Free Nonprofit Marketing Tools You Need To Amplify Support

Through nonprofit marketing, organizations can find prospective supporters, retain existing ones, and inspire action for their causes. If your nonprofit is looking to stand out among the many others vying for support, you’ll have to get creative. Fortunately, there are numerous free nonprofit marketing tools available to aid your efforts.

In this guide, we’ll explore everything you need to know about nonprofit marketing tools, including:

• Why Are Nonprofit Marketing Tools Important?
• What are Different Types of Nonprofit Marketing?
• Free Nonprofit Marketing Tools
• Steps to Create a Nonprofit Marketing Plan
• Marketing Matching Gifts With These Tools

By leveraging the right tools, you’ll be able to expand your organization’s reach and connect with even more supporters who are willing and eager to get involved in your cause.

Why Are Nonprofit Marketing Tools Important?

Developing a comprehensive nonprofit marketing strategy is key to your organization’s long-term success. Fundraising data reveals that nonprofits raise $90 for every 1,000 fundraising messages sent, meaning your marketing efforts have a direct correlation to the amount you’re able to raise.

Double the Donation’s fundraising statistics reveal that donors are most inspired to give across various channels. Here’s the breakdown of those messaging platforms:

• 32% of donors are most inspired to give via social media.
• Email inspired 30% of donors to give.
• Nonprofit websites prompt 17% of supporters to donate.
• 15% of donors give because of print marketing.
• TV and radio ads inspire 3% of donors to give.
• 2% of donors give in response to a phone call.
• Only 1% of donors are inspired to give by text message.

In other words, over 80% of donors are inspired to give by digital channels, meaning your nonprofit must amp up its digital marketing toolkit to inspire support. Thanks to modern technology, it’s easier than ever to reach a global audience of supporters by creating a strong digital presence for your nonprofit.

What are Different Types of Nonprofit Marketing?

There are several key channels to factor into your overall nonprofit marketing strategy and fundraising efforts. Since your supporters have varying preferences and interests, spreading out your efforts ensures that you reach as many of them as possible with your communications. Three key pieces to incorporate into your strategy include:

• Content Marketing. Content marketing involves reaching out to audiences through various channels to promote your organization’s mission. This includes numerous mediums, such as written text, video, images, and more.
• Email Marketing. Email is a popular way for people to stay connected, share news, and communicate information globally, which makes it an effective marketing channel for nonprofits as well. Whether you’re sending out weekly newsletters or following up with supporters, it’s crucial to find ways to engage with your audience through email.
• Graphic Design. In a world of constant communication, your donors may be fatigued with the amount of messages they receive. But articles with images get 650% more engagement than those without, meaning there’s great potential for graphic design elements to impact audience engagement.
• Social Media Marketing. From Facebook to Instagram to TikTok, social media is taking up more and more of people’s daily lives, making it an appealing option for nonprofits looking to deepen their interactions with their supporters. There’s plenty of room to get creative on these platforms by producing compelling videos and images that motivate viewers to get involved.

Regardless of the channel, the key to successfully attracting support online lies in creating attention-grabbing content that appeals to your specific target audience and keeps them invested in your mission over time. By doing so, you can even leverage your supporters’ personal networks by encouraging them to share your nonprofit’s messaging with their friends and family.

Free Nonprofit Marketing Tools

It’s no mystery that you need the right tools to put an effective nonprofit marketing plan into place, but which tools should you use? Here’s our list of the top affordable and free nonprofit marketing tools to make your strategy a success.

Content Marketing Tools

Content creation is at the core of nonprofit marketing, especially when it comes to communicating your mission and fundraising needs. But content can take various forms, from written website content to engaging videos, which is why you’ll need marketing tools that can handle it all.

Google Ad Grant: Best Online Advertising Tool for Nonprofits

For nonprofits, the return on ad spend is highest for search ads, at $2.75 for every dollar spent, making search engine marketing a valuable part of any nonprofit marketing plan. The Google Ad Grant is a program that provides eligible 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations with $10,000 in Google Ad credits to spend each month.

