s an entire set of messages that reflect your mission and speak directly to your audience’s needs.

Brand messaging is a large concept. In fact, it’s so big that you could apply it to most of your marketing. But let’s get specific. For most organizations (both for-profit companies and nonprofits), brand messaging includes:

  • Your elevator pitch about what you do
  • Your mission and vision statements that you share
  • Your value proposition (why people should choose you instead of your competitors)
  • Your overall tone of voice
  • The way you present calls-to-action
  • The big ideas you frequently come back to (more on “messaging pillars” in the next section)

This is what brand messaging is. As for why it’s so important?

Why Brand Messaging Matters

As we point out above, brand messaging is important for every organization. Here are a few reasons why (and why you should make better brand messaging a priority):

  • Unclear messaging results in confusion. And confusion? It results in inaction. To get your prospects to do anything (whether that’s purchase your product, book a call, or contribute to your fundraiser), clarity is vital. When you get your brand messaging on-point, that clarity becomes a natural by-product.
  • You build trust with brand messaging. Think about your own interactions with different organizations. Do you trust the one that is consistent — or one that sounds different every time you see them? It’s the same thing with credibility. The more coherent your brand messaging is, the more people naturally trust you.
  • It allows you to differentiate your organization. You never want to sound the exact same as your competition. You need something that helps you stand out. This is where brand messaging can help. It’s not a magic bullet. Still, nail your organization’s brand, and it becomes so much easier to separate yourself from the crowd.
  • Brand messaging makes it easy for people to say “yes.” Let’s face it: we want to work with people that are confident in what they do. And brand messaging is a great way to display that confidence.
  • Lastly, clear brand messaging saves you time and energy. Imagine needing to reinvent the wheel every time your team wrote an email, pitched a funder, or launched a campaign. Well, that’s exactly what happens when your brand messaging is vague. The more specific you get with your messaging, the clearer your team is on what to say.

Quality brand messaging clearly has many benefits. When done well, it helps your team communicate clearly and consistently (no matter who’s speaking or writing).

But if we could summarize it with one phrase, it would be this:

Brand messaging = a clear identity.

The clearer your identity is, the more good things start to happen: attracting the right people, building your audience, and establishing the trust that you can get them results. Remember this as you go through the rest of this ultimate guide.

A 6-Step Process To Better Brand Messaging

#1: Clarify Who You’re Talking To

Start with your audience. Good brand messaging starts with clarity on a few key questions:

  • What does your audience value?
  • What problems are they trying to solve?
  • What are the key factors that motivate them to act?

It’s important here that you don’t operate based on assumptions. Instead, understand your audience from the data that you gather. It’s not about who you think your audience is. It’s about who they actually are. There is often a meaningful difference.

There are several ways to gather this data. Deep audience research is a great place to start, and it’s always useful to send informal surveys to your list. Once you’ve gotten clear on who you are talking to, it’s also helpful to segment your audience. This makes it easy to create targeted marketing later on.

#2: Write Your One-Liner

Your one-liner is a concise sentence that states who you help, what you help them with, and why it matters. This is important because it summarizes what you stand for. This clarifies your brand messaging in a quick and simple way and makes it easier to create a mission statement.

Your one-liner should be as concise as possible. Skip the jargon and buzzwords. Often, they simply cause unnecessary confusion. This one-liner is more important than it might first appear. By forcing yourself to simplify what you stand for, you make it much easier to get crystal clear on your overall messaging.

#3: Define Your Messaging Pillars

Messaging pillars are your core talking points. They are the key themes or topics that you want to be known for. In other words, the main ideas that guide all of your content.

Each organization should make 3-5 messaging pillars. Each one should be short, memorable, and rooted in your values. Feedback from your entire team is essential here. What you think is an obvious pillar might not be so obvious to your colleagues.

Once you have these, try to stick to them. That’s not to say that you can’t talk about other things. But a key component of good brand messaging is consistency. And when you limit your main messaging pillars to just a couple, that consistency is much easier.

It’s important to note here that messaging pillars for nonprofits are quite different from those for private companies. Is your organization a nonprofit? Your messaging pillars should be more aspirational (“Everyone deserves access to healthy, affordable food.”) Do you work for a company? In that case, your pillars should be more focused on the individual benefit (“You can get below 15% body fat with 90 days of focus.”)

# 4: Nail Your Tone of Voice

Your tone is how you sound. It should reflect your culture, your audience, and your values. This is difficult to pinpoint. It’s especially tricky if you have multiple people on your team creating content that reflects your brand messaging.

Here are a few questions to ask yourself about your tone:

  • Is our tone casual or formal?
  • Are we bold in how we sound, or more gentle?
  • Are we trying to be urgent in our communication, or calm?

Create a few tone attributes that you want to reflect with your messaging. These can be things like “clear”, “warm”, or “informed”. Once you’ve done that, apply that tone across all platforms. This is one of the most important steps in staying consistent with your brand messaging.

# 5: Create An Internal Messaging Guide

Once you’ve gone through these first few steps, it’s time to document it. This messaging guide will become your organization’s reference point. The result? A team that is aligned and consistent with messaging across departments. (This is the same reason creating a brand style guide is so helpful.)

Here are things that you should include in your guide:

  • Any specific data about your ideal audience and who you are trying to reach
  • Your one-liner and any necessary description of what your organization does
  • Your agreed-upon messaging pillars that your entire team sticks to
  • Examples of your brand messaging in action
  • Boilerplate language for press releases, grant applications, and anything else you typically have to write copy for

A messaging guide is not “set it and forget it.” It’s a living document that is meant to be added to (and referenced) constantly. Which leads us to our last point:

# 6: Test And Refine

Good brand messaging is never set in stone. It’s alive. To ensure that your messaging always hits the mark, try to:

  • Test it in real conversations
  • Try it out in email subject lines
  • Include it in your various pieces of content
  • Implement it during any website redesign.

The main point here is that you need to watch how your audience responds. Just because you think something sounds great, doesn’t mean it’s messaging that’s going to resonate with your audience.

Brand messaging that worked five years ago isn’t necessarily the same one that will work now. Over time, your organization will grow and your community will shift. Make sure your brand messaging shifts with it.

Common Mistakes To Avoid

If you are going to take brand messaging seriously, it’s not enough to follow the six steps above. There are also a few things you need to avoid. Below you will find four of them, why they are destructive, and what you should do instead.

#1: Trying to speak to everyone

If you try to appeal to everyone, you end up with brand messaging that is generic and forgettable. Marketing that lacks focus is how you appeal to no one. If you want effective brand messaging, you need to start with two things: who you’re speaking to and why they should care.

The solution: get specific. Even if it’s uncomfortable. It’s almost always better to be more specific with your brand messaging than not specific enough.

#2: Inconsistent messaging across platforms

Good brand messaging is all about staying consistent. Imagine having a different tone or writing style on social media, your website, and your pitch deck. That inconsistency? It breeds distrust.

The solution: try to “show up” in the same voice across platforms and channels. Good brand messaging feels recognizable anywhere your audience comes across it. (Like we said above, this doesn’t mean your brand messaging can’t evolve over time).

#3: Focusing too much on features

We all want to explain what we do. Much more effective (both for your organization and business metrics) is to talk about why that matters. People don’t engage with your brand because of your services or programs. They engage because of outcomes.

The solution: your messaging should lead with impact and value. This is how you get prospects to actually care about what you have to say.

#4: Overlooking emotional connection

Facts are great. They are how you inform and reassure people that you are the choice for them. But appealing to emotions? That’s how you inspire people to take action.

The solution: try to inject more emotion into your branding. This can usually be done by putting your audience’s values, hopes, and challenges at the center. Do that, and your brand messaging becomes more effective than “facts only.”

Tools And Resources

Lastly, to create brand messaging that drives results, here are some things that can help. It doesn’t matter if you are a business or nonprofit. Use these tools and resources consistently, and your messaging will become more compelling as a result.

  • The Brand Deck: a card-based tool that helps you define your brand with clarity.
  • Typeform: gather insights with audience surveys so that you can understand the kind of messaging that actually resonates.
  • SparkToro: discover the kind of content your audience actually consumes to align your messaging with their online habits.
  • ChatGPT: one of the best AI tools to brainstorm messaging variations and tone.
  • Notion: create a centralized messaging guide that your entire team can access and update over time.
  • Canva: helpful and easy-to-use tool for creating visual brand elements (and keeping them aligned).

Conclusion

Your brand messaging isn’t just fancy words on a page. It’s how people feel when they hear from you, and how consistent that experience is.

Our advice to you? Use the first couple of months of 2026 to get clear on your brand messaging. We promise: it will set you up for success the rest of the year!

CLICK HERE FOR THE PDF VERSION OF THIS GUIDE

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Are you an enterprise, nonprofit or small business looking for help on your website? Give us a shout! We provide a free consultation. Email us at [email protected] or call us at (718) 855-1919!

The Role Of Clarity In Nonprofit Marketing

Posted on by Lúgh Studio

No matter what kind or organization you are, you never want to confuse people. Confused people don’t donate, volunteer, or choose to support your cause. This is why clarity in nonprofit marketing is so important. 

In 2026, our inboxes are shorter and our attention spans are shorter than ever before. The organizations that inject clarity into their marketing? They are the ones that will win. 

Here is why clarity in marketing is so important – and how you can create more of it for your audience.

Why Clarity In Nonprofit Marketing Is Essential

  • “If you confuse, you lose.” This is a famous line from Donald Miller’s StoryBrand framework. It’s important because it’s true. Confusion makes anything you do less effective. The fact is, people are more distracted than ever. If your message takes more than a few seconds to understand, you just lost a lead. 
  • Clarity removes that friction. The quicker somebody understands something, the quicker they can make a choice to act or not. But when somebody is confused? That creates needless friction, and people are less likely to do what you want as a result. People shouldn’t have to guess what you want them to do. Clarity is about shortening the path between interest and action.
  • Clarity builds trust. We are all burnt out from buzz words and “coprorate speak.” Those things just confuse us. And when we are confused by what somebody is telling us, we tend not to trust them. But clarity in marketing? It’s simple, direct, and signals confidence. Get to that point, and trust is easier to build.  

How To Inject More Clarity Into Your Marketing

There are a number of ways you can achieve more clarity in your marketing. Here are eight actions that will get you quick results:

1) Speak Your Message Out Loud

One of the most effective copywriting tips is to simply read things out loud. Our brain catches more awkward phrases when we can actually hear something.

Give this a shot with everything you write. Are there any unclear ideas? Overcomplicated sentences. Your ear will notice. And if it does – it’s time to simplify.

2) Test With Fresh Eyes

Ask someone who isn’t familiar with your work to read a key piece of your marketing. This might be your homepage, an email, or a social post. Ask them what they think you do.

If they hesitate or ask clarifying questions, your messaging needs work. The main goal is comprehension on the first read. Background context should be unnecessary to understand what it is you do.

3) Trim The Fat

Often, clarity comes not from adding something, but from taking it away. This is where “trimming the fat” comes in.

Cut unnecessary words and filler phrases as much as possible. The shorter your sentences are, the less the cognitive load on your audience. And that’ s when your clarity really gets the chance to shine.

Related to this…

4) Define Your One-Liner

Your “one-liner” is a clear statement of who you are, what you do, and who you do it for. This is the couple of words that should explain everything your organization is about. It is also one of the places where clarity in marketing is most essential.

Your one-liner should be as specific as possible. It should also be immediately understood by your audience. Think of this as your nonprofit’s mission statement. The simpler it is, the clearer it is to prospects.

5) Avoid Industry Jargon

We all want to sound smart. But you aren’t doing yourself any favors when you rely on words like “synergy,” “disruption,” or “end-to-end solutions.” These days, jargon is a red flag to your target audience. These kinds of words not only alienate potential customers, but hide your actual value. 

What to do instead? Use concrete, familiar words your audience already understands. Speak like a human. Not a pitch deck.

(The one exception here is if the jargon is a fundamental way in which your audience speaks.)

6) Stick To One Big Idea Per Message

Each piece of marketing should focus on one core idea. This is true whether it’s a landing page, ad, or post. The reason? Too many ideas simply confuse the reader.

This isn’t to say you should dumb things down. But the more specific you are with your marketing, the easier it is to communicate your message. And this is a non-negotiable part of effective nonprofit marketing.

7) Use Visual Hierarchy To Guide The Eye

Clear web design and layout affect how clearly your message is received. It’s not only important for the overall user experience, but your organization’s reputation as well.

Use bold headings, subheadings, bullet points, and whitespace to organize your content. People scan before they read, so make your structure do some of the heavy lifting. A clear layout makes your messaging more digestible at a glance.

8) Ask Yourself A Few Simple Questions

Once you have acted on the seven tips above, we have one more suggestion: simply answer a few questions. Here are three that we recommend:

  • Can a first-time visitor understand what we do in under 5 seconds?
  • Is it clear who we serve, how we help, and what we want people to do?
  • Are we speaking to humans, or are we just checking boxes with fancy wording?

You’d be surprised how helpful your answers can be in creating clarity in your marketing. And once you have answered these questions – you will be clearer (and more effective) in everything you do.

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Are you an enterprise, nonprofit or small business looking for help on your website? Give us a shout! We provide a free consultation. Email us at [email protected] or call us at (718) 855-1919! 

Diagnosing Problems With A Nonprofit Funnel

Posted on by Lúgh Studio

In the nonprofit world, a clean and functioning funnel is essential. It’s how you guide a prospect all the way from their first interaction with you to an eventual action. But if you aren’t getting the results you want? This is when correctly diagnosing problems with a nonprofit funnel is so important.  

In our latest post, we are showing you how to do just that. This includes what a nonprofit funnel is, the most common problems, and how to fix them.

What Is A Nonprofit Funnel? 

As we have written before, a nonprofit funnel is the path that someone takes from awareness to action. It’s every interaction they have with your brand between where they are now, and where you want them to be. What that end action is for nonprofits? Typically choosing to donate, volunteer, become a member, or support a campaign. 

As for the typical stages of a nonprofit funnel? Here is a basic version to keep in mind while reading this post: 

  • Awareness: Your audience first learns about your nonprofit.
  • Engagement: They interact with any content you might have and learn more about your organizational mission.
  • Consideration: They start to consider donating and likely look into your impact and credibility.
  • Conversion / Donation: They actually donate to your cause, regardless of the amount.
  • Retention: After donating, you work to keep them engaged and primed to potentially donate again in the future.

Even if you never intentionally set one up, odds are you already have some version of a funnel in place at your nonprofit. But here’s the key thing: these stages need to be measurable. This is how you can spot problems with your funnel, and fix them if they do occur. 

Common Problems With A Nonprofit Funnel

It’s one thing to talk about “problems with your funnel.” That’s quite vague. It’s an entirely different thing to put a name to them. 

Here are the most common problems that you will experience with a nonprofit funnel:

  • Weak lead generation: you aren’t bringing in enough leads. 
  • Poorly defined audience segments: you treat each person in your audience more or less the same, and don’t adjust your messaging for different groups.
  • Inconsistent nurturing: once somebody does enter your funnel, there are no systems in place to nurture them and communication drops off.
  • Unclear calls-to-action: supporters aren’t clear what to do next because your CTA’s are buried or vague. 
  • No funnel metrics: your team either doesn’t track funnel performance, or doesn’t know how to improve what you do track.

While these are just five problems with nonprofit funnels, they give you an idea of what you should be on the lookout for. Let’s now explore a system for fixing them.

Diagnosing Problems With A Nonprofit Funnel

Step 1: Map Out Your Funnel

Before you can fix a funnel, you need to see it clearly. Start by mapping out:

  • The entry points (how people find your organization)
  • The conversion points (the actions you want them to take)
  • The pathways in between (your emails, content you publish, etc.)

Get specific here so you can visualize the entire journey. This first step is crucial. If you want to diagnose your funnel, you first need to understand it.

Step 2: Check the Numbers

Time to pull your metrics. Look at how many people are going through each stage, as well as the actions they are taking.

Common funnel metrics include:

  • Website traffic (awareness)
  • Email signups or social follows (engagement)
  • Click-through rates or event RSVPs (consideration)
  • Donation amount or signup rate (conversion)
  • Repeat engagement or second donations (retention)

Be on the lookout here for any kind of steep dropoff. This is your first clue that something needs to be fixed. 

If you aren’t numbers savvy, this second step can be confusing. We recommend first learning about the most important funnel metrics and how to measure them.

Step 3: Identify The Problem

Step 3 is all about why. We already covered five of the most common problems with nonprofit funnels. Let’s look at specific solutions.

Problem: weak lead generation

  • Potential solution: make your value proposition clear, and create something of high value that people get when they become a lead

Problem: poorly defined audience segments

  • Potential solution: look at your audience as a collection of “mini audience” with different needs and desires, and set up a segmentation system to reflect that

Problem: inconsistent nurturing

  • Potential solution: set up things like an email welcome sequence and a post-donation follow-up automation so you are in constant contact with the people that matter most

Problem: unclear calls-to-action

  • Potential solution: design all your CTA’s with two standards: easy to understand, and easy to find 

Problem: no funnel metrics

  • Potential solution: data performance marketing more seriously and hire outside help if your team doesn’t currently possess the expertise

Step 4: Run Small Tests

At this point you have diagnosed the problem with your nonprofit funnel. Now it’s time to test things out. The goal here is not to try to overhaul everything at once. A/B testing is all about making tweaks so you can pinpoint what works – and what doesn’t. 

Here are a few ideas for you:

  • A/B test email subject lines or landing page copy
  • Add a “next step” CTA after blog posts or events
  • Rework your onboarding emails for new subscribers
  • Use surveys to learn why people don’t convert

Think of it like triage: fix the biggest leaks first, then refine as you go.

Step 5: Zoom Out

Lastly, we recommend a mindset shift. A good funnel is important, sure. But most essential is the strategy behind it.

It’s important to remember that a funnel is part of the wider marketing system that you have set up. It can only do so much. Even the best funnel can’t convert the wrong audience.

Here are a few questions to ask your team: 

  • Are we attracting the right people?
  • Is the action we’re asking for aligned with their needs or motivations?
  • Are we building trust before asking for commitment?

Remember this: funnels aren’t just pipelines. They’re relationships. If that relationship feels rushed, impersonal, or one-sided, your funnel is going to underperform.

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Are you an enterprise, nonprofit or small business looking for help on your website? Give us a shout! We provide a free consultation. Email us at [email protected] or call us at (718) 855-1919!

The Role Of “Know, Like, and Trust” in Community Engagement

Posted on by Lúgh Studio

You might have heard of the “know like and trust” (KLT) framework. It’s often used in the context of selling products and services. But know like and trust in community engagement is just as important.

Today we are unpacking the framework. This includes why it matters so much for nonprofits, and how you should begin to approach each of the main steps.

Let’s check it out below. 

What Is The “Know, Like, And Trust” Framework?

“Know, like, trust” is a general approach to more effective marketing. In business, KLT describes the emotional journey that somebody goes through before they decide to buy your product or service.

In the nonprofit world? It’s much the same journey, with the “end result” being engagement or support of your cause. Here is a simple breakdown of what each element really means:

  • “Know”: potential supporters first need to know that you even exist.
  • “Like”: these people need to feel a connection with you and actually like what you stand for.
  • “Trust”: finally, they need to believe that you are credible and trust in what you say before they choose to support you.

We will be diving into the importance of know like trust in the context of community engagement. Still, this framework is important in just about everything you do. Remember KLT, and your nonprofit will be better because of it.

Why KLT Matters More Than Ever

Community engagement isn’t the same as it used to be. Compare people now to 2020. They are generally more skeptical, more distracted, and more protective of their time. The nonprofits that thrive in the coming years? They aren’t just the ones with the loudest messaging or biggest budgets, but the organizations that consciously earn trust over time. 

This is where the KLT framework becomes essential for community engagement. Here is the thing to remember: know like and trust in community engagement puts relationships before results. And when you do this? Results come more easily. Put real connection at the center of everything you do, and everything from fundraising to storytelling gets put on overdrive. 

How To Build “Know, Like, Trust” At Your Nonprofit 

Below we break down each of the three parts of the framework. This includes a list of actions that will make “know like and trust” a fundamental part of your community engagement. We also include one question to ask you team at the end of each section.

Step #1: Know

People need to know you exist. This is the first step to engaging with a community. Many nonprofits spend so much time investing in programs that they forget how important this is.

But here’s the thing: the “know” stage isn’t just about visibility. It’s about being visible to the right people. You don’t want to broadcast out to the void; you want to be present where your people actually are. The first step to know like and trust in community engagement is knowing the difference.

Actions for you: 

  • Figure out which platforms your audience uses with extensive research 
  • Regularly post helpful and inspiration content on these platforms
  • Run awareness campaigns or work with micro influencers 
  • Invest in SEO-optimized content (and figure out how to make it into AI summaries) 

One question for your team:

  • Is our organization easy to find, and if it’s not, do we understand what we need to do to change that? 

Step #2: Like

Once people know who you are, they need to like you. Work towards this, and your audience is more likely to stick around and support your organization.  

Something important to understand: being liked doesn’t mean being everybody’s friend. Never try to be everything to everyone. The key here is showing personality, sharing your values, and doing it consistently. This will eventually attract the people who are a right fit. 

Actions for you: 

  • Use consistent tone and messaging that feel like a human wrote it
  • Don’t just talk about what you do – talk about why you care
  • Share real voices from your community (staff and volunteers are a good place to start)
  • Celebrate the success of the people you help

One question for your team:

  • Are we relatable, and do we actually show our values in the way that we communicate?

Step # 3: Trust

In the nonprofit world, trust is everything. Donors need to know that their money is used wisely. Not only after they donate, but before they choose to give as well. Trust is also important for volunteers (who want to feel valued) and community members (who want to feel seen). Without trust, the first two steps of know and like don’t really matter.

Trust is also a tipping point. Treat it as the foundation of engagement. Trust is what takes a casual follower that listens to what you have to say, and turns them into a committed supporter. 

Actions for you: 

  • Be transparent, especially when things don’t go according to plan
  • Have an organizational standard of “following through on promises” 
  • Always include third-party credibility to win trust (testimonials, reviews, and partnerships)

One question for your team:

  • Are we clear and transparent enough to earn people’s trust, both the people who just found us and the ones that have been following for a while?

Final Thoughts

You can’t skip these steps. It’s tempting to view know like and trust in community engagement as another “pretty framework.” But all three of these steps are essential.

Skip them, and your nonprofit will never make the impact that it could. But incorporate them into everything you do? That’s when you and your team really start to make a difference!

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Are you an enterprise, nonprofit or small business looking for help on your website? Give us a shout! We provide a free consultation. Email us at [email protected] or call us at (718) 855-1919!

10 Tools For Nonprofits In 2026

Posted on by Lúgh Studio

In the next year, the nonprofit sector will continue to evolve. Whether you’re managing volunteers, launching campaigns, or trying to increase your average donation size, it helps to stay ahead. That’s why we’ve rounded up some of the best tools for nonprofits in 2026. 

For each of the tools below, we’ve included two things: a brief description, as well as who the tool is especially useful for. If you’re trying to make 2026 your best year yet – this list of tools will help. 

13 Tools For Nonprofits In 2026

1) Givebutter

Givebutter combines tons of features that nonprofits typically need. From donation pages and event planning to donor management, you have everything you need in one easy-to-use platform. Plus, there are no hidden fees, which is great if you are on a budget. 

Perfect for:

Small to mid-sized nonprofits looking to consolidate their fundraising tools without compromising on features or design. A great all-in-one fundraising platform for organizations that want to simplify.

2) Bonterra

This powerful CRM (formerly known as EveryAction) helps with everything related to donor management. Looking to create specific segments with your donors? Want to automate your outreach across all platforms? Need a way to increase your average donation size? Bonterra is a good place to start.

Perfect for:

Established organizations that are ready to dive into data-driven fundraising.

3) Trello

If you need a simple but powerful project management tool, Trello is helpful for just about any organization. The tool is built on an intuitive board-based system. This means that it’s not only easy to use, but also lets you organize your workflow in a way that’s easy to understand. Great for coordinating efforts across your teams and mapping out tasks.

Perfect for:

Teams of any size who want to stay organized and transparent. Plus, because you can sign up for Trello for free, it’s also a great option for organizations just getting started.

4) Mighty Networks

Want to build communities where your supporters can connect and engage, but want to do it without relying on social media algorithms? Mighty Networks can make it happen. And with an average of 4.8 out of 5 stars over 80k ratings, you know your community building efforts are in good hands. 

Perfect for:

Nonprofits that are already creating engagement programs or member communities. Also a good option for organizations that are ready to start taking it more seriously. 

5) Canva

Whether you like it or not, visuals are important in marketing. Unfortunately, not all of us have a design team ready to make whatever images we need. This is where Canva comes in. User-friendly and sporting a ton of cool features, Canva makes it easier to create amazing images for all your marketing needs. 