For more information about the program, check out the following video:

To meet the associated requirements, you’ll need to have a high-quality website and verify your nonprofit status. Once you’ve completed the application process and received approval, you can use this free nonprofit advertising tool by creating targeted ads that:

• Spread the word about your organization’s mission and cause.
• Increase traffic to your website.
• Promote your fundraising efforts and campaigns.
• Boost online conversions, such as donations and event signups.
• Attract new supporters.

To make the most of this free nonprofit advertising opportunity, be sure to choose relevant keywords for your ads and maintain your organization’s eligibility by following the program requirements. At the same time, look into the many resources available to boost your results, such as professional agencies specializing in Google Ad Grants that can manage the entire process for you.

Google Ad Grant managers, such as Getting Attention, can assist your nonprofit with key tasks such as determining your eligibility for the program, completing the application, creating ad campaigns once you’re approved, and maintaining compliance with Google’s rules. By leveraging their expertise, you can ensure that your organization makes the most of its $10,000 in free advertising each month.

Grammarly: Best Content Editing Tool

When it comes to creating written content that is both clear and engaging, Grammarly can significantly advance your efforts. As an AI writing assistant, this free nonprofit marketing tool can help you ensure that your content is nothing short of polished. Notably, Grammarly offers features such as:

• Suggestions for correcting misspelled words, grammatical errors, and punctuation mistakes.
• Lists of synonyms to vary your wording.
• Phrasing recommendations for concision.

Equipped with Grammarly’s free browser extension, you can write and refine your nonprofit’s content on almost any website or platform, from Gmail to Facebook. This means that all of your email communications to supporters will be crafted just to your liking to inspire their support.

Typito: Best Tool for Video Content Creation

Videos are an incredibly effective way to attract attention on social media and inform viewers about your nonprofit’s cause. Typito is a free video editor that makes it easy to produce high-quality videos, with key features such as:

• A drag-and-drop editor.
• A variety of video formats and aspect ratios to choose from.
• A real-time video preview option.
• Over 500 text animation templates.

From sharing staff and volunteer interviews to revealing behind-the-scenes footage, there are many ways your organization can take advantage of this free nonprofit marketing tool to engage your social media supporters with videos, so get creative with all the features Typito has to offer.

Email Marketing Tools

Email-based marketing and promotional campaigns generate approximately 28% of all online nonprofit revenue. Plus, email has the highest ROI out of any marketing channel, making email optimization vital to attract as much support as possible for your nonprofit. Take a look at these free nonprofit email marketing tools to enhance your results.

eCardWidget: Best Tool for Digital Cards

To capture donors’ interest, your email messages must be eye-catching and relevant. That’s where eCardWidget comes in—a flexible eCard tool that allows nonprofits to send customizable, digital greeting cards via email. What makes this tool even more exciting is that eCards can be sent via text message, Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), and LinkedIn for an even greater reach!

eCardWidget offers a free plan and flexible pricing for plans with more features. Some of its top features include:

• Customizable templates
• The ability to upload your own branded design
• Comprehensive address book so you can import existing contact information
• Analytics, including read receipts to see when recipients open your eCard
• Social media sharing options

Beyond its marketing capabilities, eCardWidget also accepts payments and offers Smart Donation Options, allowing nonprofits to turn this tool into a fundraising opportunity by selling or adding donation options to its eCards. This makes it the ideal platform for stewarding supporters as well as collecting donations!

Mailchimp: Best Email Marketing Platform

Mailchimp is a useful email marketing tool that offers both a free plan and a 15% discount to verified nonprofit organizations looking to upgrade. Some of its top features are:

• Pre-built email templates with eye-catching design.
• Segmentation tools for targeted communications.
• Automated messaging journeys.
• A/B testing to refine your strategy.

Whether you’re looking to create a weekly nonprofit newsletter or improve your current efforts, utilizing Mailchimp can facilitate the process of reaching your supporters in the most impactful ways.