Perfect for:

The greatest thing about Canva is that nonprofits get free premium access to the website. This makes it a great option for any nonprofit that needs to make beautiful graphics, but doesn’t have the budget to hire professional designers. 

6) Zapier

The better you get at automation, the better your marketing becomes. This is a simple marketing truth. The problem? Most nonprofit organizations aren’t that great at creating the automations that make a difference (or get overwhelmed when they try to). Zapier makes it all easier by connecting all of your favorite apps. 

Perfect for:

Teams that are ready to save time by automating the “little stuff.” For any organization that wants to automate repetitive tasks (all of them), Zapier is worth investing your time in.

7) Kindful

A product of Bloomerang, Kindful is all about boosting your fundraising with a modern donor management system. Built with powerful reporting and integrations, this is a tool that most nonprofits could benefit from. Plus, Kindful is backed by Bloomerang’s excellent support. That means that you have guidance every step of the way. 

Perfect for:

Fundraising-focused teams who want an easier CRM, with the proven systems of Bloomerang

8) Muck Rack

One of the most neglected areas of growing a nonprofit? Building relationships with the media. When you connect with the right journalists, good things happen. And if you’re trying to take that more seriously? Much Rack is a solid choice. 

Perfect for:

Nonprofits ready to invest in PR and media outreach. And if that describes you – be sure to look up some best practices to prepare for 2026!

9) Loom

Sometimes, writing out what you need done simply takes too long. Especially when you are working on multiple projects across teams. Loom makes this easier. A simple screen recording software, the software is one of the more actionable tools for nonprofits in 2026. Simply turn it on, record what you are doing on your screen, and skip the awkward “back and forth” that happens with written instructions. 

Perfect for:

Remote or hybrid teams and organizations looking to humanize their communication. Loom is also great for teams that don’t have an extensive library of SOP’s. 

10) DotCal

DotCal gives you beautiful scheduling pages that are on-brand. This is great for anything you might need to schedule a meeting for: donor meetings, volunteer onboarding, or media interviews. Think Calendly, but better looking. 

Perfect for:

Staff or teams who schedule regular one-on-one’s with external stakeholders. Also a convenient tool for any organization that wants to make a strong first impression.

Final Thoughts

When looking at tools for nonprofits in 2026, we recommend you ask one simple question: is this going to help with our mission? If the answer is “no”, avoid it. There’s no use in learning a new software if it’s not going to have an immediate impact.

But this list of tools? We are confident each one has the potential to change how your non-profit operates for the better. Give them a try and let us know how it goes!

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Are you an enterprise, nonprofit or small business looking for help on your website? Give us a shout! We provide a free consultation. Email us at [email protected] or call us at (718) 855-1919!

The Ultimate Guide To Nonprofit Copywriting

Posted on by Lúgh Studio

We have covered business copywriting before on our blog. What it is, why it’s important, and how you can improve. But nonprofit copywriting? While there is certainly a lot of overlap, you need to approach it differently.

Strong copy is the lifeblood of nonprofits. Good copywriting is how you connect with strangers, convince them to care about your cause, and drive them to action. Still, too many nonprofit organizations treat copywriting as an afterthought. Or even worse, as a chore.

In our latest ultimate guide, we cover the most important things you need to know about copywriting for nonprofits. This includes why it’s important, how to get better at it across platforms, and resources that will help you improve.

CLICK HERE FOR THE PDF VERSION OF THIS GUIDE

Let’s get started.

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What Is Nonprofit Copywriting?

Here is the definition we will be working with throughout this ultimate guide:

Nonprofit copywriting is the strategy of using words to connect with your audience and move them towards action, whether that means donating, volunteering, advocating, or simply caring about your cause.

When you look at it like this, copywriting is part of almost everything you write. At a nonprofit, this means:

  • Website pages
  • Fundraising emails
  • Social media posts
  • Impact reports
  • Grant proposals
  • Direct mail
  • Policy communication

The goal with nonprofit copywriting is almost always the same: to compel people to action. You’re not just informing people. You are guiding them in a way that is beneficial to your organization.

Why Nonprofit Copywriting Is So Important

Nonprofit copywriting sits at the center of everything you do. If your job is to convince people to support your cause, copywriting is the most effective tool you have at your disposal. Treat good copywriting like infrastructure: without it, everything you build (from fundraising and organizing to advocacy) is less stable as a result.

Still not convinced to take it seriously? Here are four specific reasons getting better at copywriting should be a priority for all nonprofits:

1) Attention spans are dwindling.

With more content online than ever (and the quality always going up), people have their focus split in a million different ways. Nonprofit copywriting is all about putting the right message in front of the right person. The result? More attention (and results) given to your cause.

2) There is more competition than ever.

Ten years ago you could send a fundraiser to an email list and call it a day. Now? There are other nonprofits battling for attention, and bringing solid marketing skills to get it. This makes the nonprofit landscape more competitive. Good copywriting is a way to separate yourself.

3) Website traffic isn’t consistent.

Even though AI for nonprofits can be a great tool, website traffic has already been affected by things like ChatGPT. This is bad news for organizations that rely on their content to build an audience. The solution? Effective copywriting that maximizes the traffic they do get.

4) Nonprofits generally are finding it difficult to operate.

We recently wrote about the Big Beautiful Big. While this legislation has some benefits for nonprofits, it has also made other things more difficult. Implement effective nonprofit copywriting, and you are able to build a solid foundation underneath your organization. Want to “future proof” your nonprofit? Copywriting is one of the most important skills you could have.

Look at it this way: a well-crafted sentence can raise $10,000. But a clunky one that is difficult to read and lacks clarity? It can cost you a donor. Good copy doesn’t just explain your mission. It makes someone feel like it matters to them, and convinces them to take action as a result.

The 5 Pillars Of Effective Nonprofit Copy

If you’re going to use nonprofit copywriting effectively, there are a number of things you could focus on. However, just like anything else, we suggest you follow the “80/20 rule”: focus on the 20% of things that are going to get you 80% of your results.

Focus on these things first, and everything else is just adding on to a solid foundation that’s already in place. Here are what we consider to be the five essential “pillars of nonprofit copy”

1) Clarity

Confusion is the thing you should avoid above all else. If people are confused, they don’t donate. Simple as that. No matter what kind of copy you are writing, it needs to be clear. This is the first hurdle with nonprofit copywriting: do people understand what you are saying? If they don’t, it’s time for a rewrite.

2) Research

As we mention below, audience research is fundamental to whatever it is you are trying to achieve with your copy. What do they care about? What gets them to act? For the issues that your nonprofit deals with, what is the most compelling kind of language to use? To understand this, research is essential.

3) Proof

In copywriting, proof is everything. How does your audience know that you actually do what you say you do? This is where proving things comes in. Do you have any client success stories? Case studies of beneficiaries? Testimonials from people you’ve worked with in the past? Include these, and all of your copywriting will be more influential as a result.

4) Specificity

Vague copy creates poor results. The more specific you can get with nonprofit copywriting, the better your numbers tend to be. So always remember to use concrete language. Numbers. Names. Details. What exactly a fundraiser is about, how much money you want to raise, and what exactly you plan on doing with those funds. Specificity sounds like professionalism.

5) Urgency

Urgency has long been an essential part of marketing. In the nonprofit world, it’s no different. If you want to create effective nonprofit copywriting, you should tell people why they need to act now. Not next week or tomorrow, but immediately. Considering nonprofit copywriting is usually in the context of fundraisers, you can see how essential urgency really is.

Getting Clear About Your Audience

One of the most important rules of copywriting?

Always remember who you are writing to.

This ensures that you focus your messaging, and always keeps the needs and desires of your reader as a top focus. So – who are you writing to?

Hint: it’s not “the general public.” It’s always more specific than that. In nonprofit copywriting, it will usually be a donor, a volunteer, or a policymaker. Get clear on this and writing convincing copy becomes so much easier.

Struggling with figuring out this answer? First, we recommend you take some time for audience research. Here are a few questions you should make sure to answer:

  • What does your audience look like?
  • What are your audience’s biggest fears?
  • What do they value above most other things?
  • What do they already know about your issue?
  • Why should they specifically care about what you have to say?

Good audience research leads you to answers. And once you have those answers, everything becomes easier.

Channel-Specific Tips For Nonprofit Copywriting

If you want to succeed in nonprofit copywriting, the platform is important. Each one is different with separate rules. Here’s how to adapt your copywriting so it performs everywhere:

Website

  • Make the most important information scannable. This is simply how people read. It doesn’t matter how “pretty” your website is. As for how you do this? By using headlines, bullets, and subheadings.
  • Be brutally clear. People should immediately know who you are and what your organization does.
  • Put donate or sign-up buttons front-and-center. When things are buried they get lost. If your website is going to act like a funnel for potential donors, CTA’s need to be easy to find.

Email

  • Spend time writing subject lines. These are 80% of the battle. If people don’t open your emails, nothing else matters much. Test out different angles to see which ones work.
  • Always lead with a hook. You want your emails to immediately grab attention when people open them. The quicker you can get to the hook (something that forces people to keep reading) the better.
  • Make it easy to read. The way people read email has changed. You can no longer get away with giant walls of text. Formatting matters. Use a maximum of 2-3 sentences per paragraph, and make it easy to scan.
  • Only include one CTA. You can get away with different links on other platforms. But email? It pays to have a clear, singular “next action”.

Social Media

  • Be bold. On social media you are battling for the attention of thousands of competitors. For nonprofit copywriting to be successful on social media platforms, boldness is your friend.
  • Use the word “you” as much as possible. This makes people feel like you are speaking directly to them. This makes them feel “called” to get involved. And that’s when your content starts converting.
  • Don’t forget the power of a good image. Social media is visual first. If you want people to stop scrolling, your images need to be topnotch. For nonprofits this means bright, emotional, and relevant.

Grants & Proposals

  • Clarity over everything. Often, nonprofit copywriting is about appealing to the emotion of a casual reader. But with grants and proposals? Here, it’s all about clarity. You are writing to decision-makers. Make sure it’s crystal clear what the money is going towards. This is how you write effective grant proposals.
  • Use the grantmaker’s language. Who exactly will be reading your proposal? Wherever possible, you want to write in a way that is especially compelling for them. That means writing in the way they talk. Mirror their priorities, goals, and frameworks.
  • Write in the active voice. A grant or proposal is all about action. It does you no favors to write in the passive.

General Advice

Now that you understand how copywriting differs between channels, let’s check out some more general rules to live by. Follow the tips below and everything you write (regardless of the platform) will be more effective as a result.

  • Stick to one core message. What do you want your audience to do, and what is the clearest path to get them to that decision? The answers to these two questions make up your core message. Stick to that message, and trim anything that doesn’t somehow contribute to it.
  • Sound like a real person. As humans, we connect with other humans. This means that nonprofit copywriting needs to actually sound like a person wrote it. This will increasingly become more important with more AI content on the internet.
  • Stay consistent across channels. Similar to a brand style guide, your copy should be consistent across platforms. This includes your style and voice. Your copy should also reflect your values and culture.
  • Put people first. Many organizations make the mistake of putting themselves at the center of their copy. This is a mistake. The people should always come first (there is a subtle difference). People care about issues, not institutions. Start with the problem you solve or the values you stand for.
  • Only write as much as you have to. One of the most common mistakes in copywriting is “overwriting.” If you can say it in one paragraph, don’t say it in three. Attention is scarce. Respect peoples’ time, and they will be more likely to act.
  • Prioritize “true” over “impressive”. Every nonprofit wants to do great things. But try too hard to explain what your organization does (and the people you help), and it comes across as bragging. These days people want authenticity. It’s your job to give it to them.

Organizations That Will Teach You Good Nonprofit Copywriting

If you want your copywriting to drive results at your nonprofit, it helps to learn from examples. This is what the list below is for.

Check out these organizations’ online content – everything from their website to daily social posts. This is a great to learn from the best and pick up ideas you can apply to your own organization:

Charity: Water

An organization well-known for emotionally resonant stories and clean design. The takeaway? Make every campaign feel urgent and personal.

Doctors Without Borders

This organization is skilled in balancing data with emotion. Try to show impact (remember the importance of proof?) while still pulling at heartstrings.

Save The Children

Expert storytellers who know how to use persuasive language. If you want to do the same, invest in your storytelling skills.

UNICEF

UNICEF is well-known for localizing messaging for different audiences. While you don’t have to get this advanced, they are still a masterclass in maintaining brand consistency.

American Red Cross

The big takeaway from the American Red Cross? The importance of driving “action now” in your messaging.

Tools And Resources

Here are just a few tools and resources we recommend for improving your nonprofit copywriting. Our most important recommendation? Finding the tools that truly fit into your workflow – and using them enough to get good at them.

  • ChatGPT. Nonprofit organizations that don’t use AI tools to scale their mission will fall behind. Might as well learn how to use this software. One warning, though: don’t over-rely on AI.
  • Grammarly. A great tool to check your writing style. If you want to write in a way that’s easier to understand, this is the tool for you.
  • Mailchimp. While there are many ESP’s that can help with your email marketing game, MailChimp is a great place to start.
  • Donorbox Nonprofit blog. A practical source for improving your donor appeals and thank-you messaging. A good place to go if you want to increase your conversions across the board.

Conclusion

Nonprofit copywriting isn’t about being clever. It’s about being clear and honest, and compelling people to act based on that. It’s the foundation of everything you do at your nonprofit, and can make a huge difference in every fundraiser you run in the future.

We hope this guide has encouraged you to take it seriously. Let us know if you ever have any questions – or if you need an expert to help with your own copywriting needs.

CLICK HERE FOR THE PDF VERSION OF THIS GUIDE

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Are you an enterprise, nonprofit or small business looking for help on your website? Give us a shout! We provide a free consultation. Email us at [email protected] or call us at (718) 855-1919!

Nonprofits And The Big Beautiful Bill: Five Things To Know

Posted on by Lúgh Studio

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) passed a few months ago, and nonprofits should be paying close attention. Some of the changes create new opportunities. Others introduce new difficulties. Today we cover nonprofits and the Big Beautiful Bill: what they need to know and what they can do.

Below we will:

  • Go over the most important effects of the Big Beautiful Bill on nonprofits and what’s changing
  • Explain what we believe will be the most important effects
  • Give you a list of actions that you can take at your nonprofit now to better prepare

Let’s check it out below.

Nonprofits And The Big Beautiful Bill: Five Things To Know

1) Individual Giving: More From The Bottom, Less From The Top

What’s changing: 

One of the biggest benefits of the Big Beautiful Bill is that non-itemizers can write off $1,000 (or $2,000 for couples). This is good news for low-earners that still want to give. For higher-income donors, it’s a different story. They now face a new 0.5% AGI floor before itemized deductions kick in. 

Likely effects:

One of the most likely effects of this is that small-dollar giving might get a bump. This is especially true of middle-income households, as well as during year-end appeals. Mid-level givers in the $5,000 – $25,000 range? We expect them to start questioning how much of their giving still “counts” (and to give less as a result).

2) Corporate Giving: Fewer (But More Strategic) Checks

What’s changing:

Corporations are able to deduct donations from their tax bill. How much, though, changes with the Big Beautiful Bill. The threshold for corporations is now at least 1% of their taxable income. On the flip side: companies can now carry forward excess charitable contributions for up to 5 years.

Likely effects:

This probably won’t move the needle much for giant corporations. But for local or regional businesses? Expect less giving overall. Smaller firms that used to write small checks “just because” (in the ~$1,000 – $5,000 range) might now think twice. This opens the door to strategic, multi-year giving strategies. 

3) Estate Planning: Less Charitable

What’s changing: 

When it comes to estate planning, OBBBA has made it less charitable overall. The estate tax exemption is now $15 million (which is indexed for inflation). 

Likely effects: 

The OBBBA will probably mean that fewer wealthy families need charitable bequests for tax planning. The biggest result overall? Fewer surprise gifts and planned windfalls for the rest of us. At your organization, it’s time to treat legacy giving as a mission-driven act, and not just a tool for tax efficiency. 

4) The Safety Net: Thinner For Beneficiaries, More Stressful For Organizations

What’s changing:

The Big Beautiful Bill will result in cuts to Medicaid and SNAP. This won’t happen steadily, but it is planned over the next few years. The bill also adds a variety of requirements and eligibility hurdles for programs. Unfortunately, there’s no matching increase in funding elsewhere. 

Likely effects:

If you are a nonprofit working in a sector like food access or housing, expect heavier caseloads. With less money to go around, the affected might have a harder time than normal. And with decreased funding to organizations? Now is the time to prepare to do more with less.

5) Education Charities: Tax-Backed Competition

What’s changing:

One of the big changes with OBBBA: dollar-for-dollar tax credits for donations to Scholarship Granting Org’s (SGOs). There is a limit here of up to $1,700, but it’s still good news for education organizations. 

Likely effects:

If you are a nonprofit in the K – 12 education or homeschooling space, it’s possible you see a surge in gifts. But everyone else? You need to be ready to compete harder for donor attention and total dollars. And if that is the case – you’ll need a sharper case for support (especially if you’re not in the education space). It’s time to tighten up your messaging.

What Nonprofits Should Do Now

OBBBA introduces a lot of changes. If you want to weather them as effectively as possible, here is what we suggest you do now: 

  • Invest in real, genuine relationships. With all the changes in the coming years, the organizations that spend time building actual relationships will be the ones that win. What this means for you? You need to treat businesses like partners, not just check writers. 
  • Prioritize communication. The OBBBA is dense and confusing. There’s no guarantee that founders know what’s going on. Check in and ask how the new rules are impacting their priorities. If you want to keep the donations coming, communication is key.
  • Sharpen your storytelling skills. Storytelling has always been an effective nonprofit marketing strategy. But in the wake of OBBBA, it’s probably even more essential. When it comes to fundraisers, make sure your why is crystal clear and emotionally resonant.
  • Prepare for higher demand and fewer resources. If you aren’t providing essential resources at your nonprofit, brace yourself. As we mentioned above, you may see a frustrating combination: increase in need with a simultaneous decrease in funding. Invest in volunteers now before demand spikes. Also consider strengthening your referral systems and partnerships to handle potential overflow.
  • Reframe for mid-level and high-income donors. You should no longer rely on tax savings to bring in major gifts. Try to encourage donors to commit to multi-year pledges, and frame it as “legacy” (instead of focusing on tax implication alone). Lastly – it’s always a smart idea to diversify your funding streams. This will make your organization more resilient in the long term.

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Are you an enterprise, nonprofit or small business looking for help on your website? Give us a shout! We provide a free consultation. Email us at [email protected] or call us at (718) 855-1919!

Nine Nonprofit Trends In 2026

Posted on by Lúgh Studio

The nonprofit sector is always changing. Consistently adapt to this change, and you’re setting your organization up for success. That’s why we’ve written this latest article about nonprofit trends in 2026.

Each one of these trends presents an opportunity. Get started now, and reflect on what you need to act on, and your organization will be able to hit the ground running in 2026. Let’s look at these trends below.

9 Nonprofit Trends In 2026 And How To Prepare

1) AI-Powered Operations Become The Norm

AI isn’t just for companies anymore. In fact, AI for nonprofits is increasingly becoming more normalized. Different organizations are using software to improve their fundraising, connect with donors, and enhance their mission. Think now how you can do the same.

How to prepare now:

  • Get started with low-risk AI tools for common tasks.
  • Build internal policies about how exactly your team will implement AI.
  • Invest in staff training so everybody in your organization has the chance to upskill themselves.

2) Donors Care More About Privacy

The past few years, there has been increasing scrutiny on how organizations handle data. The result? Donors are becoming more cautious about their information, and regulators are getting more aggressive. 

How to prepare now:

  • Run a “data audit” to understand what you collect and why.
  • Update your privacy policy and make it easy to find.
  • Be transparent with supporters about how you use their data.

3) Hybrid Events Are Here to Stay

During COVID, online events gained in popularity. Even as in-person gatherings have resumed, people haven’t forgotten about the convenience of remote. Donors and attendees expect digital options, and you limit yourself if you don’t provide them. Hybrid events are no longer a backup plan. Treat them as the new standard.

How to prepare now:

  • Invest in basic livestreaming software and learn how to use it.  
  • Adjust your event strategy to take into account both live and remote audiences. 
  • Gather feedback for each event you run to continually improve them.

4) Nonprofit Workforces Are More Distributed

Just like events, your workforce will continue to be at least partly remote. This is the new reality of the labor market. If they want to attract top talent, nonprofits need to plan for “digital first.”

How to prepare now:

  • Rewrite your hiring policies to accommodate remote roles.
  • Regularly run team-building exercises to strengthen your culture. 
  • Invest in cloud-based tools that allow for better collaboration across time zones. 

5) Younger Donors Expect Participation

For millennials and gen Z, co-creation is important. Studies show that these younger donors are less likely to respond to traditional fundraising and are more drawn to participatory models. People this age don’t just want to be pitched on your fundraiser. They want to feel like they have helped create something. 

How to prepare now:

  • Create and launch campaigns that invite community creation.
  • Create pathways for young donors to influence your work directly.
  • Explore peer-to-peer fundraising to incentivize larger donations.

6) Corporate Partnerships Are More Purpose-Driven

Gone are the days of a quick logo swap. These days, businesses are more interested in nonprofit partners that align with their values. The more driven an organization is by a true mission or purpose, the more likely they are to land a corporate partnership. This makes sense: it’s what people are asking for.

How to prepare now:

  • Make your key data easier to understand for potential partners.
  • Reframe proposals around shared impact (not sponsorship benefits alone).
  • Explain clearly to your audience why you partner with different businesses + the effect you have together. 

7) Funders Expect Real-Time Impact Reporting

Annual reports are no longer enough. Funders want continuous transparency and real-time updates. The solution? Real-time reporting that keeps them updated whenever they ask for it. Thankfully, this kind of “always available” reporting has never been easier to generate.

How to prepare now:

8) Digital Fundraising Is Getting More Personalized

The future of marketing is personalization. Especially with AI, we are gradually entering an era where you need to speak directly to your audience. Email blasts and generic appeals will continue to be less effective. Donors expect experiences tailored to their interests and history, and it’s your job to give it to them.

How to prepare now:

  • Segment your donors based on interests and actions.
  • Use dynamic content in emails and landing pages that change based on the viewer.
  • Continually test small changes to increase response rates over time.

9) Cybersecurity Becomes A Priority

Cyberattacks used to be mostly limited to the private sector. No longer. If you want to take nonprofit trends in 2026 seriously, cybersecurity needs to be a priority. It’s likely you handle sensitive information like donor or beneficiary data. If you don’t protect this, you’re putting yourself and your communities at risk. 

How to prepare now:

  • Conduct a risk assessment to discover potential vulnerabilities.
  • Implement basic protections like two-factor authentication for all staff members.
  • Consider hiring a cybersecurity specialist to help you put in place the right foundations.

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Are you an enterprise, nonprofit or small business looking for help on your website? Give us a shout! We provide a free consultation. Email us at [email protected] or call us at (718) 855-1919! 

10 Ways To Increase Donation Page Conversions

Posted on by Lúgh Studio

If you are a nonprofit that runs fundraisers, it’s important to drive traffic to donation pages. But even more important than that? Increasing your donation page conversions. 

Today we are giving you a roundup of tips for donation pages that actually convert. Act on just a few of them, and you will run more successful fundraisers as a result.

Let’s check them out below.

10 Tips To Increase Your Donation Page Conversions

1) Simplify

People don’t donate when they are confused. If there is one golden rule for increasing donation page conversations, it’s this: make it simple. 

Many donation pages ask for too much. That’s never the direction you want to take. Every additional field you add is a chance for someone to bounce. Is it absolutely essential? Include it. For the majority of fields that aren’t essential, it’s best to skip it. 

You should also enable autofill. The less people have to do, the more they take action. This naturally results in more donation page conversions.

2) Offer Suggested Giving Amounts

Donors often look for guidance when they are giving. Suggesting different amounts they could give removes decision fatigue and when used well, can nudge average donations amounts higher.

It also takes longer to input a specific amount, which slows people down. Suggested amounts = faster and easier donations. 

Here are a few best practices:

  • Offer 3-5 preset options 
  • Tell them what each amount funds 
  • Include a custom “Other” field (if they want to give higher or lower)

You might also consider anchoring your middle option. This is called the “Goldilocks effect”, and it makes your cheaper options look much more appealing.

3) Make Monthly Giving Easy 

Nonprofits love to get giant donations. But even better if you can scale it? Recurring donations. These are often easier for donors to say “yes” to, and can be an absolute game-changer for nonprofit sustainability. 

Something to consider here is making monthly giving the default option. Even if you don’t opt for this, make the option clear. Monthly giving should be visible, easy to find, and easier to select.

4) Optimize For Mobile

Mobile optimization should be a top priority. Over half of nonprofit website traffic comes from mobile devices. If you don’t take mobile optimization seriously, your donation page conversion is going to suffer as a result. 

Here are a few ways to ensure your pages look (and perform) great on mobile: 

  • Large, tappable buttons
  • Clear font that’s easy to read
  • A clean layout that loads quickly

One last piece of advice: always test your pages on your own phone. This helps you catch any weird formatting before you take the page live.

5) Add Trust Signals 

People only donate if they trust you. If they are going to give their money away, it will be to an organization that wins this trust. A donation page that converts takes this into account.

There are a few ways your page can reinforce that trust. They are subtle, but extremely effective:

  • A brief statement on what donations fund
  • Testimonials or other forms of social proof
  • Consistent logo and brand style 
  • Security icons to show your page visitors that their payment is secure.
  • A photo that humanizes your fundraiser (a face of one of your beneficiaries usually works well)

Include just a few of these and people will trust you more. And when they do? They’ll also donate more.

6) Match The Page To The Campaign

The entire donation experience needs to be consistent. Where nonprofits sometimes mess this up is in the donation page design.

High-converting donation pages shouldn’t feel jarring when you land on them. If you are sending people to your donation page from an email, ad, or banner on your website, the design of the donation page should be consistent. The main goal here: making people feel like they are in the right place. 

7) Add A Sense of Urgency

Almost always, urgency will boost conversions. No matter which industry you are in, and regardless of what you’re trying to get people to do. Input a little industry, and people are more likely to act.

Here are a few tips for your donation pages: 

  • Countdown timers (“Three hours left to double your gift!”)
  • Progress bars (“We’re 84% of the way to our goal!”)
  • Deadline language in headlines (“Our biggest fundraiser of the year ends at midnight – will you help?”)

The big caveat here: don’t fake it. As soon as people think your urgency is being faked, it is doing more harm than good. 

8) Write A Clear Call-to-Action (CTA)

For high donation page conversions, clarity is the gold standard. And one of the most important places to be clear? Your donation button copy. You don’t want to write something like “Submit” or “Donate.” These are generic CTA’s that create an obvious missed opportunity. 

Much better? A CTA that’s emotional and specific. The donation button is your last chance to inspire someone to action. Don’t waste it.

9) Test And Track Everything

You can’t improve something if you’re not tracking it. If you want to understand what’s working (and what’s not), you need to follow your data.

Here are a few things we recommend:

  • Google Analytics: track conversion rates, bounce rates, and overall user behavior
  • UTM tags: use these to keep track of which emails, ads, or posts drive donations
  • A/B testing: experiment with different headlines, page copy, and images

Even small improvements can make a difference. And the only way to understand what actually does? Test, and keep testing.

10) Say Thank You

Our last tip for donation page conversions happens after the conversion takes place. Why? Because a donation doesn’t end after somebody has contributed. Your thank-you page and confirmation email are a necessary part of the process, and the first step towards donor retention.

Make sure you thank your donors. Send a heartfelt message to them, and reiterate what their donation is going towards. This makes people feel appreciated – and makes it more likely that they give again.

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Are you an enterprise, nonprofit or small business looking for help on your website? Give us a shout! We provide a free consultation. Email us at [email protected] or call us at (718) 855-1919!

Your One-Month Giving Tuesday Plan

Posted on by Lúgh Studio

Giving Tuesday of 2025 is just around the corner. Tuesday, December 2nd to be exact. Whether you’ve had a plan in place for a while or you’re just now getting started, the next month is a chance to prepare your biggest fundraiser of the year.

In this post, we give you a one-month guide to the most important day in the non-profit world. Treat this as your Giving Tuesday plan. Act on it, and you can make this Giving Tuesday your most successful one ever. 

Why Giving Tuesday Matters

For most nonprofits, Giving Tuesday is by far the most important day of the year. In 2024, Giving Tuesday generated over $3.6 billion in donations in the U.S. alone. If you want a piece of the pie, you need to start preparing now. 

Still, Giving Tuesday is about more than just generating donations on one day. Treat it as an entire month when you have the chance to meaningfully contribute to other important goals. 

Here are just a few of those:  

  • Activating new donors
  • Re-engageing lapsed supporters
  • Telling a clear story that resonates with your audience
  • Building momentum that you can use for year-end giving (as well as starting 2026 on the right foot)

And now:

Here’s your week-by-week Giving Tuesday plan.

Your Giving Tuesday Plan

Week 1 (November 3 – November 9)

This is the time to lock in your plan so you can focus on executing the rest of November.

1) Clarify Your Campaign Goal

What are you trying to achieve this Giving Tuesday? And what are the exact metrics you need to measure to know if you have succeeded or not?

Here are a few things you might be tracking: 

  • Total donations generated
  • Total number of new donors
  • Overall match that you meet

Be detailed here. The more specific you are, the easier it will be to shape the exact calls-to-action, email copy, and visuals that you need.

2) Nail Down Your Core Message

What story do you want to tell? A good Giving Tuesday theme is usually: 

Again: get clear with your message so your entire team knows how to structure your campaign.

Week 2 (November 10 – November 16)

At this point you have your main goal and potential theme in place. During week 2, it’s time to re-engage your supporters and start building curiosity about what’s coming.

1) Send A Teaser Email

Let your email list know that Giving Tuesday is coming up. Even if it’s top of your mind, that’s usually not the case with your audience. Let people know that their support during your upcoming campaign is going to make a real difference.

Subject line ideas:

  • “Something important is coming up in December”
  • “Mark your calendar for giving Tuesday”
  • “Your chance to make a real impact”

2) Start Posting Teasers On Social

Keep things light and visual. Now is a good time to consider “sneak peeks” or short mission reminders. Be specific about how much time is left before Giving Tuesday, and try to build interest as much as you can.

3) Work On Creative Assets

Even though you likely won’t be using these assets for a few weeks, it’s best to get started early. Here are the essential components to consider:

  • Donation page copy
  • Thank-you email template
  • Campaign graphics (for email and social)
  • A few evergreen Instagram or Facebook posts

The sooner you get started making these, the more time you have to go through a few rounds of edits if necessary.  

Week 3 (November 17 – November 23)

Three weeks into November is when you want to start sharing your story more publicly. It’s a great time to bring your community into the fold.

1) Announce Your Campaign

Use your social platforms and email list to communicate the most important information. Here are the things you should be clear about: 

  • What your main goal is
  • Why this goal matters
  • How people can get involved
  • When your Giving Tuesday campaign starts

Try adding urgency here – but doing it honestly. 

2) Start Posting Mission-Centered Stories

You don’t just want to talk about raising funds. Instead, use quality content marketing to your advantage. Here are a few things you might consider posting:

  • Reflections from your staff
  • Quotes from your community
  • Behind-the-scenes photos or videos
  • Case studies of people your organization has helped in the past

The main goal of this sort of content? To make your audience feel the impact before they’re ever asked for money.

3) Segment Your List

While not strictly necessary, segmenting your list can have great results. Consider sending a slightly different message to:

  • First-time donors
  • Monthly givers
  • Lapsed donors

These are all people that have different relationships with your organization. Send messaging that takes that into account, and you will increase your total amount of donations as a result.

Week 4 (November 24 – November 30)

At this point, you’re just one week out from Giving Tuesday. This is when repetition and consistency matter the most. 

1) Share Progress Toward Your Goal

If you started your campaign a bit earlier, now is the time to share results. This builds a little bit of social proof, and gets people more excited to give themselves.

2) Optimize Your Donation Page

Now is the time for last tests, even if you have already been sending traffic to your donation page. Make sure it’s:

  • Fast 
  • Mobile-friendly
  • Clearly tied to your Giving Tuesday message

Even just one last round of testing can ensure you’re ready to go on Giving Tuesday.

3) Reshare Your Campaign Story

There is a common fear here of being too repetitive. This is a misplaced concern. The fact is, most supporters need to see your message multiple times before they actually take action.

One thing you can do: use slightly different photos, quotes, or CTA’s. This keeps things fresh.

4) Send A Reminder Email

With only a few days left before Giving Tuesday, it’s important to be specific about your reminder. Even if you have already started collecting donations, December 2nd will likely still be your biggest day. 

Two main tasks:

  • Tell people that it’s coming up.
  • Give them information on how to donate. 

The Week Of Giving Tuesday (December 1 – 5)

Once you reach the week of Giving Tuesday, here are the things we suggest:

Monday, December 1

Send an email and social post reminding supporters that Giving Tuesday is tomorrow. These messages should: 

  • Highlight urgency
  • Include your match (if you have one)
  • Share stories that get resonate emotionally

Giving Tuesday, December 2

At this point, most of your work has already been done. The day of Giving Tuesday itself is all about simple communication.

1) Send several emails throughout the day

These can be as simple as “Time to donate!”

2) Post throughout the day on social media.

  • Morning kickoff
  • Midday progress update
  • Donor thank-yous
  • Final-hour rally

It’s even more effective if you are able to share live video updates. Keep showing that your team is energized and excited.

3) Have a contingency plan.

If you’re short of your goal that evening, have a message ready. Something along the lines of “We are 85% of the way there!”. This can make a huge difference in last-minute donations. 

The days after

The rest of the week after Giving Tuesday is about one thing: thanking your donors.

Send a follow-up email to everyone that:

  • Thanks the people who gave
  • Shares your results (even if you didn’t hit your goal, transparency is important)
  • Includes next steps for ongoing engagement (year-end giving, for example)

Follow this Giving Tuesday plan, and it could be your best one yet!

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Are you an enterprise, nonprofit or small business looking for help on your website? Give us a shout! We provide a free consultation. Email us at [email protected] or call us at (718) 855-1919!

How To Re-Engage Lapsed Donors

Posted on by Lúgh Studio

Every year, nonprofits lose an average of 50% or more of their donors. These are called “lapsed donors”: people that gave last year might not give again.

One of the most cost-effective fundraising moves you can make at your nonprofit? Trying to re-engage these lapsed donors. Below you’ll find our ten tips for doing it the right way. 

Why You Need To Re-Engage With Lapsed Donors

Here are a few reasons this kind of re-engagement is so important: 

  • It reinforces your mission 
  • It keeps your organization top of mind
  • It complements all of your marketing efforts 
  • It nudges your most important people toward re-engagement

The good news? Lapsed donors are not lost donors.

These are people who have already proven they are about your mission. Your task? Re-engaging with them in a way that not only shows your appreciation – but gets them excited to give again.

How To Re-Engage With Lapsed Donors

1) Have the right mindset

Don’t view lapsed donors as “people who haven’t donated in a while.” Instead, look at them as “people that donated at some point.” 

This slight shift allows you to see lapsed donors for who they really are: your most valuable leads that might donate again, but only if you know how to approach them.

2) Identify lapsed donors

Before you start reaching out, you need to know who a “lapsed donor” actually is. For some organizations, that will be donors who haven’t given in 12 months. Other organizations consider 24 months the mark to pay attention to.

Identified these people? Now it’s time to segment them by behavior. This will make your outreach feel more personal. Here are a few ways you might segment them: 

  • Past gift size
  • Frequency of donation
  • General area of interest
  • Campaign type that they donated to

For example, consider a $25 donor who gave during a disaster appeal. This person needs a very different message than a $2,500 annual supporter who missed their usual renewal.

3) Develop messaging that actually resonates

Re-engagement with lapsed donors requires the right messaging. What you write to past donors should feel personal and emotionally compelling, without being pushy.

Here are a few angles you might try:

  • Gratitude-forward: “You helped make this possible. Let’s do it again.”
  • Impact reminder: “Your gift made a difference. Here’s what’s next.”
  • Update-driven: “See what’s changed since your last gift.”
  • Urgency-based: “There’s still time to help before (deadline).”

These are all proven to drive more donations, so they’re certainly worth a try with lapsed donors.

4) Send a thoughtful email (or letter)

Sometimes a simple reminder is all it takes to get a lapsed donor interested again: We noticed you haven’t given in a while, and we’d love to have you back.

Make it human. Include a name, a bit of gratitude, and a recent story showing the impact of donations. Then give them a simple, one-click path to donate again.

5) Remind them of their past impact 

The main reason people give? They want to feel useful. And one of the best ways to rekindle that feeling? By reminding a lapsed donor of how their previous support made a difference. 

Don’t just say “we need your help.” Instead, using the data you have on them, send this donor a more personalized reminder of what exactly their donation achieves. Or example: “Your past donation of $5,000 helped us serve 100 families. Now we’re tackling the next challenge.”

This approach doesn’t just reconnect a donor to giving. Instead, it puts results at the center, and makes repeat donations more likely as a result.

6) Actively celebrate milestones 

Small, automated touchpoints remind donors of how much you appreciate them. Do it right, and you have the chance to spark renewed giving through effective personalization.

Here’s an example: 

  • Somebody gave for the first time in December, 2023
  • This December, you send them a message saying: “Two years ago you donated to our organization for the first time. Here is what we have done since then.”

The great thing with this approach is that it’s automated. That means you constantly have a personalized message going out to someone on a relevant anniversary.

7) Create a simple “win back” campaign

Consider building a dedicated re-engagement campaign that you run once or twice a year. This keeps your outreach systematized.

Try to keep it short. A “win back” campaign should be somewhere between two and four emails, and they should all be designed to bring lapsed donors back into the fold. Focus on impact and gratitude. Here are a few examples: 

  • Email 1: Thank-you and mission update
  • Email 2: Impact story / recent win
  • Email 3: Clear, low-barrier ask to renew support

Even a 5% conversion rate here can make a huge difference at your nonprofit.

8) Ask for feedback as well

It’s tempting to reach out to lapsed donors asking for another donation. But this approach isn’t just flawed; it’s also a missed opportunity to understand why they haven’t given in a while. 

Consider sending a quick, one-question survey: “What’s the biggest reason you haven’t given recently?” 

This will give you valuable data and help you understand why people stop giving. Crucially, it will also make lapsed donors feel heard. Sometimes that alone is enough to inspire renewed engagement.

9) Re-engage with mission-driven content

Not every touchpoint needs to be an ask. Instead, put solid content marketing to work for you. Here are a couple of things you should be regularly sending out to past donors: 

  • Updates on the new projects your organization is working on
  • Behind-the-scenes stories of you and your team working together
  • Videos highlighting the impact your organization has made and the people you have helped

When you send out this kind of content, you give donors the chance to re-immerse themselves in your mission. The result? They start seeing themselves as part of your story again, and are more likely to give because of it. 

Here’s a good rule of thumb: for every “ask” email, send two “value” messages. This ensures you’re not just looking for money, but showing the impact that money has as well.

10) Measure and optimize

The more that you act on the things above, the more data you will start to gather. Do this long enough and you will see what works – and what doesn’t.

This is the key to better results re-engaging lapsed donors: doubling down on effective actions, and continual iteration of things that could be improved.

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Are you an enterprise, nonprofit or small business looking for help on your website? Give us a shout! We provide a free consultation. Email us at [email protected] or call us at (718) 855-1919! 

7 Tips For Nonprofit LinkedIn Newsletters

Posted on by Lúgh Studio

LinkedIn can be a powerful platform for nonprofits. And if you’re going to branch out on the platform, nonprofit LinkedIn newsletters are a great place to start.

In this post we go over seven tips for any nonprofit looking to start a LinkedIn newsletter. Follow them, and you are setting yourself up for success in the future.  

7 Tips For Nonprofit LinkedIn Newsletters

1) Start With A Clear Purpose

Why does your newsletter exist? Who is it for, and what topics do you cover in the different issues? These are the questions you need clear answers for before you start with LinkedIn. Nobody wants to follow a newsletter that feels “cookie cutter.” The more specific you can get about who you serve (and why they should care), the better.

Are you trying to:

  • Highlight staff and volunteer stories?
  • Keep partners and funders in the loop?
  • Position your nonprofit as a thought leader worth listening to?
  • Share behind-the-scenes updates with your professional community?

These are all different goals – and will result in a different style of newsletter. Whatever the goal is, name it. That clarity will guide your tone, format, and content moving forward.

2) Strategically Name Your Newsletter

The default name for nonprofit newsletter is often “Newsletter By (Name Of Organizations).” And while that’s better than nothing – you can definitely do better.

The information you gathered in step #1 should inform the name of your newsletter. Choose a name that tells readers what to expect, or at the very least what kind of perspective you bring. This is a place where you can really benefit from the “brainstorming power” of ChatGPT.  

All this said – don’t overthink the name. Much more important is that you simply get started. 

3) Choose The Right Voice

LinkedIn is a professional platform. Still, a newsletter gives you the chance to connect with individuals. No need for your writing to be stuff or full or jargon. Aim for a conversational tone. You should be professional, of course, but conversational is how you truly connect with people. 

Think: clear, smart, human. All of your newsletters should be written in this style. Our advice? Once you’ve created the latest edition, and before you publish, read it out loud. If it sounds a bit too formal – it probably is.

4) Use The First Issue To Set The Tone

Your “launch edition” should feel like a warm handshake. There are a number of things you should aim for with your first publication. Hit enough of them, and you are setting yourself up for success down the road. 

Let readers know:

  • What the newsletter is about
  • Who exactly you are writing it for

And one of the most important things you can do? Include a simple call-to-action like: “If you want all our issues, hit ‘Subscribe’ to stay in the loop.”

While this first LinkedIn newsletter is important, there’s no need to stress over it. Just make it honest and useful, and you set the tone for everything down the road.

5) Stick To A Consistent Cadence

What is a schedule that you will be able to stick to with your LinkedIn newsletter?  Weekly? Biweekly? Once a month? This is where it pays to be honest about your time, team capabilities, and limitations you face.

The reason that sticking to a schedule is so important is that consistency builds trust. Much better to start slow and stay steady, than to overcommit and eventually burn out. It’s perfectly fine (and desirable) to increase your frequency. But decreasing your frequency? Your readers will eventually notice. 

For most nonprofits, monthly or twice a month is the sweet spot. This cadence is enough to stay relevant. However, it’s also not so frequent that it becomes overwhelming. Give it a try.

6) Keep It Focused And Skimmable

Peoples’ attention spans are getting shorter and shorter. Nonprofit LinkedIn newsletters are a great way to meaningfully engage with your audience. That said, you need to meet people where they are: busy, distracted, and likely not fully engaged.

The solution? Focus and structure. The first part is relatively simple: keep your newsletter tight and focused on a single topic or theme each issue. The structure, however, has multiple elements that are important to consider. Here are a few of them:

  • A clear headline
  • Short paragraphs
  • Bullet points or bolded takeaways
  • A CTA at the end

Here’s the main point: a LinkedIn newsletter doesn’t need to be a giant essay. Even just ~300 words is plenty assuming it’s packed with value.

7) Promote It Across Your Channels

When it comes to growing an audience online, distribution is everything. Nonprofit LinkedIn newsletters are no different. Don’t rely on LinkedIn alone to grow your subscriber list. Promote your newsletter:

  • On your website
  • In your content header
  • In your email newsletter
  • During webinars or presentations
  • In your staff’s personal LinkedIn bios or featured sections

Follow these seven tips (and constantly measure what works and adapt accordingly), and your LinkedIn newsletter can become a foundational part of your nonprofit.

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Are you an enterprise, nonprofit or small business looking for help on your website? Give us a shout! We provide a free consultation. Email us at [email protected] or call us at (718) 855-1919!

7 Tips For A More Responsive Nonprofit Email List

Posted on by Lúgh Studio

In nonprofit email marketing, it’s easy to get caught up in list size. But a large email list that doesn’t ever engage is simply a vanity metric, and it’s costing you time and energy. This is why focusing on a responsive nonprofit email list is so important.

So – where do you start? Below we’ve gathered seven tips for a more responsive email list at your nonprofit. Act on these, and over time, you will attract not just more people to your list – but the right kind of person, too.

Here’s how to build a more responsive email list at your nonprofit — one that’s not only bigger, but better.

7 Tips For A More Responsive Nonprofit Email List

1) Attract The Right People

If you want a responsive nonprofit email list, this first tip will save you a lot of trouble. What kind of email subscriber do you want? Do you want somebody that habitually joins email lists (and never takes action)? Or do you want someone with a high potential to donate? The answer is obvious for most nonprofits.  

Before you can improve responsiveness, you need to make sure you’re attracting quality email subscribers in the first place. Here are things you should do – as well as a few things to avoid:

What to do:

  • Get people to voluntarily opt-in to your list (see tip #2)
  • Promote your email list on the platforms that truly matter
  • Work with “micro influencers” or other organizations that have a similar audience to your own

What not to do:

  • Buy lists (it’s often illegal anyway, and bad for your email reputation)
  • Add people without permission (even if they gave you a business card).
  • Use gimmicky giveaways that have nothing to do with your mission

For a responsible nonprofit email list, it all starts with attracting people who actually want to engage. 

2) Make Your Lead Magnet Worth It

People will usually join your email list in exchange for something. But it’s important here to set the tone. What people sign up to get should be valuable; that’s what makes them more responsive down the road. 

This is where quality lead magnets for nonprofits comes in. Here are a few tips to follow with your opt-in:

  • Frame your copy in a way that gets a specific kind of person interested (“Sign up to receive our free guide on supporting trauma victims:)
  • Align your lead magnet with your organizational mission 
  • Attach it to an automated welcome sequence

Which brings us to our next tip for a responsive nonprofit email list…

3) Use An Automated Welcome Series

Once people do join your list, your job is to make them feel like it was a good choice. This is where a simple welcome series works its magic. Here are a few things to include (these can either be one email or spread out over several):

  • A warm thank-you and mission reminder
  • A quick story or statistic to show the impact that you’ve had
  • A personal touch (like a message from somebody you’ve helped or a volunteer)
  • An invitation on what to do next (donate, volunteer, attend an event, etc.)

A responsive nonprofit email list starts with setting expectations. Do that with a welcome sequence, and people are more likely to engage with your future emails. The reason? You’ve done the work of connecting with your new email subscriber, given value, and now they know what to expect.

4) Segment Early

Every email list, regardless of industry, is naturally made up of different kinds of subscribers. These are called “segments”, and they are one of the most important elements of building a responsive nonprofit email list.

Remember this: you don’t want to send every email to every subscriber. That’s a guaranteed way to lose engagement over time. The more tailored your message is (made possible by segmentation), the better your results.

Here are a few ways to segment your nonprofit email list:

  • Donors vs. non-donors
  • Event attendees vs. general subscribers
  • Volunteers vs. financial supporters
  • New subscribers (joined within the last 30 days)

As for how you get the data to properly segment people? Invest the time in surveys, or the money in a quality segmentation tool. Over time, this is the kind of investment that will certainly pay off. 

5) Clean Your List Regularly

Nobody wants to remove email subscribers from a list. You work hard for them, and letting them go can be a tough pill to swallow. But it’s necessary. If a subscriber is never going to take the action that you want, they ruin the quality of your list. 

For example, take a subscriber that hasn’t opened one of your emails in 6-12 months. That’s a signal to email platforms that your emails aren’t worth opening, and your deliverability is going to take a hit as a result.

Here is a simple three-step process to run a few times a year:

  • Run a re-engagement campaign asking inactive subscribers if they still want to hear from you (email platforms have built-in tools that make this quite easy)
  • Give these people the option to stay or unsubscribe 
  • If they don’t engage, remove them from your list

Want a responsive nonprofit email list? Periodically removing subscribers is an essential part of that. 

6) Track The Metrics That Matter

Always remember this: an email list of 1,000 people that want to hear from you is worth more than 100,000 that don’t open your emails. Subscriber count is great. But there are several more important metrics to keep a watch on. 

Here are the numbers you should be monitoring:

  • Open rate (to see how interesting or valuable your emails appear to subscribers)
  • Click-through rate (are people taking action on what you send?)
  • Unsubscribe rate (a normal rate is ~0.2 – 0.3%, so watch out for sudden spikes)
  • Conversion rate: (like all your marketing, your emails are meant to drive action, and conversion rate is how you measure it)

Measured email marketing is effective email marketing. Keep an eye on what’s working, and use these metrics to fix (or experiment) with what’s not.

7) Write Like A Human

How you write matters. It’s tempting to use AI at your nonprofit to create your emails (and used correctly, tools like ChatGPT can certainly speed up the process). But you never want to outsource your chance to truly connect with your email list. Remember: email is the only platform you truly own. Fail with your email content, and it’s a massive missed opportunity.

Here are a few writing tips you can implement right away:

  • Use the word “you” more than “we”
  • Implement more stories in your emails 
  • Keep email paragraphs short and skimmable
  • Use plain language and avoid “corporate jargon” as much as possible

Here’s the truth: people give to people. Not faceless organizations. Speak like a real person, and you will gradually build up a responsive nonprofit email list as a result.

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Are you an enterprise, nonprofit or small business looking for help on your website? Give us a shout! We provide a free consultation. Email us at [email protected] or call us at (718) 855-1919!

Ultimate Guide To Q4 For Nonprofits

Posted on by Lúgh Studio

Q4 for nonprofits can feel overwhelming. You know it’s the most important time of the year, but there’s so much to do. Where do you even start?

In our latest ultimate guide, we go over everything you need to know to generate more Q4 donations at your organization. Act on this information, and you won’t just finish the year strong; you’ll also set the tone for a stronger year ahead.

CLICK HERE FOR THE PDF VERSION OF THIS GUIDE

Let’s check it out below.

Why Q4 For Nonprofits Is So Important

Let’s start with the obvious: Q4 isn’t just another quarter. For most nonprofits, it’s without a doubt the most important part of the year. Indeed, these last three months of the year are when fundraising hits its peak. Just consider these statistics:

Ultimate Guide to Q4 for NonprofitsThese aren’t just random numbers; they are signs that your donors are paying attention. Q4 is when your people are feeling generous. Whether it’s tax incentives, solid marketing campaigns, or simply the holiday spirit, Q4 is when people are the most open to giving. That makes it a huge opportunity for nonprofits.

But here’s the catch: every other nonprofit is looking for donations too. People’s inboxes are overflowing. Attention is scarce. This is why strategy (and the right preparation) are your secret weapons. Read on for that strategy.

The Most Important Campaigns During Q4 For Nonprofits

It’s important not to treat “Q4” like one separate thing. Instead, think of this last part of the year as having multiple essential points. We discuss three of them below. Anchor your Q4 around these three, and you will be able to build momentum, maintain a cohesive narrative, and generate more donations as a result.

(While the three all happen in December, it’s important to use October and November to properly prepare.)

1) Giving Tuesday

This is the most important single day of the year for most nonprofits. It’s the day where most revenue is generated throughout the year. This means there is a natural element of generosity built into the day.

Giving Tuesday isn’t just great for a single campaign. It’s also quite useful as a “kickoff campaign”. Use Giving Tuesday as a launch point instead of your only fundraising moment. This year it happens on December 2nd, so time to prepare!

2) Mid-December Engagement

Many nonprofits see a lull between Giving Tuesday and the very end of the year. This typically means that the few weeks of mid-December are often neglected. But if you want the best results at your nonprofit, that’s the wrong approach to take.

Mid-December is all about staying visible. This is your chance to share stories, celebrate donors – and naturally transition into the last days of the year. Particularly effective marketing at this time? Behind-the-scenes content, impact updates, and donor spotlights that entourage other people to give.

3) The Final 3 – 5 Days of the Year

This is a high-leverage window for bringing in “last minute” donations. Don’t miss it. Some of the most important things you can implement in your marketing: countdown timers, matching gift reminders, and “last chance” language. This all gets people “off the fence” and pulling out their wallets.

The best way to approach Q4 for nonprofits: October and November are for planning and creating excitement, and December is for acting. Keep that in mind as you read the rest of our guide.

Your Q4 Marketing Plan

Setting Up For Campaign Calendar

It all starts here. A strong campaign calendar is a must. Set it up ahead of time (now), and you are better able to execute on the things that matter. This results in a team that stays on track and donors that stay engaged. Here are a few things to plan out immediately:

Looking for examples of campaign or marketing calendars you can follow? Check out this guide for some inspiration. But remember this: no amount of planning will make up for actually acting on your ideas. Brainstorm, plan out your content and campaigns – and then get to work!

Email And Social Media

During Q4 for nonprofits, your different marketing channels should work together. This is most applicable to your social media accounts and email. Below you will find tips for both of them:

Social Media:

  • Batch create + schedule your content. This makes it easier to get everything done far ahead of time
  • Make content that typically drives higher engagement (video, carousels, and live stories)
  • Create every post with a specific campaign goal in mind (ie, awareness, conversion, or donor stewardship)
  • Link throughout your content to a donation page or central campaign hub

Email:

  • Keep subject lines short but engaging (getting people to open is the first step)
  • Only use one CTA per email; more than one link will simply confuse people
  • Try plain-text for major donors (it conveys more trust than heavily-designed emails)
  • Test on all devices before you send

Social media and email can drive great Q4 results for nonprofits, but you need to follow the right plan. Keep the above tips in mind and everything will act as one solid marketing engine.

Smart Segmentation Strategies

Once you have a good idea of your marketing campaigns for Q4, it’s important to get clear on your segmentation. You don’t want to reach out to everybody with the exact same message. In fact, the most effective Q4 for nonprofits is one that prioritizes the right segmentation.

The reason? The more relevant your message, the more likely it is to convert. Here are a few segments you should actively be building + creating direct messaging for:

  • First-time donors: welcome them, show them the impact their donation will have, and build trust
  • Monthly givers: remind them that Q4 is the time when their donations mean the most
  • Major donors: use personalized outreach, share one-on-one updates
  • Lapsed donors: remind them of the effect they had with their last donation, invite them to once again get involved
  • Volunteers or event attendees: share your organization’s story, invite them to become first-time givers

Even basic segmentation helps with Q4 results. Only have one data point to go off of? That’s better than nothing. A little extra effort can dramatically boost open and click-through rates (and overall donations).

Donation Page Optimization

Your content and emails can be perfect, and your segmentation can be strong. But if your donation pages are clunky or low-converting? You are going to lose people.

If Q4 for nonprofits is all about driving more donations, your donation pages are your most important tool. Treat these pages with the respect they deserve. Make them inviting, fast, and clear. Here’s a checklist to follow – try to hit them all:

  • Loads quickly (ideally in just a few seconds)
  • Optimized for mobile
  • Suggested donation amounts (with “reasons why”)
  • Easy to find a monthly recurring option
  • Relatively simple (fewer fields = higher conversion)
  • A customized thank-you page

And if you really want to create the best donation page possible? Consider doing these things as well:

  • Add a brief quote or testimonial on the form from a past donor
  • Include multiple payment options (for example, many people prefer to pay with PayPal)
  • Use Google Analytics or a heatmap tool to track behavior

And if you want a tool that will help with all of these things? Check out Fundraise Up. That’s what we recommend for any nonprofit serious about making this Q4 their best ever.

Q4 For Nonprofits: What To Measure

It’s one thing to make a plan and act on it. But it’s another thing entirely to reflect on what works and make a plan to improve. That’s what we recommend. Q4 for nonprofits is essential for driving donations, but it’s also a great opportunity to learn what works.

Once the year is over and your team is back in action in January, be sure to do a Q4 debriefing. Here are the metrics to measure to know if it was a success or not. We’ve also included some questions you can use during your chats with the team.

The Metrics That Matter:

  • Total revenue by channel (email, social, events). Each nonprofit will have a slightly different allocation of where funds came from. Get clear on this and you will be able to better prioritize the right channels next year.
  • Open, click, and conversion rates for key emails. If you have certain emails that outperform the others, it’s usually a good call to reuse them.
  • The performance of each donation page variation. Most likely, you will have several versions of your donation page depending on the channel and campaign. Get clear on which one was your high performer, and you are more likely to replicate that success.
  • New vs. repeat donors. Every nonprofit has had this experience: most of your donations will come from a select few donors. While these people and organizations should be respected for the role they play in your nonprofit’s success, you also want to know who your new donors are. This information allows you to create two different segments in the following year.

The Questions To Discuss:

  • What worked, and what flopped? Different team members might have different answers, but discussing these things gives you the chance to hear everybody’s opinion.
  • What was easy, and what felt chaotic? This gives you insight into the things you need to plan further ahead for.
  • Which content can be reused next year? Almost all of the content you create is simply an asset waiting to be repurposed. Remember that before you feel the need to start from scratch.
  • Is there room for automation? If you haven’t already, setting up the right tools to help with automation is an essential part of a good Q4. A similar conversation can happen with AI for nonprofits. No need to do more work than you have to.

The point of all of these questions? Chatting about the things that worked (and the things that could be improved) while Q4 is still fresh in your mind. Even just a 60-minute chat can save dozens of hours next time Q4 rolls around.

Nonprofits To Learn From

Q4 for nonprofits can feel overwhelming. You know what you need to do, and you’re acting on it. Still, sometimes it helps to see what other organizations are doing. That’s why we put together this small list of other nonprofits you can learn from. Whether it’s storytelling, donor journeys, or a data-first strategy, each of these organizations can teach nonprofits how to succeed in Q4.

1) charity: water

This first nonprofit often runs compelling year-end campaigns built on donor empowerment. This is done by sharing personal stories and showing clearly how every dollar is spent? The lesson? Make your donors the hero.

2) World Central Kitchen

Content built on timeliness often performs better. World Central Kitchen has taken this to heart in Q4 by sharing real-time responses from disaster zones. The result? Urgency and immediacy that drives more donations. Try showing your donors not how their donation makes a difference down the road, but rather the immediate result.

3) Heifer International

Heifer has often leaned into the holiday season by promoting their Gift Catalog. The idea is simple: donors could “purchase” animals and resources for families in need. The catalog was positioned as an alternative type of gift-giving, and the emotional storytelling paired well with the generosity of the season. Consider doing something similar at your own organization.

4) American Heart Association

For a successful Q4, AHA executes an email and direct mail strategy based on segmentation. This is based on donor history (think “lapsed” vs. “major” vs. “recurring donors”). The point? Send the right message to the right person at the right time – and watch your results improve.

5) St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

St. Jude is well known for having their powerful “omnichannel” marketing system. They combine social media ads and direct mail with email marketing (and plenty of other platforms) to be seen everywhere. And the result? Emotionally charged messaging that drives Q4 results.

Tools And Resources

To execute a high-performing Q4 campaign as a nonprofit, you need the right tools. Here are the five different tools we recommend, as well as a few options for each one to help you plan, execute, and optimize.

Donation Platforms

You need to make it easy for donors to give. These tools will help you manage campaigns as well as recurring donations:

  • Donorbox: Easy to embed, and a great choice for small to mid-size organizations.
  • Fundraise Up: Generate higher average donation amounts with one of our favorite tools.

Content Scheduling

Your content is how you stay visible as a nonprofit during Q4. If you want to organize all your posts and stay on top of your schedule in one place, try these two tools:

  • Buffer: Simple, reliable, and great for nonprofits that are just getting started.
  • Hootsuite: A great tool if you are using multiple channels and want to stay on top of them all.

Email Marketing & Automation

Email marketing for nonprofits is essential. Here are some ESP’s that will help you send timely fund requests, segment your audience, and engage your audience all year long:

  • Mailchimp: Great for beginners or teams that have only simple automation needs.
  • ActiveCampaign: A good choice if you are looking for more advanced segmentation or automation.

Design & Visual Storytelling

No Q4 nonprofit marketing plan is complete without eye-catching graphics. If you don’t have a big team to create them, here are a few tools that will help you with your images:

  • Canva: One of the best tools out there for image creation and editing.
  • Adobe Express: A popular tool that will help you create images faster with templates.

Analytics & Optimization Tools

If you are serious about Q4 at your nonprofit, you need to stay on top of your numbers. Here are a few tools that will help you do that:

  • Google Analytics: A great tool to help you track conversions, referral sources, and overall page performance.
  • Hotjar: Understand exactly how page and site visitors are interacting with your pages – and where they tend to drop off.

Conclusion

Q4 for nonprofits will equitably be stressful. But if you act on this ultimate guide, it can also be the best part of your year.

Good luck during the last quarter of the year – and let us know if you ever need any help creating campaigns that convert!

CLICK HERE FOR THE PDF VERSION OF THIS GUIDE

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Are you an enterprise, nonprofit or small business looking for help on your website? Give us a shout! We provide a free consultation. Email us at [email protected] or call us at (718) 855-1919!

Biggest Q4 Lessons For Nonprofits

Posted on by Lúgh Studio

Q4 is often the busiest (and most important) time of the year for nonprofits. At Lúgh Studio, we’ve worked with many organizations over the years. And in that time, we’ve learned some of the most important Q4 lessons for nonprofits. 

Our latest post covers five of them. We’ve also included specific actions you can take at your organization for your most successful Q4 ever. 

Five Q4 Lessons For Nonprofits

1) Timing is important but testing is better.

In Q4, timing matters. This is the part of the year when your donors are usually bombarded with asks. Get the timing right in your messaging, and you can generate more donations as a result.  

But there’s nuance here. The fact is, there’s no perfect universal time to send your emails or launch your campaign. Some organizations do better with an early December launch. Others? Most of their success comes in the final 48 hours of the year.

Looking for better results? Here are a few actions to consider:

  • Use A/B testing the entire year, not just in Q4. This gives you useful data to work with.
  • Compare early vs. late responders in your year-end campaign.
  • Test different Giving Tuesday email send times.

The takeaway: Successful year-end fundraising is less about being early or loud. Rather, it’s about testing things, gathering data, and acting accordingly.

2) Your donor segments need different messaging.

“One-size-fits-all” messaging is easy. It’s also a missed opportunity. This kind of approach will almost always get you worse results. That’s especially true in Q4 because you’re often talking to very different groups. This includes first-time givers, monthly donors and major gift prospects – all at once.

Good segmentation takes time – but it doesn’t have to be complicated. Here are a few things to consider:

  • Segment your list by giving history, engagement level, or campaign interest.
  • Set up different email automations based on how much somebody has given.
  • Use merge tags to personalize your emails if possible.

The takeaway: For Q4 results, segmentation isn’t optional – it’s required. Your biggest donors expect you to remember them as individuals. Do that with the right segmentation, and you will get better results.

3) Giving Tuesday shouldn’t carry the whole quarter.

Giving Tuesday is important. For most nonprofits, it’s the biggest fundraising event of the year. But even with how essential it is, it’s too risky to place all your hopes on just one one day. In fact, many nonprofits actually raise more in the final week of December than on Giving Tuesday itself. Certainly something to keep in mind.

This Q4 lesson for nonprofits is all about diversification. Here are a few actions you can take:

  • Spread your Q4 efforts across multiple key dates. This will usually involve Giving Tuesday, mid-December, and the final three or four days of the year.
  • Create campaigns that evolve over several weeks. The right story can keep givers engaged over the long-term.
  • Treat Giving Tuesday as the kickoff, not some kind of “end date”.

The takeaway: A strong Q4 for nonprofits is a marathon. Not a sprint. Prepare for Giving Tuesday, sure – but stay consistent with your messaging and campaigns through the entire quarter as well. 

4) Your website and donation flow matter more than you think.

You can do everything right. But there’s a difficult truth to accept: if your website or donation form is clunky, you will leave money on the table.

Here’s the thing: when people feel inspired to give (especially during a high-urgency time like December), they expect a frictionless experience. When they experience slow pages, confusing forms, or unnecessary steps – that results in lost donations for you.

Here are a few things you can start doing immediately:

  • Check out the analytics on your donation pages (bounce rate and total time on page are two good ones to start with) and improve from there.
  • Make your pages mobile-friendly. At least half of your traffic is likely people on their phones.
  • Simplify your forms with fewer fields, clear dollar amounts, and fast processing (which the right tool can help with). 

The takeaway: People don’t wait around. If you want more donations, make the entire online experience fast and simple.  

5) Saying “thank you” is one of the most important things you can do.

When somebody donates, it’s tempting to think that your job ends there. You did your part and inspired somebody to give. Mission accomplished – right?

This is a misguided approach. As we all know, the people most likely to give are the ones that have donated in the past. Gratitude isn’t just a nice gesture: it’s a retention strategy. 

Here are things that your team can act on going forward:

  • Send thank-you emails immediately (automation really helps here).
  • Follow up about a week later with an update showing the impact of the gift.
  • Add a personal layer if possible: a short video, a phone call, or even a handwritten card to major donors.

The takeaway: Your job isn’t over when somebody donates – it’s just beginning. If you want to increase your donor retention rate, thank your donors in a way that matters.

Q4 Lessons For Nonprofits: A Final Thought

Q4 isn’t just a “finish line” for nonprofits. Start planning now, and you can turn it into a launchpad. That’s because the end of the year can set up everything that comes next. Lay a strong foundation in the last few months of 2025 – and 2026 could be your best year ever.

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Are you an enterprise, nonprofit or small business looking for help on your website? Give us a shout! We provide a free consultation. Email us at [email protected] or call us at (718) 855-1919!

The Best Email Automations For Nonprofits

Posted on by Lúgh Studio

Email marketing is an essential tool for nonprofits. But let’s be honest: manually sending everything is a big ask. That’s why we made this list of some of the best email automations for nonprofits.

The five on this list aren’t every email automation that you can benefit from. Still, they’re certainly a great starting point. Get these live ASAP, and you’ll start saving time (and strengthening relationships) immediately.

5 Of The Most Important Email Automations For Nonprofits

1) Welcome series for new subscribers

People usually sign up for your newsletter to get some kind of lead magnet or sign up for an event. Once they do, you have a golden opportunity. The first hour after somebody ends up to your list is the highest their attention will ever be. You need to take advantage of it. 

A welcome series is your chance to introduce your mission.  It’s also a great place to share impact stories and guide you new subscribers toward meaningful engagement.

Here’s a simple three-part formula to follow: 

  • Email 1 (immediately): thank them, set expectations, introduce your mission
  • Email 2 (2–3 days later): share a compelling story of the work your nonprofit has done
  • Email 3 (5–7 days later): invite them to take a next step (follow you on social or make a first donation)

Your welcome series should feel personal. Be sure you use merge tags so you can use their first name. You can also consider adding a signature from a real team member or volunteer to keep it human.

2) New donor “thank you” series + follow-up

No donor should ever wonder if their gift went through. And even more importantly: they should never have to guess whether their donation actually mattered. This is where email automations for nonprofits became super valuable.

Set up an automation that sends a heartfelt thank-you email as soon as somebody donates. It doesn’t matter whether the donation is $5 or $5,000. After that, follow up a few days later with a story that shows them the impact of their gift.

Here’s something you can follow:

  • Email 1 (immediately): thank them for their gift or donation
  • Email 2 (one week later): show them a real, tangible example of how their money helped
  • Email 3 (optional): invite them to become a monthly donor

This sequence builds trust and turns one-time donors into the most valuable people in your audience: repeat givers.

3) Re-engagement automation for lapsed donors

It’s a common thing to experience as a nonprofit: somebody donates, and then disappears for a while. Just because someone has gone quiet, don’t assume they’re gone for good. Do that and it costs you money. Remember: past donors are some of your most valuable people. They should be treated like it. 

The fact is, life gets busy for all of us. A well-timed re-engagement email can bring past donors back into the fold (and maybe get them to donate again). Here’s what we recommend:

Trigger: No donation, event signup, or email click in 6–12 months.

What to send:

  • Acknowledge their past support (something like “We miss you!”)
  • Update them on what’s new at your organization since they last engaged
  • Offer a clear next step: ask them to reply to share how they’re doing, or (if you’re feeling lucky) encourage them to make another donation

We are all on email lists that we don’t engage with. Reach out proactively, and you can bring back some of your most valuable subscribers. 

4) Volunteer onboarding series

Most nonprofits will have at least one or two volunteers working with them. In some ways, these people are every bit as important as your donors. They deserve a warm welcome too – so be sure to give it to them.

The right onboarding sequence is essential. It helps new volunteers understand your mission and feel confident in their role. It also ensures these new members start off on the right foot – which is great for your entire team.

Here are some of the emails you can’t forget in this kind of sequence:

  • Email 1 (immediately): welcome email with a “thank you” + overview
  • Email 2 (1-2 days later): introduction to your mission and values
  • Email 3 (3-4 days later): role-specific resources (will vary for each person)
  • Email 4 (one week later): a story of another volunteer making a difference

This kind of automation reduces “no-shows” (a big problem for many nonprofits). It also increases overall volunteer satisfaction from day one.

5) Event reminders + follow-up

Many nonprofits host events – both online and in-person. While this can be a great strategy for many goals (donor engagement and organizational awareness), there are certainly a lot of moving parts. That’s why basic communication is often lost in the mix.

This is where email automations for nonprofits come in. Here are some of the emails you should set up – both before and after the event.

Before the event:

  • Confirmation email with details
  • Reminder (one week out)
  • Reminder (the day before)

After the event:

  • Thank-you email with photos or video
  • Donation or volunteer ask (if appropriate)
  • Optional survey to gather feedback

If you are serious about hosting an event (and the results that come from it), email automations are essential. Set these up in your system and you will improve turnout, deepen relationships, and provide natural next steps for engagement.

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Are you an enterprise, nonprofit or small business looking for help on your website? Give us a shout! We provide a free consultation. Email us at [email protected] or call us at (718) 855-1919!

Ultimate Guide To User-Generated Content For Nonprofits

Posted on by Lúgh Studio

It’s great when people talk about your nonprofit. But when they share it publicly? That’s gold – and it’s why user-generated content for nonprofits is so powerful.

This guide shows you everything you need to know about user-generated content (UGC) for nonprofits, including why it’s so important and how to encourage more of it. Every organization can benefit from more UGC – and this guide shows you how to maximize its impact.

CLICK HERE FOR THE PDF VERSION OF THIS GUIDE

What Is User-Generated Content (UGC)?

What is User Generated Content (UGC)?We’ve covered user-generated content on our blog before. Here is our definition of UGC in a nutshell:

Authentic content that is made by the people you serve and which casts your organization in a positive light.

User-generated content for nonprofits can take many forms. Here are just a few to get you thinking:

  • A volunteer’s Instagram story from a clean-up event
  • A donor recording a video about why they support your mission
  • A local family that you helped talking about their experience
  • A LinkedIn post from one of your board members highlighting your impact

User-generated content is authentic and emotional. It’s also more powerful than just about any content you might create “in house”, because it carries the credibility of real people. It’s storytelling – but from your supporters’ perspective.

How UGC For Nonprofits Differs From Business UGC

How UGC for Nonprofits differs from Business UGCIt’s important to understand how user-generated content for nonprofits differs from that of businesses. And to do that, we’ll quickly look at two things:

  • Why users create content for both
  • How both kinds are generally used

Why users create content for both

For businesses, user-generated content will be about how a product or service has helped them. This sort of content is usually transactional in nature. Somebody spent money, and now they’re excited about the result that a company got for them.

User-generated content for nonprofits is quite different. It will usually be about the difference that a nonprofit makes and why somebody chose to donate to them. Alternatively, UGC in this case can also be about how a nonprofit helped them with some kind of struggle.

How both kinds are generally used

Businesses will use UGC to drive more sales. This kind of content is great at building trust and showing potential customers that the company actually does what it claims. The end result? Like all of its marketing: generating more revenue.

As for nonprofits? While there is certainly overlap here with UGC for businesses, there are some important differences. Here are four ways that user-generated content for nonprofits is unique:

  • Mission over product. UGC isn’t selling something, but rather inviting people to join a cause. More important than “polish” is some kind of emotional resonance.
  • More diverse voices. Nonprofit communities usually include volunteers, staff, donors, and the people served. Their user-generated content? It can (and usually does) come from any of these groups.
  • Trust and sensitivity. This kind of UGC is all about sharing personal stories – especially from vulnerable communities. While this can be effective, it requires more care and permission than the for-profit world.
  • Impact-driven. Lastly, nonprofit UGC often centers on gratitude or justice. This sets it apart from the focus on consumption or “trends” that a business’s UGC often has.

Keep these points in mind as you go through the rest of our guide. It will give you useful context for the remaining sections.

Why UGC Is So Valuable For Nonprofits

Why is UGC so valuable?People don’t necessarily trust organizations. Who they do trust? The opinions of people that weren’t paid for them. This is why social proof is so essential: people see that others trust your organization, and are more willing to trust in you as well.

UGC is unsolicited, and (usually) unfiltered. That’s exactly why it resonates: it’s truthful. It builds the kind of emotional connection with your organization that you just can’t buy. This makes user-generated content for nonprofits one of the “secret weapons” to effective nonprofit marketing.

But that’s not all. Here are four other reasons UGC is valuable for nonprofits:

1) It grows your reach

Every time a supporter posts about your cause, they are creating a miniature advertisement. This is an advertisement that their friends, family, and followers will see. With enough time this grows your reach. The result? More engagement, more followers, and more donations.

2) It makes your community feel valued

User-generated content isn’t about your organization. It’s about the people that support it. When you share a supporter’s photo or video, you’re essentially telling them that their opinion matters. This kind of recognition deepens your connection with them. Do this enough, and UGC can turn passive supporters into active ambassadors.

3) It saves time and resources

Content marketing is important for nonprofits. But like anything else, it takes time and effort to produce. The cost is real if you are creating each piece of content on your own. Thankfully, with UGC, you don’t have to. User-generated content provides a steady stream of relevant, relatable material. This isn’t just content that gets seen in the moment, but also material that you can repurpose across platforms later on. You need content; UGC gives it to you.

4) It enhances campaign performance

Lastly, user-generated content is one of the biggest “needle movers” for nonprofits’ campaigns. Just think about it. Which one do you think is going to perform better: a campaign that simply asks for donations with no supporting content, or one that includes real supporter stories and images? If you want to increase conversions, shares, and overall engagement, user-generated content can help.

Where To Find (And Collect) UGC

Where to find (and collect) UGCThere are a lot of places a nonprofit can search for user-generated content. You don’t need some fancy tool to gather it – just a little bit of imagination. Here are some of your options:

1) Social Media

Social media for nonprofits is our first suggestion for finding UGC. Check platforms like Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and X (formerly Twitter) for:

  • Tagged posts
  • Mentions
  • Story shares
  • Campaign hashtags

Be on the lookout for what people say about you – a simple screenshot can work wonders!

2) Testimonials And Surveys

While social media platforms are great for finding UGC, sometimes you want to be more direct with an ask. This is where testimonials or surveys come in (and they can be as simple as Google Forms).

Simply ask people for feedback. This can be a survey that you send to donors, volunteers, or program participants. Be sure to include open-ended questions and that you get their permission to quote them. Your biggest fans will often respond to this request, so surveys are a great place to gather “memorable quotes”.

3) Email Replies And Direct Messages

Do you have an email list? If you send email frequently enough, supporters will start responding to them. There will usually be three different kinds of emails:

  • Questions that they need help with
  • Feedback for you on what you’re doing
  • Positive words that they want to share about your organization

These kinds of interactions can be powerful. Respond, ask for permission to share, and start using them everywhere.

4) Online Reviews And Platforms

If you want good user-generated content, but you don’t have the time to gather it yourself, check third-party site. Check out GreatNonprofits and Charity Navigator. These are often goldmines for authentic quotes and impact statements. The best places to put them? Your emails and donation pages.

5) Partner And Community Pages

Sometimes your collaborators or local businesses will mention your nonprofit on their own. If it does happen, these often take place on their websites or social channels. Stay on alert for these mentions: they can be great sources of UGC as well.

User-Generated Content At Nonprofits: How To Get It + How To Use It

How to get it + How to use itHow To Encourage More UGC

Now that you know where to look for UGC at a nonprofit – how do you encourage people to leave more of it? This second part of the process is every bit as important as the first. After all: if you don’t ask somebody to do something, oftentimes they won’t.

Here are five options:

1) Ask Directly

As we said in the previous section, sometimes you just have to ask. Where you ask for UGC matters, though. Here are three things to consider:

  • An email broadcast that you send out asking for feedback
  • Surveys that
  • A landing age after someone donates asking them why they decided to support your cause

These all get your supporters more involved and can result in an influx of UGC.

2) Run Contests and Giveaways

We all love winning prizes. Why not connect it to a call for UGC? Invite people to share their stories or photos, and then be clear about the prizes they can get when they do. Here’s an example of what you might say:

“Post your favorite volunteer memory and tag us to enter a giveaway!”

This gives people an actual incentive to create UGC. And when you add a little bit of excitement? The things people say about you can turn into gold.

3) Collaborate with Influencers or Ambassadors

We have discussed influencer marketing for nonprofits before. Here’s our take: while it shouldn’t be your main marketing strategy, it can make a big difference for the right organization.

It’s worth trying out for more UGC. Do you have influencers or supporters with strong followings? Invite them (or pay them, if your budget allows it) to create content on your behalf. And make sure they tag you. Their participation can be the catalyst to broader engagement.

4) Make Participation Easy

Our next tip is more of a general piece of advice. User-generated content for nonprofits is great. But sometimes, people simply don’t know what to say. So make it easy for them. Here are the kinds of prompts you can use to make participation a breeze:

  • “What inspired you to get involved?”
  • “Share a photo from our recent 5K!”
  • “Post a video telling us why this cause matters to you.”

Sometimes, people just need a framework to get started. Give it to them, and the content they make for you will be better as a result.

5) Feature Supporter Content Regularly

This last one can’t be missed. By showcasing your UGC online, you create more social proof for your organization. This creates a kind of snowball: people see the content other people make about your organization, and are more willing to do it themselves.

Three good places to consider:

When people see others being recognized, they’re more likely to participate.

How To Use UGC In Your Marketing

BrowserOnce you have user-generated content at your nonprofit, it’s time to use it. While there are a number of ways to make this content work for you, here are our six suggestions guaranteed to drive results:

1) Social Media

This is the obvious one. Share supporter posts (and make sure you get their permission). This mixes up your marketing and highlights voices from your community. Do this long enough and the results start to compound.

2) Fundraising Campaigns

Looking to drive more donations? This is where user-generated content becomes super useful for nonprofits. It’s one thing to tell people where their donation is going. But real photos and quotes from donors, volunteers, or beneficiaries? That’s when you start to craft authentic stories and increase conversion rates.

3) Email Marketing

Email marketing for nonprofits can be super effective. When you use UGC, the results are even better. You’re only limited by your imagination here. If you’re looking for ideas, here’s what we suggest:

  • Broadcasts devoted entire to one quote
  • Email automations that incorporate donor quotes
  • Fundraisers that link out to a video from a past volunteer

Think of nonprofit marketing as an ecosystem, and the UGC in emails as simply one part of it.

4) Website and Landing Pages

Anything that validates your work in the eyes of new visitors is powerful. Thankfully, this is exactly what UGC does, and it’s why you should put it on your website too. Consider embedding testimonial videos or “quote cards” on your homepage. This will quickly win the trust of anybody that just found out about your organization.

The same goes for your landing pages. If there is something that a new visitor is signing up for, a little bit of UGC is helpful in getting their contact information. Even just a simple one-line quote can go a long way.

5) Printed Materials and Reports

User-generated content doesn’t have to be digital. Odds are, you’re creating multiple documents throughout the year that end up getting printed out. This includes annual reports, brochures, posters, and even grant proposals.

Material like this is often some of the most important, but most neglected in terms of UGC. But there’s no reason to miss this kind of opportunity. Try implementing (even briefly) real stories to bring your data to life. This is where UGC can truly make a difference at your nonprofit.

Nonprofits Winning With UGC

Sometimes, the best way to understand user-generated content for nonprofits is to look at organizations already doing it well. Below we’ve included four examples. Included is a brief description of what each organization does with UGC. Be sure to check them out:

  • Habitat for Humanity: encourages volunteers to post from their build sites, often using the hashtag #HabitatBuild. These posts drive more awareness of the organization and demonstrate real-world impact.
  • No Kid Hungry: uses photos and stories created by supporters in their campaigns. These are powerful, and help illustrate the difference that each donation can make.
  • charity: water: regularly shares videos and posts from supporters doing fundraisers or creative donation drives. This is effective in inspiring others to start their own.
  • The Trevor Project: highlights messages from LGBTQ+ youth and allies across social platforms. The result? A supportive and creative visible community.

Tools And Resources

If you are serious about UGC at your nonprofit, you need to use the right tools. But one of the biggest risks? Getting bogged down in software you don’t actually use. With that in mind, we’ve listed the five different kinds of tools that are resources, as well as a few options for each.

Social Listening Tools:

UGC Rights Management:

Design and Repurposing:

Survey Tools:

Email Marketing:

One Last Note

We’ve mentioned it a few times in this guide, but it’s important enough to close with: the importance of permission. User-generated content is valuable for nonprofits. It can truly be the difference maker in whatever goal you are trying to achieve. That’s why it can be tempting to go “full speed ahead.”

But this is never a good idea. Even if content is posted publicly, it’s always best practice to get somebody’s express consent before using their photo, quote, or video in your marketing. This is respectful. However, it’s also important for protecting privacy (especially when working with youth or vulnerable communities). Also, it protects you from any potential legal action against you.

Just remember this simple rule: ask first. This will keep the user-generated content coming in, but in a way that’s actually sustainable.

Conclusion

A nonprofit organization doesn’t need a production team or a big budget to tell powerful stories. Your community is probably already doing it for you.

User-generated content isn’t just a quick tactic. Rather, gathering it and using it should be an essential part of your overall marketing strategy. Not only does it build trust like nothing else, but it creates stories worth listening to and a deep sense of belonging in your audience.

Your job? Be smart enough to spot it, and consistent enough to use it.

CLICK HERE FOR THE PDF VERSION OF THIS GUIDE

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Are you an enterprise, nonprofit or small business looking for help on your website? Give us a shout! We provide a free consultation. Email us at [email protected] or call us at (718) 855-1919!

10 Organizations Offering Pro Bono Nonprofit Support

Posted on by Lúgh Studio

For many nonprofits, the need for outside help is clear – but the budget to pay for it isn’t. That’s where pro bono nonprofit support can be such an asset.

In this post, we give you a list of ten organizations worth checking out. Each entry on our list offers pro bono nonprofit support in some capacity.

If you are a nonprofit looking to make a difference, but you don’t have the budget for outside help, this post is for you.

10 Organizations That Offer Pro Bono Nonprofit Support

1) Taproot

Taproot is one of the most established players in the pro bono space. They have a strong track record of connecting nonprofits to experts across industries.

The best part? Their system is flexible and virtual-first, which makes it easy for organizations anywhere in the U.S. to find help.

  • What they offer: Marketing services, IT skills, and more.
  • Best for: Nonprofits that need volunteers for short-term (and more specific) projects.
  • How to access: Create a profile on their website so you can be matched with professionals to partner with.

2) Catchafire

Catchafire specializes in volunteer projects with clear timelines. Have a project in mind, but don’t have the budget to make it a reality? Catchafore is worth checking out.

The organization also provides onboarding and continual support as you work together. This helps ensure that the relationship runs smoothly.

  • What they offer: Volunteer projects across a wide range of skills.
  • Best for: Nonprofits that need help running fundraisers, setting up different tech, or designing webpages.
  • How to access: You can apply on their website, although some nonprofits get access via a local funder or foundation partner.

3) Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts (VLA)

Are you a creative nonprofit that needs outside help? If so, VLA can provide invaluable pro bono nonprofit support.

As an organization specializing in legal assistance, VLA provides a variety of services that nonprofits can benefit from. This includes contract reviews, nonprofit incorporation, intellectual property protection, and board governance. 

  • What they offer: Pro bono legal assistance for nonprofits in the arts and culture space.
  • Best for: Creative organizations navigating contracts, IP, or governance questions.
  • How to access: Visit your local or regional VLA chapter and review their application process.

4) Lawyers Alliance for New York

Located in New York City, and looking for legal help? Lawyers Alliance might just be your go-to resource. Similar to VLA, Lawyers Alliance offers a wide range of legal services that can normally be out of reach for nonprofits. They also produce useful publications and legal alerts for the broader nonprofit field.

  • What they offer: Legal help for nonprofits serving low-income communities.
  • Best for: NYC-based nonprofits in need of corporate, real estate, employment, or tax law support.
  • How to access: Visit their website to get in contact with volunteer lawyers.

5) TechSoup

While not exclusively pro bono, TechSoup is still worth checking out for nonprofits. That’s because it specializes in tech discounts and access to pro bono services through partners like Microsoft and Google. 

The result? Essential services and tools for a fraction of the price. 

  • What they offer: Discounted and donated technology, plus occasional pro bono tech consulting.
  • Best for: Nonprofits looking to upgrade systems, software, or digital infrastructure.
  • How to access: Register at their website for access to services and product donations.

6) Goodie Nation

While Goodie Nation is known for putting organizations in touch with volunteers, it’s much more than that. By specializing in connecting, they are able to provide nonprofits access to a deep network of tech and business professionals. These aren’t just volunteers, but people that can make a real impact on the organizations they work with. 

  • What they offer: Mentorship and connections to skilled professionals for social impact organizations.
  • Best for: Nonprofits and founders working in tech, innovation, or equity-focused spaces.
  • How to access: Apply for support on their website.

7) CreateAthon

Want results, and need them fast? CreateAthon is worth checking out. Here’s the organization in a nutshell: they gather local marketing professionals to complete major creative projects for nonprofits in just 24 hours. 

Clearly, the results can be powerful. Treat this as pro bono nonprofit support, but faster than anybody you’d ever pay. 

  • What they offer: 24-hour pro bono marketing marathons for nonprofits.
  • Best for: Organizations in urgent need of brand, campaign, or communications materials.
  • How to access: Watch for local CreateAthon events. You can also reach out on their website to see if there’s a host near you.

8) Pro Bono Partnership

Pro Bono Partnership is a great legal resource for organizations in the tri-state area (Connecticut, New Jersey and New York). It offers a wide range of services and a strong network of volunteer attorneys.

  • What they offer: Free legal services to nonprofits in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.
  • Best for: Regionally based nonprofits needing help with employment law and contracts, but which don’t have the budget for it.
  • How to access: Visit probonopartner.org to see if you’re eligible.

9) MIT Solve Volunteers

While more specialized, MIT Solve is great for nonprofits that work in innovation, health, climate, and education spaces. Are you an organization with ambitious growth plans? MIT Solve is worth checking out. 

  • What they offer: Volunteers with technical, business, and innovation expertise.
  • Best for: Organizations working on social tech solutions or global challenges.
  • How to access: Visit their website. There you can explore their volunteer and “Solver” community opportunities.

10) Freelancers Union

We finish this list with one of the simplest (but effective) options for pro bono nonprofit support. The fact is, many freelancers are eager to lend their skills to causes that align with their values – they just don’t know where to find them.

That’s where the Freelancers Union comes in. It provides a pathway for those connections between freelancers that want to help, and nonprofits that need it – but at no cost.

  • What they offer: Access to creative freelancers who often volunteer time for causes they care about.
  • Best for: Nonprofits with design, writing, or media needs.
  • How to access: Go to their website, join their program, and you will be able to tap into local SPARK events and job boards.

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Are you an enterprise, nonprofit or small business looking for help on your website? Give us a shout! We provide a free consultation. Email us at [email protected] or call us at (718) 855-1919!

When To Redesign Your Website: Our Answer

Posted on by Lúgh Studio

Knowing when to redesign your website can be tricky. Often, your website is “good enough”, and a complete redesign is never particularly urgent. Still, in 2025, websites that are even just a few years old can quickly start to look outdated.

That’s why we wrote this post. Below we go over our own thoughts about website redesign – and how to know when it’s time. 

Reasons To Redesign Your Website

Before we can answer the question of “when to redesign your website”, we need to understand the most common reasons. Website redesigns aren’t just about making things look better. The real goal? Making sure that your site works better. Not just for your audience, but your overall mission. 

With that in mind, here are the most common (and valid) reasons for a website redesign:

1) Your site is hard to use.

Your site visitors should find what they’re looking for in just a few clicks. If they can’t? They’re going to get frustrated, and will likely bounce quickly. Make sure you prioritize user experience on your website. Ease of use is non-negotiable.

2) It’s not mobile-friendly.

More than half of your site visitors are likely on their phones. This is a trend that’s been going up in recent years, and it’s only going to increase. If your website doesn’t work well on mobile devices, you are actively losing people.

3) Your site looks outdated.

Even if your website’s functionality is fine, things online quickly start to look outdated. You don’t need the flashiest or prettiest site on the internet. But does your web design look like it’s stuck in 2015? That impacts credibility, and is a sign that it’s time for a redesign.

4) It no longer reflects your brand or mission.

Companies and nonprofits change. That’s just a natural cycle. Maybe you have grown, updated your messaging, or launched new programs. Does your website fully reflect who you are? If you hesitate when answering this question, you have work to do.

5) It’s hard to update internally.

A good website shouldn’t be complicated. Professional, yes. But you should also be able to make simple changes without hiring a developer each time. A good website should be lean and easy-to-update. Otherwise, everything becomes more complicated than it needs to be.

Five Questions To Ask Before You Redesign Your Website

A website redesign is a big project. If you’ve decided to take the leap, you need to be clear about a few questions.

Here are some things to ask yourself:

1) What’s working now?

Don’t throw out the baby with the bathwater. Just because you are going to redesign your website doesn’t mean everything needs to go. Take inventory of what your audience actually uses and values. These are the things you should keep.

2) What’s the goal of the redesign?

The more specific you can be about what you’re trying to achieve, the more likely you will be successful with a website redesign. Here are a few common goals across different kinds of organization:

  • Better promote your products
  • Improve your overall SEO
  • Increase online donations
  • Better highlight client results

These are all worthy goals, but you need to first understand what you are trying to achieve with a website redesign.

3) Who’s the website for?

Who are the most important people looking at your website? Hint: it’s not your board or staff. Think about your real users (customers, clients, partners, or donors) and what they need from your site. This is a small but essential shift in your mindset. Design with the end user in mind, and any web redesign project is going to be more successful as a result.

4) What’s your capacity and budget?

Be realistic. A redesign will take time, money, and internal effort. All of these are limited resources. If you are going to change your website, make sure you have the necessary resources. This helps manage expectations. It also makes it clear when you can expect the project to be finished. 

5) Can we evolve instead of overhaul?

This last question is all about the 80/20 principal. Sometimes you don’t need a full rebuild. A few key updates (like improved navigation or a better donation flow) can go a long way. Don’t stress yourself here.  Likely, you already have certain web features that work quite well. Keep these, and prioritize replacing the ones that don’t.

So: When To Redesign Your Website? 

There’s no hard and fast rule for website redesigns. Still, it’s a general rule of thumb to consider one every 2-3 years. Why? Here is what you will usually see in that span of time: 

  • Shifting design trends. Nothing stays constant. While you should always keep in mind best practices, your website should look current.
  • New technology. Mobile-first frameworks and accessibility standards haven’t always been around – but websites that neglect them quickly look outdated.
  • A changing organization. Like we said above, it’s a natural thing to develop as a business or nonprofit. Has your organization changed in a meaningful way? A new website design will reflect that.

The fact is, you don’t need to wait for a crisis. The best redesigns happen proactively, not reactively. 

Our end conclusion? If you think it’s been awhile since you redesigned your website, and believe your company or nonprofit could benefit from one-

You’re probably right.

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Are you an enterprise, nonprofit or small business looking for help on your website? Give us a shout! We provide a free consultation. Email us at [email protected] or call us at (718) 855-1919!

The Top 10 CRM Tools For Nonprofits In 2025

Posted on by Lúgh Studio

Choosing the right CRM (Constituent Relationship Management) platform for your nonprofit can feel overwhelming. You know you want a tool that helps with donor engagement and campaigns – but where do you even start? Thankfully, there are plenty of quality CRM tools for nonprofits out there. You just need an overview. 

That’s exactly what we provide you in this post. Below we rank 10 of our favorite CRM tools built for nonprofits. For each tool on the list, we also give you some useful background information to help with your choice.

Invest in just one of these, and your nonprofit will be better because of it. 

10 CRM Tools For Nonprofits You Should Check Out

1) Bloomerang

Best for: Small to mid-sized nonprofits focused on donor retention

Bloomerang is built specifically for nonprofits. With tools to track donations, manage relationships, and improve donor loyalty, this is a CRM that any organization can benefit from. Plus, Bloomerang is quite user-friendly. This makes it easy to stay focused on what really matters.

Highlights:

  • Donor retention dashboard
  • Built-in email marketing
  • Responsive customer support
  • Integrates with tools like Mailchimp and Zapier

2) Nonprofit Cloud

Best for: Larger organizations with custom needs and bigger budgets

Salesforce is arguably the most powerful CRM on the planet. Built for companies, the tool also has a nonprofit edition called Nonprofit Cloud. While this can be super effective, the software is not “plug-and-play”. There is a learning gap, so you’ll likely need a consultant or administrator to get the most out of it.

Highlights:

  • Deep customization and automation
  • Excellent reporting tools
  • Discounted for nonprofits, although costs can quickly add up

3) Kindful

Best for: Organizations that want a streamlined donor CRM with great UX

Operated under the Bloomerang umbrella, Kindful offers beautiful donor profiles and easy-to-read dashboards. That makes it one of the easier CRM tools for nonprofits. This software is great for organizations that want robust donor data, but also want to avoid more complex systems.

Highlights:

4) Neon One

Best for: Mid-sized organizations that need everything in one place

Neon One combines most of the features that nonprofits want in a CRM. This includes event registration, email marketing, and even systems for peer-to-peer fundraising. Want a comprehensive platform that centralizes operations without feeling overwhelmed? Neon One is for you. 

Highlights:

  • Event and volunteer management
  • Custom forms and workflows
  • Peer-to-peer and recurring giving tools
  • Solid customer support

5) DonorPerfect

Best for: Growing nonprofits with complex fundraising needs

DonorPerfect is a classic CRM for nonprofits. Even though the interface isn’t as modern as some of the tools on this list, the functionality is still strong. DonorPerfect is especially useful for organizations that need two “higher level” abilities: detailed donor segmentation and multi-channel campaign management.

Highlights:

6) Little Green Light

Best for: Smaller teams that are budget-conscious

Little Green Light is simple and affordable. But the best part? It’s also surprisingly powerful for its price point. If you don’t need a ton of features like some of the CRM’s on this list, but you still want a solid donor management system that can grow with you – Little Green Light is worth considering.

Highlights:

  • Donation + acknowledgment tools
  • Built-in task management
  • Straightforward pricing

7) EveryAction

Best for: Advocacy-focused nonprofits and coalitions

EveryAction (now part of Bonterra) is built for nonprofits that are involved in digital advocacy or political organizing. The most important features of the CRM? Sophisticated fundraising tools combined with deep outreach functionality. While certainly not for every nonprofit, EveryAction is a great fit for the right organization.

Highlights:

  • Built-in tools for texting, and phone banking
  • Advocacy action pages
  • Strong data and segmentation tools

8) Network For Good

Best for: Newer organization or teams without a full-time fundraiser

Network For Good (which is also part of Bonterra) focuses heavily on general ease of use. Its reporting capacities are simple but effective. Overall, Network For Good is a great option for nonprofits that want to get set up quickly with fundraising and donor management. 

Highlights:

9) Keela

Best for: Data-driven teams that love smart tools

Keela combines CRM functionality with email marketing, automation, and fundraising analytics. This makes it a great CRM tool for nonprofits that need actionable data to guide their fundraising decisions. 

Highlights:

  • AI-powered recommendations
  • Built-in email marketing
  • Clean dashboards

10) CiviCRM

Best for: Tech-savvy organizations that want a free, open-source option

CiviCRM is free to use, but you’ll need technical know-how to install and maintain it. Do you have a strong developer or IT partner? If so, CiviCRM can be incredibly powerful and customizable.

Highlights:

  • 100% free, open-source software
  • Highly customizable for large or unique organizations
  • Add-ons for advocacy, membership, and events

Final Thoughts

Nonprofit CRM tools should help organizations create better relationships, not create more headaches. That’s why it’s important to consider your team’s capacity and budget before you get started with one.

Our advice? Pick a nonprofit CRM tool that you will actually use. Start with the right one, and it will support your organization’s growth for years to come.

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Are you an enterprise, nonprofit or small business looking for help on your website? Give us a shout! We provide a free consultation. Email us at [email protected] or call us at (718) 855-1919! 

Ultimate Guide To Nonprofit Email Marketing

Posted on by Lúgh Studio

Email isn’t dead. In fact, email is still absolutely one of the best ways to connect with your audience at a nonprofit. That’s because it’s personal, cost-effective, and more guaranteed than just about any other platform. But if you want to make nonprofit email marketing for you — how do you approach it?

That’s exactly what we are answering in our latest ultimate guide. Read on, and you’ll learn everything you need to know to make email marketing the most powerful channel at your nonprofit.

Mindsets. Tools. Actions you can take now, and more long-term strategy — it’s all here. Enjoy this guide, and be sure to bookmark it for later!

CLICK HERE FOR THE PDF VERSION OF THIS GUIDE

Table of Contents

Why Nonprofit Email Marketing Is So Important

To understand why email marketing is essential for nonprofits, we need to look at the modern day marketing landscape.

Social media platforms come and go. Algorithms change. Sometimes your organic reach with content takes a hit, and results with ads can be inconsistent. The one thing that doesn’t change? Email.

People are still checking their email inboxes. Most of us do it multiple times a day. This gives you a great chance to stay top-of-mind for the people that want to hear from you. Crucially, your email list is yours. It’s a direct line with people who have said, “Yes, I want to read your message.”

Email is also personal. It lands in inboxes, not feeds. Even though some of us get hundreds of emails a day (and you have to put in the work to get noticed), an inbox is still less overwhelming than a social media timeline. An email can be opened, read, forwarded, or responded to. In contrast to social media content, this makes email as close to “personal communication en masse” as you will ever get.

Lastly, email converts. The end goal of nonprofit email marketing doesn’t matter. Whether you’re raising funds, recruiting volunteers, or promoting an event, email consistently outperforms other channels on ROI.

And the numbers don’t lie:

If you care about impact and results, email marketing should be a priority at your nonprofit. Interested in getting started or upgrading your system?

Read on…

The Foundation Of Great Nonprofit Email Marketing

Before we get into the more specific details of how you can make nonprofit email marketing work for you, we need to have a general framework to work from. Below you’ll find that framework.

Treat these points as the “four mindsets” you need to have if you want to succeed with email. Are they strictly necessary? No — but the vast majority of nonprofits that are succeeding with email marketing have adopted them.

Here they are:

Know your audience.

Great email marketing is based on a deep understanding of the people you are writing to. This understanding allows you to write emails that appeal directly to your subscribers. What makes your subscribers tick? What keeps them up at night, and what are their most common problems? These are things you need to know.

There are two main parts to audience intelligence:

Make sure you do both.

Have a goal for every email.

Email

Nonprofit email marketing can contribute to a number of important goals. Are you trying to:

  • Inform your audience about a cause that your nonprofit is involved in?
  • Inspire these same people to volunteer at your organization?
  • Drive more donations to a fundraiser you are currently running?
  • Thank past donors for how much money they’ve given?

While these four goals are some of the most common with nonprofit email marketing, there are plenty of others. Our point? You need to be clear on what your main goals are.

Likely, different email campaigns and sequences will achieve different purposes. This will not only make it easier to plan out your actions, but also know if you are successful.

Use the power of automation.

The real benefit to email marketing is that it can work in the background 24/7. This is only possible, though, if you set it up right. This is where automation comes in handy.

Here are a few sequences you should be sure to set up:

  • Welcome series: the email automation that people first see when they join your list
  • Event reminders: emails that can set up ahead of time that push an important event
  • Donation receipts: automated communication sent out to donors with their receipts

Automation ensures that the right person gets the right message at the right time. It also saves you a ton of time. What’s not to like?

Be an organization that people want to hear from.

This last mindset affects everything you do in your email marketing. For-profit businesses have it a bit easier. Send them a product they love, or a discount for something they were planning on buying, and you can get away with subpar emails.

But nonprofits? It’s much more difficult to get people to donate money than it is to buy something. The solution to this? Email marketing that’s built on personality, trust, timeliness, and enjoyment (emails that people look forward to). This last one is absolutely essential.

Now that we’ve covered the essential mindsets for nonprofit email marketing, let’s move on to the first part of your plan: building your list

How To Build A Great Email List For Your Nonprofit

To take advantage of the power or email marketing, you first need to have a list. Below you’ll find some tried-and-true techniques for building a large and healthy list.

Important note: these tips are applicable to all nonprofits. It doesn’t matter if you’re just getting started, or already have a sizable list.

1) Create content that people love.

In 2025 and beyond, content marketing is how people get to know your organization. In many ways, creating content is unavoidable. Want people to subscribe to your list? It starts with making content that they’re actually interested in.

Be sure to look up best practices on creating nonprofit content. This ensures you create the kind of stuff that gets people to sign up for your list. This can be content on your website, but social media is worth considering. Just look at Charity:Water. They’re using different social platforms to post viral video content, and the results speak for themselves.

2) Make it easy to subscribe.

Once you are creating solid content, you want to make sure that it’s actually easy to sign up for your list. A lot of nonprofits go wrong here. They make potential subscribers jump through hoops to get on their list. To be effective, it should be as easy as possible.

Make it Easy to Subscribe

Here are some options:

  • Add sign-up forms to your homepage
  • Distribute sign-up forms through each blog post
  • Use pop-ups on your site to collect email addresses
  • Give people the option to join your list from your donation page

These are all standard practices for building an email list. They will work for your organization as well.

3) Offer a lead magnet.

Give people a reason to join your list. Do that and your signup rate skyrockets. With a nonprofit, the sort of lead magnet you give away should target the kind of person you want on your email list.

Do you want a list of volunteers? Of people that work at other nonprofits? Of decision makers at organizations that are likely to donate? This will impact the lead magnet you offer, so be sure to do your research about the best options.

4) Send a great welcome series.

You don’t get a second chance at a first impression. This is why your welcome sequence is so important.

When somebody first signs up to your list, they should get an automation of 5-7 emails. This will usually introduce your mission and tell your subscribers why they should care (be sure to deliver their lead magnet if they’ve signed up for one).

Keep in mind that you can (and probably should) have different welcome sequences. Change the messaging depending on where somebody came from.

5) Clean your list regularly.

It’s a sad truth about nonprofit email marketing: a lot of the people that sign up for your list are “low intent” subscribers. This means their engagement with your emails drops off quite quickly. These aren’t the kinds of subscribers you want.

This is why you need to clean your list. A couple times a year, prioritize removing inactive email addresses from your list. This will help with your deliverability and overall list health. Nobody likes doing this (especially since you work hard for each email subscriber). But it’s something that needs to be done.

5 Tips To Writing Emails That People Like

1) Subject lines are everything.

How much time are you devoting to creating subject lines for your emails? Double it. Think about it: you could have the secret to life in one of your emails — if nobody is going to open it, it doesn’t matter. And if nobody opens your emails? You won’t achieve anything with your email marketing.

Here are a few tips:

  • Try to create multiple subject lines for every email. Just brainstorming multiple options will spark ideas.
  • Keep them short, clear, and curiosity-driven.
  • Run A/B tests to see which ones perform best.

Do these things consistently for each email you send, and you already have the “80/20” of email subject lines.

2) Be personal.

Remember our tip about “being an organization that people want to hear from?” At a nonprofit, a bit of personality can go a long way. Many nonprofits are known for sending “lifeless” emails to their list. Or worse — hardly emailing them at all.

An easy solution to this is to make your emails more colorful. You get this by being more personal. Here are a few things you might consider:

  • Share your mistakes and struggles
  • Include pictures of what your team is doing
  • Take advantage of the power of storytelling
  • Share things that will make your subscriber laugh

Email marketing shouldn’t be boring. Just because it’s important for your organization doesn’t mean

3) Pay attention to the user experience.

We like to think that if the content of an email is good enough, the user experience doesn’t matter as much. But that’s simply not true. Even if your email is incredible, a poor experience reading it is going to drive people away. Here are a few things you can do to prevent that:

  • Avoid giant walls of text. Nobody wants to read an email made of huge paragraphs.
  • Vary the length of your sentences. This will make your writing flow much more smoothly.
  • Use bullet points. These make your emails easier to read and a nice way to break up paragraphs.
  • Bold key lines. This is a great way to draw attention to key details.
  • Make your email easy to read on mobile. A large portion of your audience is likely reading on their phone, so be sure you make it easy for them.

Run through this list for each one of your emails, and they won’t only be enjoyable to read. They’ll be easy to read, too. That’s half the battle for successful nonprofit email marketing.

4) Personalize when possible.

The more a subscriber feels like you are writing directly to them, the more effective your emails will be. This point is essential to understand. If you write to everybody, you really appeal to nobody. This is where personalization comes in.

Here are a few ways to make your emails more personal to the reader:

  • Use the reader’s name (which you can do with simple merge tags)
  • Reference past actions that your subscriber has taken
  • Send emails that are based on their individual interests

These last ones are dependent on properly segmenting your audience. Remember this: the more relevant an email is to a particular email subscriber, the more successful your emails will be.

The Most Important Metrics For Nonprofit Email Marketing

Before we get into the metrics you should be following, one important note: always keep your main goal in mind. Are you trying to get signups for an event? Increase donations? Drive traffic to your new piece of content?

If your email accomplishes that goal, it’s probably “good enough.” Nonprofit email marketing is important. But there’s no reason to become overly reliant on metrics that, compared to your main goal, just aren’t that important. That said, there is always something you can improve.

The Most Important Metrics for Nonprofit Email Marketing

Here are the email metrics you should probably be tracking:

  • Open Rate: Tells you if your subject line is working
  • Clickthrough Rate (CTR): Shows if your message was compelling or not
  • Unsubscribe Rate: A small number is normal, but spikes every now and then can indicate problems
  • Conversion Rate: The percentage of people who took your intended action (donated, signed up, etc.)
  • List Growth Rate: Is your audience expanding or shrinking?

Focus on these metrics, and your nonprofit email marketing will be better because of it.

Bonus Tips For Your Nonprofit Email Marketing

At this point you have a good understanding of nonprofit email marketing. You know why it’s important and the mindsets you need to have to succeed. Before we move on to our section on tools, though, here are some general email marketing tips you should always keep in mind.

  • Send more often. You’re probably not emailing enough. And the results are clear: the more you email, the more money you collect. One email per week is an absolute bare minimum. Start emailing more, and scale from there.
  • Opt for plain-text emails. As we’ve repeated throughout this guide, successful nonprofit email marketing is dependent on feeling personal. It’s tempting to assume that you need a highly-designed email to get results. But you don’t. In fact, quite often, the simpler the email the better. Simple is human — and we are more likely to donate to people we trust.
  • Ask questions. Invite replies whenever you get the chance. It not only gives you the chance to get to know your audience, but builds overall engagement as well. This tells inbox filters that you’re not spam.
  • End with a clear call-to-action. You need to be clear about what you want your email subscribers to do. This should be clear, but it’s one of the biggest problem areas in emails from nonprofits. Their mistake? Not being clear enough. Always be sure you have an obvious “next action.”

Follow these last tips, and your email list will become more and more beneficial to your organization over time.

Tools And Resources

There are a lot of useful tools for nonprofits out there. Still, it can feel overwhelming to choose the right one.

Because we have already written about specific email service providers, we wanted to provide you with some different possible resources. These will all improve your emails and supercharge your email marketing plan.

Canva

While we recommend sticking with plain text emails, there is still a time and place for email design. This is where Canva comes in. If you want to make eye-catching banners, donation CTA’s, or event visuals, Canva is the way to go.

Grammarly

Don’t consider yourself much of a writer? Grammarly can help. With tools that easily check for grammar, tone, and clarity, it’s never been easier to create clear and professional emails. Your writing style is essential when emailing donors and volunteers — make it count.

Litmus

Testing and checking your emails before you send them is essential. Too often, nonprofits send emails that are either broken or borderline unreadable. Do that, and none of your efforts mean much. With Litmus, you can ensure that your emails look great on every device before you hit send.

AnswerThePublic

It can be difficult to come up with ideas for your emails.  Often, this is the major blocker that nonprofits have in just getting started. With our last tool recommendation, that’s no longer a problem. Have you ever wanted to know exactly what your supporters are searching for or have questions about? AnswerThePublic will show you.

Conclusion

Nonprofit email marketing doesn’t have to be complicated. At its heart, it’s about building relationships, helping subscribers, and making it easy for them to take the actions that you want. 

Start simple and show up consistently. Add a little bit of time, and your email list could very well become your most valuable asset at your nonprofit.

And if you ever need help with setting up your own email marketing system — just let us know!

CLICK HERE FOR THE PDF VERSION OF THIS GUIDE

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Are you an enterprise, nonprofit or small business looking for help on your website? Give us a shout! We provide a free consultation. Email us at [email protected] or call us at (718) 855-1919!

10 Proven Email Subject Line Formulas

Posted on by Lúgh Studio

No matter which industry you’re in, email marketing is still one of the most powerful ways to connect with your audience. But sometimes you just don’t know what to write – and much less how to send emails that get attention. That’s where email subject line formulas come in.

Below you will find ten email subject line formulas. Implement them at your organization, and you will get more people reading your emails. We’ve also added examples for each one so you can see the formula in action. 

Happy emailing!

10 Email Subject Line Formulas For Higher Open Rates

1) The Question

Why it works:

Questions create curiosity and feel conversational. They pull people in by prompting them to think about something. This is called an “open loop”. We don’t like questions to remain unanswered. The result? Opening the email for the answer.  

Examples:

  • What does housing security really look like?
  • Are you free next Thursday night?
  • Can we count on you this week?
  • Have you seen this incredible transformation?
  • Will you help one more student succeed?

2) The Urgent Ask

Why it works:

If you want somebody to act, you need to give them a reason to. Urgency is one of the best ways to accomplish this. Inject some urgency into your subject lines, and people are compelled to act now instead of later.

Examples:

  • Last chance: give before midnight
  • Only 3 hours left to triple your impact
  • Deadline: your gift matched until 11:59PM
  • We’re $417 away from our goal
  • Final day to help families this winter

3) The Curiosity Hook

Why it works:

We are curiosity-driven animals. If something interests us (but we don’t have a full explanation of it), we naturally feel compelled to investigate. So try to use a little mystery in your subject lines. You’ll get higher open rates as a result. 

Examples:

  • You won’t believe what happened last week
  • Something big is coming tomorrow…
  • We almost didn’t send this email
  • A story we couldn’t keep to ourselves
  • This one gave us chills

4) The Personal Touch

Why it works:

Emails get opened more often when they feel like they’re written to just one person. Especially when they are combined with somebody’s name. Important note: for emails that use the subscribers name, you will want to collect their name when they sign up, which allows you to implement merge tags later on.

Examples:

  • You made this happen, Emma
  • Sarah, here’s what your gift did
  • I wanted to tell you this myself
  • Thought of you when I saw this
  • Can we chat for a second?

5) The “You-Focused” Line

Why it works:

“You” is the most powerful word in the English language. We all want to hear about ourselves. To effectively implement this with your subject lines, focus on your prospect’s role. How have they made a difference – and how can you communicate this to them?

Examples:

  • Your support changed her life
  • You’re the reason he’s smiling
  • What your donation really means
  • This starts with you
  • You did it!

6) The Numbered List

Why it works:

Our brains love structure. Numbered subject lines promise value and efficiency, especially when peoples’ inboxes can feel overwhelming. One pro tip on this one: odd numbers usually perform better than even ones. Keep this in mind when writing subject lines with numbers in them.

Examples:

  • 3 quick ways to help this week
  • 5 things you made possible in June
  • 10 backpacks. 10 kids. One big impact.
  • 4 reasons we’re hopeful today
  • 2 minutes = a big difference

7) The Short & Strong

Why it works:

Short subject lines stand out. This is especially true on mobile, where you’re working with much less space. Done right, short subject lines are also effective at creating an emotional response. Be sure to experiment here with what works for your audience.

Examples:

  • Hope, delivered.
  • This matters.
  • Do good. Feel good.
  • Still time.
  • Just wow!

8) The Testimonial / Quote

Why it works:

Social proof is essential for all organizations. Your audience needs to not only hear about your offer, but how it has worked for others. A great way to do that is through a subject line that introduces one of your past (or current) success stories. Obvious point here: make sure that the content of the email actually includes some kind of case study.

Examples:

  • “I didn’t think anyone cared.”
  • “This saved my son’s life.”
  • “That moment changed everything.”
  • What John says about us
  • Why Katie chose to enroll

9) The Timely Tie-In

Why it works:

No matter your industry, timeliness will always get attention with subject lines. When possible, try to connect your email to something current. This could be some kind of “cultural moment” or holiday. The effect? Your reader naturally feels the email is more relevant and is more likely to open it.

Examples:

  • Before school starts: Help 25 kids get ready
  • On Giving Tuesday, every gift matters
  • A meaningful way to honor MLK Day
  • This Women’s History Month: support her dreams
  • Did you see the news last night?

10) The Visual Tease

Why it works:

What we mean here is the combination of an emoji and contextual information. The reason we suggest it is that (say what you will about them) emojis add a bit of personality to your subject lines. This helps your emails stand out in inboxes.

Examples:

  • ✏️ Backpacks packed. Futures bright.
  • 🧣 Cold nights. Warm hearts.
  • 🧡 You’re part of something powerful
  • 🕒 Time’s almost up!
  • 🐾 Big day for our furry friends

A Few Quick Tips

Using the email subject line formulas above doesn’t guarantee success. You still need to follow a few “best practices” for good email marketing results. Here are four tips to always keep in mind:

  • Test different subject lines. Just a few A/B tests can show you which kind of emails your audience opens the most.
  • Look at your email on mobile. When viewed on a phone, subject lines usually get cut off after just 25-30 characters. No reason to completely change it up, but certainly something to consider.
  • Avoid spam triggers. If you land in the spam folder, nothing else really matters. People simply won’t see your email. The solution? Avoid using all capitals, exclamation marks, or phrases like “Act now!”, as these can hurt deliverability.
  • Write 3 – 5 options for every email. Use the email subject line formulas as templates, sure. But the first one you come up with usually isn’t the best. Just a few minutes of brainstorming can leave you with something wonderful.

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Are you an enterprise, nonprofit or small business looking for help on your website? Give us a shout! We provide a free consultation. Email us at [email protected] or call us at (718) 855-1919!

How To Use ChatGPT For Nonprofits

Posted on by Lúgh Studio

Last week we chatted about how AI will affect nonprofits. Our opinion is mostly positive: while AI tools need to be used responsibly, there is also a ton of opportunity in them.

That’s why in this post, we wanted to give you more actionable advice on how to use AI tools to their full potential. Our first topic? ChatGPT for nonprofits. 

Check out our post below for seven ways you can use ChatGPT at your nonprofit to get more (and better) work done faster.

ChatGPT For Nonprofits: 7 Ways To Use It

1) Writing First Drafts

Content marketing is essential. This is true for both businesses and nonprofits. But the biggest bottleneck in creating good content consistently? The dreaded “blank page”. If you haven’t even started with a new piece of content, it can feel overwhelming to get that momentum.

This is where ChatGPT for nonprofits is super useful. Give it some background on the piece of content you are trying to create, and it will get started for you. Whether you’re drafting a fundraising appeal, a new blog post, or an email you’re sending to past donors, ChatGPT can give you a solid starting point in seconds. Say goodbye to writer’s block.

Here’s a pro tip: be sure to train ChatGPT on how you write. Give the tool a few past samples of what you have written. This allows it to understand your writing style. Do this and your first result is likely much better. 

2) Repurposing Content

Taking content you have already created and using it again (in a slightly different way) can be powerful. This is called “repurposing content” and it’s one of the most underutilized content strategies at nonprofits. 

Let’s look at a quick example. Maybe you just wrote a great blog post about your latest community initiative. To get the word out, you want to write a newsletter blurb, a few Instagram captions, and a couple talking points for your executive director to use in their latest video. Instead of starting over, give ChatGPT the text of your post. Tell it how you need to repurpose the content and ask it to get to work.

Repurposing your content can save you a ton of time. Use ChatGPT as your assistant in doing it, and it speeds you up even more. 

3) Summarizing And Explaining

The nonprofit field involves quite a few dense documents: strategic plans, evaluation reports, policy memos, and grant guidelines. These are just a few examples. Truthfully, it can be difficult for even the most involved team member to wrap their heads around these kinds of documents. And even more important than that, actually understanding them takes time.

This is where ChatGPT shines. Give it some complicated text and simply ask it for a clearer summary. You can even ask it to explain things at different levels:

  • “Explain this document in plain English.”
  • “Summarize this for a board member that only has five minutes.”

If you need more people to understand (and act on) complex information, ChatGPT is essential. 

4) Brainstorming Ideas

One of the best ways to use ChatGPT for nonprofits is as a partner in brainstorming. Let’s be honest: sometimes you’re just not feeling creative. While this isn’t always a problem, it can result in a very clear blocker. Campaign names? Email subject lines? Themes for volunteer events? Creativity on demand sometimes just isn’t realistic.

Try ChatGPT if you need help. Ask it to help you brainstorm. Think of it as an infinite whiteboard where you can throw ideas around with zero pressure. The ideas won’t be perfect, but they will definitely get your team unstuck. 

5) Improving Clarity And Tone

Your tone needs to change depending on your audience. Sending out an email to your entire team? A memo to your team of volunteers? An appeal to your biggest donor? These are all different messages – and they need different styles. 

ChatGPT can help you rework messages if you want to change the tone, clarity, or brevity. Use it right, and you have a high quality editor waiting to help you out. 

Here are a few things to ask ChatGPT when working to change your writing style:

  • “Make this email sound warmer.”
  • “Rewrite this blog post so it’s easier to understand.”
  • “Cut this appeal letter by 50 words but keep the most important points.”

 The feedback is usually instant. Even if it’s not perfect, you’re closer to your end goal in less time.

6) Filling Out Grant Proposals

As we recently wrote, ChatGPT is also a great tool for nonprofits looking to speed up grant proposals. Every funder wants things stated slightly differently. While this is understandable, it usually means that you have to rework the same ideas over and over. 

But with ChatGPT? Use it correctly, and it becomes much easier to rephrase your standard language to match different proposal requirements. It’s important to understand that this is not a shortcut to funding. Still, it is a way to reduce burnout and speed up repetitive grant tasks.

7) Answering “What If” Questions

Nonprofit leaders have to think through new challenges constantly. One recent example? The loss of federal funding. Not only can it be difficult to navigate the immediate effects, but looking forward to the future can be tricky. This is where asking ChatGPT “What if…” questions can be immensely valuable. Give it the information it needs, and then ask away. 

Here are some examples:

  • Should we hire a consultant?
  • Is it too late for us to launch a podcast?
  • What are the pro’s and con’s of a monthly giving program? 

ChatGPT won’t make the decision for you. Still, it will help you think through key considerations, and your final decision will likely be better because of it.

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Are you an enterprise, nonprofit or small business looking for help on your website? Give us a shout! We provide a free consultation. Email us at [email protected] or call us at (718) 855-1919!

How Will AI Affect Nonprofits?

Posted on by Lúgh Studio

Over the last few years, artificial intelligence has become increasingly present everywhere you look. And it’s not just in the products and services of companies. It also represents a big shift for the nonprofit world. That’s why it’s important to understand how AI will affect nonprofits. 

In our latest post, we give you several ways AI could impact nonprofits around the world. While our seven points below are positive, be sure you also read our “last word” at the end. This is our biggest tip of all!

7 Ways AI Will Impact Nonprofits

1) Smarter fundraising

We start with perhaps the biggest opportunity for nonprofits. AI software can be a big help when it comes to fundraising. Analyzing donor data and recognizing patterns? Often, people miss valuable takeaways here. But it’s something that AI can excel at.  

Who’s most likely to cancel a recurring donation? Which big donor is ready for a conversation about an even bigger gift? Which actions should you take with limited time and resources? AI software gives you nuanced answers for your fundraising faster than a spreadsheet ever could. 

2) Better (and faster) communications

Succeeding as a nonprofit often comes down to who can communicate the best. Whether it’s getting back to donors via email, or engaging with social media comments, speed in communication is essential. 

The problem? We’re all busy. We know communication is essential, but it often gets neglected. This is where AI can tighten up your workflow. No matter what the platform is, AI can make communication both faster and more precise. This makes it easier to fully engage with your audience. As for your donors? They never feel “forgotten”, and are more likely to continue giving long into the future.

3) Quicker content creation

For nonprofits, content marketing is essential. It’s how you build an audience, introduce them to your cause, and get them to care enough to support you. Unfortunately, content creation is rarely urgent enough for nonprofits to prioritize. 

This becomes less of a problem with AI. Assuming you set up the right system, AI allows nonprofits to create content much faster. First draft emails? Social media captions? The structure of a blog post, or the script of your next YouTube video? Use the right software and tools, and you are able to create all of these assets much quicker. 

Will it be perfect? Of course not – a human touch will likely always be needed. But AI will get you started, which is usually the biggest barrier to content creation.

4) First drafts of grant applications

Grant applications are vital. But they’re also time-consuming and can be quite repetitive. Ask anyone who has filled out a grant; they will tell you just how draining it can be.

Thankfully, one of the most important ways that AI will affect nonprofits is to make this entire process easier. Need a first draft that aligns with a funder’s priorities? Or maybe you want to repurpose existing narrative language for a new application? If you want to maintain a consistent message while moving faster, AI makes it possible.

The key here is to treat AI as an assistant instead of a final editor. Like we said in point #3, only you and your team can add the “real world impact” to your grant proposal. But if you want to cut down on the total time grants take away from you? AI will help. 

5) Training and onboarding

Getting new staff up-to-speed is essential. That said, in the grand scheme of your team’s work, it’s usually not that urgent. That’s why there is usually a fall-off in the quality of onboarding after just a week or so. And even assuming you have a great system set up? Turnover is still inevitable. The same goes for volunteers. They need training if they are going to contribute meaningfully to your organization. 

With AI, that process gets smoother. Need to quickly create a customized training guide based on someone’s role? A “smart FAQ” that answers new team members’ most common questions? Or maybe some new training materials for volunteers?

AI can help. It’s not about replacing your onboarding process – it’s about making it more efficient. Use AI correctly, and your team members spend less time reading insufficient PDF’s, and more time actually making an impact. 

6) More accessible services

Most nonprofits want to make a larger impact. As part of that goal, it’s essential that they appeal to more people. This is where simple accessibility turns into a bottleneck. There are people that would otherwise connect with your mission, but can’t because of accessibility issues. Think English learners, people with visual impairments, or just older users struggling to navigate your services on their phones.

For inclusivity, and to meet people where they are, AI is essential. Want to quickly “repurpose” your content to a format that is more accessible? Quickly translate your pages based on where your site visitor is from? Provide audio for people that have bad eyesight? Looking to the future, AI will make all of this faster than ever.

7) More efficiency and less overwhelm

Lastly, an important way that AI will affect nonprofits is to make them more effective at what they do. With how busy most organizations are these days, that’s welcome news. Here are a few ways nonprofits can boost their efficiency with AI:

  • Insight from massive data: AI tools can take all the data you have and turn them into usable insights. What’s working? What’s not? Now you’ll know for sure.
  • Quick summary of reports: upload a dense document and ask AI for the key takeaways. What used to require hours of manual analysis is now done in minutes. 
  • Reach out to the right people: you’re probably guessing who to target. While this sort of outreach can work (especially if you know your organization inside and out), you can do better with your donor segmentation. Use AI to analyze giving history and email engagement, and you’re able to create smarter, more responsive segments.

Efficiency creates less overwhelm. Trying to make a difference, but don’t want to feel like you’re drowning in tasks? AI is for you. 

One Last Word

So: how will AI affect nonprofits? As you can see from the seven tips above, we think it will mostly be positive. Still, it’s important to understand one last thing: you still need the human aspect.

You ignore this at your own peril. Here’s our take on it: as more and more people integrate AI into their life, we will likely crave human interaction. This is especially true for nonprofits. In a sector built on trust and relationships, your people matter more than your technology.

The nonprofits that will make the biggest difference (and raise the most funds) are the organizations that can capitalize on the efficiency of AI, while still letting humans take the wheel.

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Are you an enterprise, nonprofit or small business looking for help on your website? Give us a shout! We provide a free consultation. Email us at [email protected] or call us at (718) 855-1919!

How To Use Testimonials On Your Website

Posted on by Lúgh Studio

Testimonials on your website are no longer “nice to have.” They are necessary. With more competition than ever and decreasing organic reach, you need to make every website visitor count. One of the best ways to do that? Quality testimonials strategically placed throughout your website.

In this post, we explore why testimonials are essential for your website. We also go over five ways you can use them effectively.

Enjoy!

Why Testimonials On Your Website Are Important

Let’s first cover why you should have testimonials on your website. For just about any organization, they provide a number of benefits.

1) Build trust and credibility

Your website is a way of introducing your organization to people. Anything you can do to make a good first impression is essential. One of the best ways to create that positive first impression? The trust that comes from seeing testimonials on your website. 

When somebody is on your website, they are looking for reassurance that you are who you say you are. This is true no matter how they found you. Content online? A referral from another website? An ad you’re running? People need to trust you  – and testimonials allow them to.

2) Provide social proof

As we’ve discussed before on our blog, social proof is essential. We all follow the crowd. Think about it. If you want to convince potential customers that they will have a positive experience with your brand, they need to see that others have first.

This is just the way our brain works. Include social proof through testimonials, and they can be a powerful motivator in getting people to make decisions. Neglect them? You won’t ever be as successful as you could be. 

3) Humanize your brand

Testimonials add a human element to your website. This is essential, depending on the industry you work in. Why? Testimonials show potential customers the stories of people just like them. This creates an emotional connection that no amount of “talking about yourself” can achieve. The end result? People see your brand as more relatable (and trustworthy).

4) Improve your SEO and conversion rates

Assuming testimonials include relevant keywords, they can also improve your site’s SEO. The result? More organic traffic to your site over time. Additionally, they increase your conversions. Place them in the right spot, and good testimonials guide visitors through the entire buyer’s journey. It only takes a few to bring in more clients.

How To Use Testimonials On Your Website: 5 Tips

1) Keep Testimonials Updated

The testimonials you use on your website should be current. They should reflect the recent experience of your customers or clients. The more current they are, the more they prove something essential: not only can you solve peoples’ problems, but you can solve them right now.

Regularly update your testimonials to reflect recent customer experiences. This keeps your content current. It also signals to visitors that your business is active and consistently delivering value. More than anything, this is simply a reason to have a system in place.

Pro tip: you can embed a widget on your website that auto-updates. Connect it to your testimonial software (if you use one) and your site will always be current.

2) Place Your Testimonials Strategically

Good testimonials are some of your business’s most important assets. It’s essential that you place them where they are going to have the most impact. Here is a good question to ask yourself: 

Where will your website visitors have doubts or need reassurance before taking a specific action?

Your answer should give you a good idea of where to place your testimonials. Often, all somebody needs to take action is a confidence boost. Testimonials are great for that. If you have enough of them, put your testimonials on product pages, landing pages, or near calls-to-action. This is where they’ll have the highest impact.

3) Use A Variety Of Testimonials

Different people need to hear different things. Just like good copywriting appeals to different kinds of buyers, good testimonials appeal to different kinds of website visitors. Here are two things you can change to have a nice mix of testimonial types:

Use a variety of testimonials, and you make a stronger case for why people should work with you. This gives you more reliable success over the long-term.

4) Make Them Detailed

The quality of the testimonials on your website matters. Avoid generic ones if you can. Of course, you can’t really control what people say about your organization. Still, testimonials that don’t get into specifics can cause more harm than good. Think of them like stock photos: they don’t carry much weight, and because of that, they’re not exactly convincing.

The solution? Encourage customers to go into details about their experience. Here are some questions you might ask them before they leave a testimonial:

  • What problem did they face?
  • How did your product or service help?
  • What was the outcome? 

Almost always, the more detailed a testimonial, the more effective it is.

5) Include Personal Information If Possible

Lastly, if possible, you should share identities within your testimonials. Anonymous quotes feel inherently less trustworthy. People coming across your brand for the first time want to attach a testimonial on your website with a real person. 

Ask your past customers. Usually, they won’t mind if you include their first name and a picture. This extra information makes your testimonials more authentic. And if you are adding testimonials to your website, authenticity is exactly what you’re going for.

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Are you an enterprise, nonprofit or small business looking for help on your website? Give us a shout! We provide a free consultation. Email us at [email protected] or call us at (718) 855-1919! 

7 Ways To Maximize Grants For Nonprofits

Posted on by Lúgh Studio

Grants are often a vital part of a nonprofit’s funding strategy. That said, they’re rarely the “easy money” some people imagine. For maximum success, nonprofits need to learn how to maximize grants that they’re awarded. 

Below we cover seven steps to make every grant count. You’ll find our tips cover the entire lifecycle of a grant, so there’s something for everybody.

7 Ways To Maximize Grants At Your Nonprofit

1) Start With Strategic Fit, Not Just Available Dollars

It’s common to chase grants simply because they’re available. But for most organizations? If the money doesn’t align with your mission, capacity, or some kind of long-term strategy, it’s likely to be more of a distraction.

Here are a few questions you should ask yourself before you apply for a grant:

  • Does this grant help us with work we are already doing, or do we have to start something from scratch?
  • Would the burden of extra work outweigh the financial benefit?
  • Is the grant a one-time payment, or part of a longer funding commitment?

The best grants help your organization do more of what it’s good at. If a grant isn’t a good strategic fit, it’s probably better to skip it. 

2) Build In Infrastructure, Not Just Programs

When you draw up a grant budget, it’s normal to focus on the “direct” program costs. This includes things like supplies, events, and maybe staff hours. This makes sense (and is necessary), but it’s not the ideal approach. That’s because the best grant budgets don’t just fund an activity – they support the infrastructure that makes the activity possible.

Here are a few ways to maximize grants so that this necessary infrastructure is supported:

  • Fairly allocate staff time, which includes grant management and reporting
  • If allowed, include indirect costs (rent, IT, or HR)
  • Think ahead to sustainability – what will it take to keep these activities going after the grant ends?

The main lesson here is that you shouldn’t be afraid to push for full-cost funding. Don’t accept a grant that starves your organization while asking you to deliver high-level results.

3) Get Everyone On Board As Early As Possible

Maximizing a grant is a team effort. That means getting your key departments involved early in the stage. For example, finance needs to understand any reporting requirements or reimbursement schedules that are built into the grant. Your development team, meanwhile, should understand how the grant fits into your broader funding strategy.

By getting everyone involved, you are more likely to take full advantage of the grant. And assuming you do that, it’s much easier to secure further funding in the future. 

4) Track With Intention

Once a grant is awarded, the documentation begins. Tracking things correctly (and doing it straight from the start) is important for a few reasons. First, it keeps you organized. A project is much easier to manage if you know exactly where your time and money are going. Second, it proves that you are an organization that has its act together. This makes it more likely that your funder will work with you into the future.

Here are a few ways you can build tracking into your workflow from day one:

  • Use your financial system to log grant-related expenses separately
  • Set up shared dashboards for outputs and outcomes
  • Schedule regular check-ins with program staff to review progress and troubleshoot early

Don’t wait until the last minute to scramble for receipts or performance data. Tracking should be a priority from the beginning.

5) Avoid “Mission Drift”

This is where things get tricky. Once you’ve secured a grant, it can be tempting to shift your focus. This is often the result of wanting to fit a funder’s interests. They propose a project, give you a grant…and then start making suggestions. 

While this happens more often than you’d think (particularly with larger grants), it’s in your best interest to push back. Your mission is important. Stay grounded in what it is you do (regardless of outside voices), and you are more likely to pursue grants that you can actually deliver on. 

If your team finds itself doing work that’s “off-mission” to satisfy a funder, ask yourself one question: is this actually helping us to deliver on our main priorities, or just keeping us busy?

6) Focus On Building The Relationship

Grants are a kind of transaction. Still, this doesn’t mean that funders should be neglected. In fact, focus as much as you can on the relationship with grant funders, and you will be rewarded. 

Here are our thoughts on it: to maximize grants, you need to invest in your relationship with the funder just as much as the project itself. As for how you do that? Here are a few things to consider:

  • Communicate proactively if something changes
  • Share wins (even the small ones) along the way
  • Ask for feedback if you think it’s useful 
  • Invite in-person visits when appropriate

Nonprofits that treat their funders like partners set themselves up for long term success. They are more likely to be recommended to other supporters, and usually find it easier to maximize grants as a result.

7) Use the Grant to Tell Your Story

Lastly, when used correctly, grants are a great opportunity for effective storytelling. Remember this: grants aren’t just about the money – they can also be a great way to support your narrative. And once you get in the habit of doing that, it becomes much easier to maximize grants in the future.

For each grant you receive, think about how you can use your grant reporting and communications to:

  • Highlight the larger outcomes of your project (not just the “tasks”)
  • Demonstrate how the grant advanced your mission 
  • Introduce the people whose lives you’ve changed

All these data points are part of a bigger story. Tell it effectively, and you lay the groundwork for not only renewal, but larger grants in the future as well.

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Are you an enterprise, nonprofit or small business looking for help on your website? Give us a shout! We provide a free consultation. Email us at [email protected] or call us at (718) 855-1919! 

Why Your Content Isn’t Converting

Posted on by Lúgh Studio

You’re publishing regularly. You’re posting to all the right channels. You have researched your audience, and you know the kind of content they consume. Still, at some point, you’ve probably experienced something quite common: your content isn’t converting.

This is one of the most frustrating positions to be in. After all, content marketing is only valuable if it’s contributing to some larger purpose at your organization. Luckily, there is good news: creating content that converts doesn’t have to be difficult. 

In this post we go over five possible reasons your content isn’t converting, as well as what you can do about it. Let’s check it out below.

What Does “Converting” Actually Mean?

Let’s start with the basics. The word “conversion” gets thrown around a lot, but it means different things for different organizations. Plus, some conversions are more valuable than others.

This can be confusing. After all, if you don’t know what your content is supposed to do, it can be impossible to know if it’s working or not. 

Here are a few common types of conversions for both businesses and nonprofits:

  • Email sign-ups. If you are using email marketing (and you should be), a lot of your content will lead to some kind of email signup. This is great: it allows you to communicate with your subscribers whenever you want, and has a higher ROI than most of your marketing efforts.
  • Resource downloads. This is often connected with your email marketing. Usually you will provide some kind of resource (a “lead magnet”) in exchange for somebody’s email address. Provide the right resource, and you are already providing a ton of value to your new lead. 
  • Event registrations. There are a ton of different events that your content can promote: workshops, webinars, or even in-person community events.
  • Booked call. Depending on your organization, your content can guide people to a “book a call” option. Because of the higher price point, this conversion is particularly valuable in the B2B space. 
  • Clicks to a page. No need to complicate things: a ton of your content will simply lead to another page. Not only is this conversion highly customizable (based on the page you are sending someone to), but it’s also easy to track.

There are obviously many more possible conversions than just these five. Each organization will have different actions they want to take, which means each one should be tracking slightly different conversions. Still, the point remains: content is essential in getting people to convert in the way you want them to.

As for why your content isn’t converting? Read on to find out.

5 Reasons Your Content Isn’t Converting

Once you know what your content is supposed to do, you can figure out where it’s underperforming.

Here are the most common reasons your content is not converting:

1) You’re Solving The Wrong Problem

Don’t just assume you know your audience’s problems. Otherwise, you risk creating content (or worse – products) that nobody actually wants. Content that leads to action starts by meeting a real need. 

Here are a few questions to ask yourself:

  • Who is this content for?
  • What does this person care about?
  • What problem is this person trying to solve?

If you don’t already know the answer, this is where audience research can help. And once you do? You’re one step closer to content that converts.

2) You Aren’t Clear With Your Calls-To-Action

Many organizations treat a call-to-action (CTA) as an afterthought. They spend hours on keyword research, create fantastic content, and then do a great job promoting it. But the missing link between this content and conversions? 

That’s right: strong CTA’s. If you want people to take action after consuming your content, your CTA’s should be:

  • Clear and direct
  • Relevant to the content itself
  • Easy to spot (not hidden in the fine print)
  • Easy to do (don’t make people jump through hoops)

Clarity is essential. If people are confused, the odds of them converting decrease substantially.

3) It’s All About You

This mistake is quite common, especially in mission-driven work. Yes, your mission is important. And yes, you should paint your organization in a good light. But content that converts needs to be applicable to the person consuming it. If it’s not, it becomes less about helping them and more about pitching them. 

When you’re creating content, try to focus on what’s in it for your potential lead. Why should they care? How can your content help them solve a problem? With these considerations at the forefront of your content marketing, you build trust and motivation much quicker. After all, content that converts makes the reader (or viewer) the hero of the story – not the organization.

4) There’s No Urgency

Why should people act now? If someone doesn’t feel any real urgency to do something, oftentimes, they won’t. This is simple human psychology. Even if your content is more evergreen in nature, whatever you are asking shouldn’t be “open-ended.” Otherwise, people may never actually convert.

There are a few ways to build urgency (and increase action) in your CTA:

  • Highlight limited opportunities (deadlines or limited spots)
  • Connect it to current events
  • Frame the impact of acting now vs. later

The fact is, without urgency, “someday” often becomes “never.” And once that happens, your conversion is lost.

5) The Experience Is Clunky

We’ve written multiple times about the importance of user experience. No matter what content you create, people won’t convert if it’s hard to read or slow to load. The reason is simple: they won’t stick around long enough to take an action in the first place.

Make sure the entire path (all the way from “interest” to “action”) is smooth and frictionless. You should also ensure that whatever you create is mobile friendly. This makes for an experience that is genuinely enjoyable. Get this right, and when the time comes, conversion is much easier as a result.

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Are you an enterprise, nonprofit or small business looking for help on your website? Give us a shout! We provide a free consultation. Email us at [email protected] or call us at (718) 855-1919!

Ultimate Guide To Multichannel Marketing For Nonprofits

Posted on by Lúgh Studio

In today’s digital world, your audience isn’t just in one place. If you want people to find you, remember you, and donate more, you need to understand multichannel marketing for nonprofits.

In our latest ultimate guide, we go over everything you need to know. This includes why multichannel marketing for nonprofits is important, actionable steps, and examples from the nonprofit world you can learn from.

By the end of this guide, you will have a multichannel marketing framework that helps you build your audience and drive more donations.

Let’s get started.

CLICK HERE FOR THE PDF VERSION OF THIS GUIDE

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What Is Multichannel Marketing And Why Should You Care?

Multichannel marketing for nonprofits is the practice of using multiple platforms to engage with your audience, and doing so in a coordinated, intentional way. As you can imagine, there are a ton of platforms / channels that a multichannel marketing plan could cover:

  • Email
  • Social media
  • Direct mail
  • SMS/text messaging
  • Website content
  • Ads (digital or print)
  • Events (online and in-person)

Multichannel marketing for nonprofits isn’t about “being everywhere” for the sake of it. Instead, it’s about meeting your stakeholders where they are. It’s about giving them multiple opportunities to engage with you, and increasing the odds that they engage with your mission.

Why Multichannel Marketing For Nonprofits Is Important

As for why multichannel marketing matters? This isn’t just a fancy buzzword; if you want to grow your organization, you need to understand why everything we outline below is worth your time. Here are three specific benefits to multichannel marketing for nonprofits:

  1. Increases reach. People consume content in different ways. Some prefer email. Others spend quite a bit of time on Instagram, while others still love the intimacy of a well-designed postcard. The premise is simple: show up in more places, and more people will see you.
  2. Boosts recognition. A huge component of multichannel marketing for nonprofits is the repetition it creates. When someone sees your campaign on Facebook and in their inbox and on your website, it’s more likely to stick. This increases the odds that someone recognizes you and further reinforces your message.
  3. Improves results. The evidence is clear: multichannel strategies are linked to a number of benefits. These include higher engagement, better donor retention, and more donations overall. When you expand to more channels (and don’t rely on a single point of contact), it becomes much easier to get results.

These are the reasons you should invest the time and effort into building a multichannel marketing plan. As for how you set one up? Keep reading for the five actions every nonprofit should take.

5 Steps To A Multichannel Marketing Plan That Works

1) Know Your Audience

Before you can build an effective strategy for your nonprofit, you need to understand your audience. Deep audience research is the foundation of any successful multichannel marketing plan.

Here are a few questions you should answer:

  • Where does your audience spend their time (either online or off)?
  • How do they prefer to receive information?
  • What kind of content does your audience usually engage with?
  • When do they tend to take action?

To get this information, start by following three steps:

  1. Look at your data. Odds are you probably already have a decent amount of your information at your disposal. Check it out for some insight. What kind of emails does your audience open? Which social platforms drive traffic to your site? Who responds to texts or print mail? Answer these questions and you have a solid foundation for understanding your audience. Once you’ve done that, consider gathering these insights into an actionable document for your team.
  2. Research other platforms. Just because somebody isn’t in your audience yet doesn’t mean you can’t learn from them. Look at the people that are similar to your donors. Which platforms do they frequent? What kind of content do they respond well to? Get a read on these questions, and you can learn about your own followers.
  3. Survey your supporters. If you want information straight from your audience, ask them directly. A simple survey is easy to send out, and can provide you with a wealth of knowledge. You might be surprised by what you discover.

Do these three things consistently, and you will gradually learn more and more about your audience. This will directly impact the quality of your marketing efforts.

2) Build A Cohesive Message Across Channels

When it comes to their multichannel marketing for nonprofits, organizations often treat each channel or platform like it’s a separate thing. This is a mistake. You want your audience (and people that just found you) to have a consistent and predictable experience when they are interacting with you. This doesn’t happen if you don’t have a cohesive message.

Here are a few things to keep in mind:

  • Develop a core campaign message. No matter if it’s a fundraising appeal or a new program, start with one central idea or story. This is the core of your campaign message, and should remain consistent everywhere you talk about it.
  • Adapt for each platform. Notice that we say adapt, not “change.” For example, your email marketing might be more in-depth, while your social media content should be short-form and visual. As for your website? Comprehensive, with a focus on user experience. The language and tone that you use will certainly shift depending on the platform. Still, the heart of the message should remain consistent.
  • Use consistent visuals. This goes for everything from your colors and logos to your graphics. Your marketing efforts (no matter if it’s new content or a full-on fundraiser) should be recognizable everywhere it appears. Consider creating a brand style guide if you want to systematize this.

People will inevitably move from channel to channel. The goal is to make it feel like they are part of the same story, no matter where they are interacting with you.

3) Choose the Right Mix of Channels

You shouldn’t be on every platform. That just diverts your attention. Instead, focus on showing up on the right ones. Choosing these is a combination of two things: where your audience actually spends time, and what your team can realistically maintain.

Most likely your organization is already on several. However, if you’re looking for a true multichannel marketing plan, it can help to expand. That’s why we recommend the following:

  • Understand the channels or platforms that would be the most beneficial to your organization
  • Choose between two and four channels that you can consistently manage.

This will set you up for success. Get started, and build from there.

4) Use A Cadence That Makes Sense

One of the biggest advantages of multichannel marketing is that you can be in multiple places at the same time. This makes it easy to establish a kind of “omnipresence” among your target audience. Still, you need the right system.

This is where strategy comes in. With a multichannel marketing system set up, you will typically publish content and communicate with your stakeholders on several different platforms simultaneously. As we’ve discussed, this both builds trust and drives action.

While this can sound like a lot of work, it doesn’t have to be. Start by mapping out what you plan to do, when, on which platforms. How can you create content on one platform that turns into a touchpoint with your audience across several platforms? This is the main question to answer. You might consider repurposing your content to speed things up.

Only you and your team know what makes sense. Still, here is just one example of what you could do across platforms for a new fundraiser:

Week 1

Week 2 + 3

  • Follow-up emails (important to stay top-of-mind with potential donors)
  • Daily or weekly social posts
  • Paid ads targeting website visitors (assuming you have a pixel installed)
  • Text message reminder for event or deadline (via SMS marketing)

Week 4

  • Final push email + social countdown
  • Direct mail drop (if applicable)
  • Thank-you message on all platforms (be sure to thank donors in the right way)

Two key things: coordination and clear responsibilities. Each action should lead naturally to the next, and it should be clear who is responsible for what. This applies to anything you do in multichannel marketing.

5) Measure And Adjust Accordingly

Multichannel marketing for nonprofits should drive results. Otherwise, what’s the point? If you’re going to make multichannel marketing work for you, you need to make sure you are measuring the right things. There’s good news, though: you don’t need to measure everything.

Here are the metrics we recommend staying on top of:

  • Email: open rates, click rates, overall conversions
  • Social: engagement (likes, shares, comments), reach, clicks
  • Website: total traffic, referral sources, bounce rate
  • Donations: revenue by channel, average gift size
  • Retention: repeat actions (like donating or RSVPing for an event)

It’s important here to examine how your channels work together. Measuring things in isolation can give you a skewed view of the overall importance of different platforms.

For example, did your email drive people to your website? Did your social post increase the amount of event registrants? A true multichannel approach works like an ecosystem – not just a bunch of separate marketing silos.

Once you start measuring, you’ll have a better idea of what needs to be done. Is something working well? Do more of it. Something not quite landing? Adjust your approach. The most important thing here is iteration, not perfection.

Multichannel Marketing Plans You Can Learn From

To understand how a multichannel marketing for nonprofits works in action, it helps to have a few examples. Below you will find four nonprofit organizations that successfully run a multichannel marketing plan, as well as what we can learn from them.

1) charity: water

Charity: Water is a master at compelling storytelling. A lot of this comes from video content and social media. They also frequently engage supporters via email and customized donation pages.

Takeaway: Invest in storytelling and quality landing pages. These are two “top of the funnel” elements that can have a huge impact on everything you do afterwards.

2) American Red Cross

The Red Cross uses SMS for disaster alerts and donation appeals. They also employ email marketing, but typically save this for more general updates and volunteer engagement.

Takeaway: Each channel has its own strength. Understand that, and your multichannel marketing will be more effective as a result.

3) World Wildlife Fund (WWF)

WWF uses traditional channels like direct mail alongside the usual digital ones. No matter what the channel, though, their team works to ensure consistent branding and messaging.

Takeaway: A mixture of traditional and digital channels is worth considering if you have the capacity for it. Not only does it increase your reach, but it drives engagement across diverse donor groups.

4) UNICEF

This last organization works with influencers to spread word of their work. They also focus on personalized donor journeys (email and website) to appeal directly to supporter interests.

Takeaway: You need to tailor your content based on different segments. This creates the feeling of speaking directly to your audience and drives more donations as a result.

10 Tools And Resources

With everything we’ve discussed in this ultimate guide, it’s obvious that the right tools are essential. With that in mind, here are ten tools and resources you might consider in creating your own multichannel marketing plan.

1) Mailchimp

For multichannel marketing, you need email. No way around it. Thankfully, these days there are quite a few ESP’s to choose from. One of the most reliable is still Mailchimp, though. Not only can you set up your list, but the tool makes it easy to build landing pages and automations that will help you grow it.

2) Hootsuite

This is a tool that helps you schedule and monitor your social media activity across platforms. It’s great for managing campaigns with limited staff.

3) Canva

Every nonprofit needs images for their multichannel marketing. Unfortunately, you often lack the expertise needed to make images that pop. Canva, a user-friendly way to create them, can help.

4) SemRush

Even in the age of AI, SEO will continue to be essential. If you are an organization that relies on being found through your content, you need an SEO tool. SemRush fills that need.

5) Textedly

Looking to improve your SMS marketing? Consider Textedly. Easy to use and full of helpful features, this platform is perfect for organizations that depend on more direct communication with their donors.

6) Google Analytics

You need to stay on top of your data. Google Analytics, which tracks how supporters interact with your website and digital campaigns, helps you do just that. This makes it possible to understand which channels drive action.

7) Trello

For an easy project management tool, look no further than Trello. This software helps you stay on top of tasks and makes it easy to assign different responsibilities to members of your team. The result? Calmer (and more effective) multichannel marketing.

8) Zapier

Want to connect different software? Need all your tools to interact with each other? For “if this then that” automation, look no further than Zapier.

9) FundraiseUp

Once you have driven traffic to a donation page, you need software that makes it easy to increase the average amount given. For that purpose, one of the best tools out there is FundraiseUp.

10) HubSpot

If you’re looking for an all-in-one tool, HubSpot might be for you. Assuming your organization has the budget for it, this is a general-use CRM that can do just about everything.

Conclusion

Creating a multichannel marketing plan requires work and strategy. That said, it’s well worth it. By widening your reach, you don’t just get your message in front of more people – you connect with your stakeholders and drive more donations.

We hope this guide has helped you see what’s possible. Act on just a fraction of it and your marketing results will be better because of it. Good luck – and let us know if you ever need help!

CLICK HERE FOR THE PDF VERSION OF THIS GUIDE

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Are you an enterprise, nonprofit or small business looking for help on your website? Give us a shout! We provide a free consultation. Email us at [email protected] or call us at (718) 855-1919!

7 Actions For More Sustainable Web Design

Posted on by Lúgh Studio

We don’t typically think of websites as polluters. But behind every action that somebody takes online, there is a real-world carbon cost. That’s why sustainable web design matters. 

Today we are covering why sustainable web design is so important. We’ve also included seven actions your organization can take on its way to a more sustainable online presence.

Let’s check it out below.

Why Sustainable Web Design Is Important

  • Less of an impact. The Sustainable Web Design Model tracks digital greenhouse emissions. The results are clear: websites that neglect sustainability best practices have a much higher impact on the environment.
  • Preferred by your younger audience. The fact is, for younger people (think 25 and below), sustainability is important. These people are more willing to do business with organizations that prioritize sustainable practices. If you don’t, you’re missing out on potential revenue. 
  • Forces you to adapt. As we will see below, prioritizing sustainable web design requires rethinking how you do business. This can result in a leaner (and more profitable) organization. 

These are just a few of the reasons sustainable web design is important. Now, let’s check out what you actually need to do for a more sustainable web presence.

7 Sustainable Web Design Practices

1) Get Specific About A Website’s Purpose

Sustainability begins with intention. Before you get started with design choices, ask yourself a few questions:

  • What is the main purpose of your website?
  • What does your target audience need the most?
  • How can clean web design provide this to them?

The more focused your site is, the fewer unnecessary pages and files it will require. Importantly, this translates to less energy used. A website overloaded with unnecessary content isn’t just inefficient – it’s also harder to navigate.

2) Design With Performance In Mind

Want to reduce your site’s environmental impact? If so, you need to improve its performance. Faster websites use less energy (both on the server side and on the users’ devices).

Here’s a list of quick wins you should consider acting on:

  • Optimize images. Compress images and use modern formats like WebP or AVIF.
  • Limit video autoplay. Because video is one of the most resource-intensive types of content, try to use it sparingly.
  • Minimize JavaScript and CSS bloat. Oversized files slow things down and increase data transfer.
  • Use system fonts when possible. Custom web fonts increase page load time and data usage. Stick with system fonts instead.

These actions will make your website greener and also ensure a faster connection on slower devices. 

3) Choose A Green Hosting Provider

Not all web hosts are created equal. Most rely quite heavily on fossil fuels. This can make it hard to find one that enables sustainable web design practices. That said, they do exist. 

Here are a few things to look for in hosting providers: 

  • Have they publicly committed to renewable energy and carbon neutrality?
  • Do they participate in sustainability certifications or initiatives (the Green Web Foundation is a good example)?
  • Are they transparent in their reporting about energy usage?

These are a few questions to guide you search. Switching to a green host is a high-impact decision, and it’s often cost-neutral.

4) Use Fewer Pages

Every extra page a user loads consumes energy. This can add up – especially on high-traffic sites. That said, there is a limit to how many web pages you can cut. After all, some are absolutely essential. 

This is why smarter navigation is so important. Try to group related content together wherever you can. You should also consolidate redundant or outdated pages. This takes up less space and is better for the user experience as a whole. 

Lastly, implement clear navigation so users can find what they need faster. If a user needs to click less, their path is a whole lot clearer. This isn’t just good for them, but for the environment as well.

5) Be Thoughtful About Content Strategy

Content marketing is important. If you want to bring in more leads, you need to prioritize it. But if you want to create and publish sustainably? How you organize your content matters. 

Here are a few best practices to keep in mind:

  • Audit existing content regularly. Remove or update any content that is outdated.
  • Use caching and content delivery networks (CDNs). This can substantially reduce overall server load.
  • Avoid “energy sucks.” This includes unnecessary auto-play, infinite scroll, and excessive animations throughout your site.

6) Track The Right Things

You can’t manage what you don’t measure. Use the right tools, and it becomes easier to stay on top of the numbers that matter. 

Here are the metrics most websites should be tracking:

  • Total page weight
  • Load time
  • Number of HTTP requests
  • Green hosting status

As for the tools you should consider investing in? We recommend Website Carbon Calculator or Ecograder. These both make it a bit easier to assess your site’s environmental impact. And once you do start using one of these, look for ways to improve over time. Even small tweaks can make a difference.

7) Make Sustainability Part of Your Web Culture

Our last tip is about your culture. It’s great to have a list of actions you want to pursue for sustainability. However, if your team isn’t on board, sustainable web design can easily get pushed to the backburner. 

While there are a number of things you can do, here are a few actions to consider:

  • Include sustainability goals in your yearly planning.
  • Chat about sustainable web design with your developers and designers. 
  • Implement the things we’ve covered in this guide while you are creating content.

The more sustainability becomes part of your team’s everyday actions, the easier it is to sustain over time. And once you’ve reached this point, you truly start to make a difference.

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Are you an enterprise, nonprofit or small business looking for help on your website? Give us a shout! We provide a free consultation. Email us at [email protected] or call us at (718) 855-1919! 

How To Deal With Loss Of Federal Funding

Posted on by Lúgh Studio

In the current political climate, loss of federal funding has become an unfortunate reality for organizations across the country. Nonprofits almost never expect it, so when funding disappears, it’s always a shock.

That said, losing federal funding isn’t the end of the world – you just need a plan. 

Below you will find six steps that we recommend if you are ever in this situation. Follow these steps to minimize the effect of cut funding, and to set yourself up for success down the line. 

Six Steps To Follow After Loss Of Federal Funding

1) Start With The Truth

First things first: be transparent. With loss of federal funding, it can be tempting to delay communication. You are likely looking for answers or for alternatives.

This is understandable, but it’s not the right way to approach things. Silence breeds uncertainty. And the more uncertain your team is, the more likely that rumors start. People will inevitably talk amongst themselves – often with “worst case” assumptions.

You can avoid this by simply being direct. Share what you know, when you know it. Your team deserves this information. You should be clear about what has changed, what it (likely) means in the short term, and most importantly, what you’re doing to respond. 

2) Map The Actual Impact

Once you’ve broken the news, it’s time to get specific. Not all funding losses are created equal. Some can be devastating, of course – but you don’t know until you dive into the numbers.

Here are the questions you need to answer before you know the actual impact to expect:

  • What exactly was cut? Was this loss of federal funding a full elimination or closer to a partial reduction? Will there simply be a temporary lull in funds, or does this represent an indefinite loss?
  • What did that money support? Staff positions? Infrastructure? Community partners? Now is the time to be clear about what is no longer being funded.
  • Which obligations remain? Likely, a loss of funding doesn’t happen overnight. There is probably still work to be done. Are there reporting requirements or certain close-out procedures that you need to worry about?

This is where your program and finance teams should work together for a shared understanding. This will help you gauge the immediate impact. It also makes it easier to prioritize your response.

3) Don’t Count On More Funding

Diversifying revenue streams is always wise. That said, going immediately into “grant-hunting mode” can be dangerous. You won’t necessarily recoup the loss quickly, and you need to take that into account. Our point? Chasing new money without a broader strategy can waste your time, burn out your team, and will likely create unrealistic expectations.

This is an opportunity to step back. What is your organization’s core mission and model? What needs to be preserved at all costs, and what can likely evolve? The truth is, loss of federal funds can be painful. That said, it’s also an opportunity to clarify what’s most essential. It’s important that you take a moment to look at the bigger picture – and that’s only possible if you assume that this funding is truly gone. 

4) Communicate With Partners And Stakeholders

At this point you’ve communicated with your team and have a clearer idea of the actual effects to expect. It’s now time to expand your communication about the situation. Many federal funding streams are part of broader coalitions or partnerships. If your loss of funding will impact others, they need to know as early as possible.

Be honest. Share what you know and what you expect to happen. Ask partners what they’ve heard; you might be able to help each other. Same thing for key community stakeholders. They may have ideas, and can play an important part in advocating for alternative solutions. 

No matter what, be sure to keep them in the loop. There are a number of ways you can do this. While in-person communication is preferable, your most important partners deserve a phone call at the minimum. Anybody else that will be impacted should also know sooner rather than later. Send out an email if necessary.

5) Rebuild The Right Way

Once the shock wears off, it’s time to think about the long-term. The loss of federal funding is difficult, but it is an opportunity to reimagine things. Not only how your organization is funded, but how it generally operates as well.

Ask yourself a few questions:

  • Are there opportunities for separate public funding that are more aligned with your organization’s goals?
  • Is there a way to change your program structure to make you more flexible and resilient in the future?
  • How can you strengthen your case with private donors to make you less susceptible to funding cuts?

This is the perfect time to strategize. A leaner, better-aligned organization is usually a more effective one, as well.

6) Reaffirm Your Mission

As we said at the beginning, loss of federal funding is a shock. It can be easy to feel destabilized. And once you do, second-guessing your entire mission is inevitable.

Still, during difficult times, going back to your mission can help guide your decisions. What is the core purpose of your work? Who are the people that you serve? How do you plan to keep showing up as an organization, even with this loss of federal funding? Doubling down on your mission isn’t just good to keep the ball rolling. It’s also a chance to boost team morale. Losing funding is terrible, but it doesn’t have to be the end of your work – or your momentum.

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Are you an enterprise, nonprofit or small business looking for help on your website? Give us a shout! We provide a free consultation. Email us at [email protected] or call us at (718) 855-1919!

Seven Donation Page Tips

Posted on by Lúgh Studio

If you want to bring in more cash as a nonprofit, you need a donation page that is optimized for donations. That’s why we created this post on donation page tips.

Below you will find seven action items that you can implement immediately. These will all make your donation pages more effective – and bring in more donations as a result. 

Seven Donation Page Tips

1) Keep It Clean And Focused

Clarity is key for a donation page to perform well. This page has only one job: make donating easy. That means removing anything that could possibly distract people. Here are some things you should try to avoid:

  • Outbound links. If people can navigate away from your donation page, they are less likely to give.
  • Clutter. Text should be minimal, and what you do write should be focused on the “why” behind the donation.
  • Multiple calls-to-action. Ask for more than one thing (donate vs. join our email list vs. follow us on Instagram) and you split focus.

When making decisions about donation page design, think of it like a checkout page. The fewer decisions, the better.

2) Prioritize Speed And Optimization

A donation page that’s slow or looks poorly on different devices simply won’t perform. It needs to be fast, and it needs to be optimized.

Speed is straightforward. Make it short and only ask for what you need (name, email, and payment info). You should also test it’s speed before it’s live. The longer it takes to load, the fewer donations you will receive.

Mobile optimization is also simple. A ton of donations will inevitably take place on phones. This means every part of your donation page needs to load and work quickly on small screens. There are multiple tools that make testing this easy, but also be sure to read up on mobile optimization best practices.

3) Use Suggested Donation Amounts Strategically

Anchoring is one of the most powerful ways to drive more donations. That’s why you should include it on your donation page. Here’s what we suggest:

  • Start with a mid-range default donation. This should be an amount that is generous but also attainable. Consider something between 25 and 50 dollars.
  • Test the order in which you put suggested amounts. This is the power of anchoring. By putting a smaller amount next to a bigger one (ie, 20 and 100), 20 seems much lower to the giver. Remember this: small tweaks can shift giving patterns significantly.
  • Include a “custom amount” field. This allows donors to give exactly what they want. It also prevents donors from feeling “boxed in” before they make their final decision on giving.

4) Tell A Quick But Compelling Story

Even on a donation page where you don’t have a ton of space, context matters. This is the perfect place to remind people why their gift is important. A great way to do that? Storytelling.

Because space is at a premium, there are a few things you should consider.

  • Use a short sentence or two at the top of the form. This is a way to introduce the story. If your nonprofit helps provide housing to people in need, here’s an example: “Your gift helps us provide emergency housing to families in crisis.”
  • Show the donor who they are going to help. This should include some kind of human element. There are two ways to do this effectively: descriptive labels (“$25 feeds a family for a week”) and pictures (assuming it is real and relevant).
  • Keep things brief. No origin story here (a donation page is not about you). 

5) Make Recurring Giving The Default Option

Recurring donors give more over time. They are also more likely to stay connected to your organization. Your donation page should make it easy to become one.

There are a number of best practices you might consider here:

  • Offer monthly giving as a default option, not an afterthought.
  • Make it as easy as possible to become a recurring donor with a quick checkbox.
  • Give your recurring program a name that people can identify with (“Impact Circle” or “Monthly Heroes Club”).

While you can always let people choose a one-time donation if they prefer, recurring gives you more long-term value. Getting it right here can be a difference maker. 

6) Build Trust With Donors

If something is a bit off, people will almost always hesitate to donate. Maybe the design is inconsistent. Maybe there’s a typo. Perhaps the copy tries a bit too hard to encourage a donation. No matter what it is, anything that feels jarring will result in low conversions.

This is where credibility comes in. If someone feels that they can trust you, a donation is almost always easier. We recommend three things:

  • Display (if you have them) charity ratings. These usually come from Guidestar or Charity Navigator.
  • Include a brief privacy statement on your donation page (something like “We will never share your information”).
  • Show your nonprofit status (for example: “501(c)(3) tax-deductible”).

Just a few quick actions, and you can reassure donors that their money is going where it’s supposed to.

7) Use A Strong Thank-You Page

After someone does donate, it’s not enough to just say “thanks” and move on. This is a great moment to deepen the connection. Donors will feel more appreciated, and will be more likely to give again later on.

Include a personal thank-you message after they successfully donate. This is relatively easy to do if you have already collected their name. You can also show the donor how their gift will be used. This specific information assures them about what they just have. Lastly, you can also consider giving them a “soft follow-up” action like sharing your campaign or joining the newsletter.

This thank you / confirmation page is the first step toward donor retention. Treat it as a way to engage, not just an afterthought.

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Are you an enterprise, nonprofit or small business looking for help on your website? Give us a shout! We provide a free consultation. Email us at [email protected] or call us at (718) 855-1919!

Ultimate Guide To Corporate Sponsorships For Nonprofits

Posted on by Lúgh Studio

Corporate sponsorships can be a game-changer for both nonprofits and companies. For nonprofits, they bring in more money and business know-how. For companies, they are able to connect with a bigger cause and get access to a new audience.

Still, for many nonprofits, the world of sponsorships can feel overwhelming. How do you find the right companies? What do you offer? How do you land a corporate sponsorship, and what do you need to do to continue working with big companies?

In this ultimate guide we cover everything you need to know. By the end you will be equipped with the knowledge you need to build stronger, smarter corporate partnerships.

Let’s get started.

CLICK HERE FOR THE PDF VERSION OF THIS GUIDE

What Is A Corporate Sponsorship?

There are of course intricacies of corporate sponsorships, but we will stick with a brief explanation.

Put simply, a corporate sponsorship is a business agreement between a company and a nonprofit. The company provides some kind of support to the nonprofit. This is often financial, but can also take various other forms. In return, the nonprofit offers visibility and alignment with a worthy cause.

The best sponsorships are more than just transactional. They’re strategic alliances. The company isn’t just a funder. Instead, they’re a collaborator on a cause that actually matters. Likewise, the nonprofit isn’t just a beneficiary. Instead, they’re a partner in storytelling and a source of goodwill for a brand.

Here is the mindset shift you need to make to fully understand corporate sponsorships:

  • A donation becomes a gift.
  • A sponsorship becomes a deal.
  • A partnership becomes a relationship.

This relationship, when thoughtfully planned and built out, can be incredibly powerful for both parties.

Why Corporate Sponsorships Are Important

Nonprofit organizations are always looking for ways to drive more funding. Corporate sponsorships offer them a solution in a unique way. Not only do they bring in more cash, but they can also result in increased visibility, credibility, and access to a broader network.

Here are a few specific reasons why corporate sponsorships might be worth pursuing:

Corporate Sponsorships for Nonprofits

1) Diversified Funding Streams

Let’s be honest: there are a ton of risks that come from relying too heavily on individual grants or donors. Corporate sponsorships add a new stream of funding to your organization. This can offer stability and long-term potential if managed well.

2) “In-Kind” Resources

Beyond the money that they offer, companies are also sometimes willing to provide additional services. This might include anything from legal help and IT support to general marketing advice. These resources can offset costs for nonprofits and elevate their effectiveness.

3) Stronger Brand Credibility

Every nonprofit can benefit from more trust and legitimacy. And when a recognized company puts their name next to yours, that’s exactly what you get. It shows the public (as well as other potential sponsors) that your mission is worth supporting.

4) Broader Reach + Exposure

A corporate sponsorship can, and often does, get broadcast to a company’s audience. This means social media exposure, mentions in newsletters, and potentially even press coverage. The result? Your sponsor’s audience becomes your audience – and you enjoy the benefits as a result.

What Types Of Corporate Sponsorships Are There?

Not all sponsorships look the same. While it’s tempting to only consider direct payments from corporate partners, there are a lot of things these sponsors can offer.

This is good news. It means there’s quite a bit of flexibility when it comes to finding partnerships that fit your specific goals and resources.

Here are the major types to consider, as well as an example for each one:

1) Financial Sponsorship

This is the most straightforward kind of corporate sponsorship. A company gives you money, and in exchange they get visibility and various benefits. This will often take the form of supporting an event, program, or annual fund.

Example: A local bank gives $10,000 to sponsor your annual in-person event. In return, it receives a logo placement and mentions in your press release and social posts.

2) In-Kind Sponsorship

The company donates goods or services instead of money. There are a number of possibilities here: food for an event, help with graphic design, or consulting services.

Example: A software company gives your team access to premium tools for free.

3) Employee Engagement Sponsorship

In this version of corporate sponsorships, a company will support your nonprofit by encouraging employee involvement. This could be anything from volunteer programs and fundraising to donation matching.

Example: A company sponsors your nonprofit’s “Volunteer Day.” They send 100 employees to help build a community garden.

Corporate Sponsorships for Nonprofits

4) Media / Promotional Sponsorship

This corporate sponsorship is all about amplification. A company will use its platforms, connections, or marketing team to amplify a nonprofit’s message. Depending on the audience size, this sponsorship can be the most influential.

Example: A radio station becomes your media sponsor and runs free PSA’s about your upcoming walkathon.

What Sponsors Want

Before we share our system for finding sponsors, it’s important to know how exactly businesses benefit from this relationship. Too often, nonprofits approach sponsors with only their needs in mind. This is the wrong approach. If you start by asking what the company wants, and how you can help them get it, you will be much more successful.

Here are five things that most sponsors are looking for:

1) Visibility

Companies that are interested in corporate sponsorships often want some kind of exposure. The big reminder here? They want the right kind. Their name on a poster isn’t enough. Rather, think of connection to something meaningful, inspirational… and alignment with their values.

2) Community Engagement

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is increasingly important to companies everywhere. More and more, it’s becoming a central part of their overall business strategy. Companies want to show not only that they care about their community, but that they are also investing in solutions.

3) Audience Access

Let’s be honest: sponsors are interested in your audience. This includes everything from your donors and event attendees to your email list. If your general demographic matches their target customer (or represents a group they want to reach), a corporate sponsorship can be a huge opportunity for them.

4) Employee Connection

For most companies, having a team that is proud of their employer is a huge asset. Sponsoring a nonprofit can have a number of related benefits: better morale, improved recruitment, and retained talent.

5) Measurable ROI

Lastly, ROI is perhaps the most important factor that corporate sponsors are looking for. They want to know: did this sponsorship achieve anything? The thing here is that every corporate sponsorship will be unique. Be prepared to share data on impressions, reach, participation, or engagement. Even small nonprofits can track this.

Three Steps To Landing Your First Corporate Sponsorships

1) Find The Right Sponsors

Corporate Sponsorships for Nonprofits

Start by identifying companies that have a natural alignment with your values and audience. The best sponsors often come from:

  • Existing relationships (past donors are an especially good place to start)
  • Companies in your local community
  • Businesses that already support similar causes
  • Brands with public goals that match your mission

As for where you find these companies? There are a few places to start your search:

  • Event sponsors from similar nonprofits
  • LinkedIn or social media mentions
  • Publicly available annual reports from larger companies

Make sure you do your research here. Before you reach out to companies, you need to understand what they care about. Have they supported similar causes in the past? Do they often run campaigns along with nonprofits? Tailor your approach accordingly.

2) Build A Sponsorship Proposal That Works

Never treat your proposal for a corporate sponsorship as a sales pitch. This will almost always come across as too transactional. Instead, look at it as an invitation to collaborate.

For the best results, here are some things to include in your sponsorship proposals:

  • Introduction and mission. Begin with your story. Who are you and what do you do? Also, why does it matter? No matter who is reading your proposal, you want to make it compelling (but concise).
  • The opportunity. What event, program, or campaign are you seeking a sponsorship for? Be clear here about what you need and how their support will be used.
  • Audience overview. This is a big one. A potential corporate sponsor will want to know who exactly you serve. This includes key data like event attendees, social media reach, email list size, and demographic insights.
  • Marketing exposure. Show your potential sponsor exactly how they’ll be promoted. This will usually include one (or several) of the following: website mention, newsletter plug, signage, press release, or social media shoutout.
  • Impact reporting. How will you measure success and share results? This is essential information, as it properly sets expectations. Also remember this: an in-depth report can be the key to renewing the relationship.
  • Next steps. Close your proposal with a clear ask. Invite them to an initial call or request a response by a specific date. This will keep the ball rolling and makes it easier to get a “yes.”

3) Keep Sponsors Engaged

Getting a sponsor is only half the battle. The real value in corporate sponsorships is how partnerships grow over time.

Here are a few tips to keeping partners engaged (and continuing working with them):

  • Overdeliver. Go above and beyond what you promised. A business is already taking a chance on your nonprofit. Overdeliver and you heighten the odds of a long-term partnership.
  • Communicate often. Send updates before they ask. Keep them in the loop at all times. Aim for communicating too often versus not enough.
  • Thank them publicly. Tag them in social posts, give shoutouts at events, and celebrate their involvement. Not only does this increase their exposure (exactly what they’re looking for), but it shows that you care.
  • Share real impact. Any partnership will be more successful if you focus on real results. Be careful here of relying on metrics too much. These are important, but real stories from people that have benefited from the sponsorship are even more powerful.
  • Bring new ideas. There’s no rule that partnerships can’t evolve over time. Consider pitching creative ways to advance your work together (employee events, co-branded campaigns, or storytelling videos). You never know which new idea is going to be a game-changer!

Five Common Mistakes To Avoid

Even the most experienced nonprofits make mistakes when it comes to sponsorships. While this is natural, avoiding the most common mistakes will set you up for success.

Here are five of them:

1) Sending generic proposals to dozens of companies. A “spray and pray” approach to outreach is instantly obvious to anybody opening your proposal.

2) Focusing only on your needs, not theirs. This is one of the most destructive pitfalls that nonprofits fall into. A corporate sponsorship is a partnership – treat it like one.

3) Failing to do proper research. The best proposal in the world means nothing if it’s sent to the wrong company. Make sure you’re contacting companies that are actually a good fit.

4) Neglecting follow-up or impact reporting. A company needs to be well-informed about results. Sharing stats and overall impact should be an absolute priority.

5) Treating sponsors like donors, not partners. Donors are great. That said, it’s a very different type of relationship from a sponsorship. Be sure to follow best practices for interacting with your sponsor.

Tools And Resources

Lastly, let’s cover some tools and resources that are especially useful for corporate sponsorships. These will all help you find more corporate sponsorships for your nonprofit – and keep them happy and engaged once you do.

SponsorPitch: This is a comprehensive sponsorship database. It offers insights into different kinds of partnerships across industries, which can help you more easily identify and pitch the right partners.

Instrumentl: Primarily a grant tool, Instrumentl also tracks corporate funders. This can reveal sponsorship opportunities that you might otherwise miss during your research phase.

NXUnite: Are you a mission-driven organization that wants this entire process to be easier. That’s where NXUnite comes in. As a growing hub of nonprofit webinars and sponsor opportunities, finding the right sponsor has never been easier.

LinkedIn Sales Navigator: Once you’re ready for outreach, this is the tool we recommend. Ideal for prospecting and direct outreach, LinkedIn’s Sales Navigator can help you identify and connect with key corporate decision-makers.

Conclusion

Finding the right corporate sponsorships for nonprofits is difficult. That said, it’s worth it. With the right partner, you establish a mutually beneficial relationship, and most of your organizational goals become easier as a result.

Implement the tips and action steps in this ultimate guide, and you are well on your way to finding more sponsorship opportunities. Let us know if you ever need advice – we are always here to help!

CLICK HERE FOR THE PDF VERSION OF THIS GUIDE

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