Social Media Marketing Tools

With 4.76 billion social media users across the globe, or just under 60% of the total world population, it’s clear that your nonprofit needs to turn its attention toward social media marketing to reach the numerous potential and existing supporters on these platforms. The following tools will help you lay a strong foundation for success.

Facebook Groups: Best Tool for Building a Community of Supporters

One of the primary reasons people find themselves drawn to social media is its ability to unite users from around the world under common interests, values, or causes. By leveraging Facebook Groups, your nonprofit can build a community of supporters who are eager to promote your mission and spread awareness about your cause online. Specifically, you can use Facebook groups to:

• Recruit and guide peer-to-peer fundraisers.
• Promote upcoming events.
• Steward supporters and cultivate lasting relationships with them.

These days, your nonprofit’s supporters are drawn to personalized communications and a sense of belonging. Ensure that they feel individually recognized and valued by interacting with them through this nonprofit marketing tool.

Later: Best Tool for Nonprofit Social Media Management

Later is a free nonprofit marketing tool that can streamline social media management for your organization. Whether you’re posting on Facebook, LinkedIn, or TikTok, you can create a free account for planning and scheduling posts with ease. You’ll have access to features such as:

• Unlimited media storage.
• Instagram analytics.
• The ability to schedule up to 10 posts per month.

For nonprofits interested in this tool’s more premium features, Later offers a 50% discount on both its annual and monthly subscription plans.

Graphic Design Tools

93% of nonprofits believe donor engagement is positively impacted by a strong brand identity, and rightfully so! 26% of nonprofits have rebranded in the past two years, and 47% of these have already experienced an increase in revenue. If your nonprofit is ready to tap into the benefits of a strong visual appeal with effective graphic design, check out the following tools.

Kwala: Best Resource for Professional Graphic Design

Kwala is the perfect graphic design resource for nonprofits, not only because of its budget-friendly cost but also because of its specialty in mission-driven design. The experts at Kwala are dedicated to showcasing nonprofit work through well-crafted logos, website graphics, brochures, year-end appeals, and more.

When developing your nonprofit’s brand and style, there are numerous elements you’ll need to consider, such as the typography, color palette, and logo variations you’ll use. Experts like those at Kwala can help you develop accurate, up-to-date brand guides like the example below.

If you aren’t a branding expert, professional graphic design guidance can help ensure all these elements come together nicely! After subscribing to Kwala at their one set price, your nonprofit can access:

• A dedicated graphic designer who works directly with your nonprofit
• Unlimited designs and revisions
• Full ownership of every design created

While Kwala’s services aren’t free, their subscription-style pricing makes it easy for nonprofits of any size to take advantage of these services. Plus, there are no contracts or set-up fees, making it easy for organizations to sign up and cancel their subscription at any time.

Canva: Best Tool for In-House Designs

When it comes to standing out among the many messages your supporters receive on a regular basis, a compelling image or well-designed graphic can make all the difference. Canva is a free graphic design tool that allows you to produce eye-catching visuals to level up your email communications. Its free features include:

• Over 250,000 professionally designed templates.
• A drag-and-drop editor.
• AI design tools such as Text to Image and Magic Design.
• Collaboration capabilities to create designs as a team.

Furthermore, you can use this nonprofit marketing tool to not only enrich your nonprofit emails but to create engaging graphics for your website and social media posts as well. By applying for Canva for Nonprofits, you can even gain access to the tool’s premium features without charge. At the same time, plenty of other graphic design tools are at your disposal online—so feel free to explore to find the best option for your needs.

Pexels: Best Stock Photo Resource

As your organization plans to post impactful and attention-grabbing content on social media, there may be occasions when you’d like to include an image, but you may not have any fitting options. That’s where stock photos come in handy. Pexels offers countless free stock photos and videos that your nonprofit can download and use for free. This free marketing tool’s key features include:

• A media library with thousands of visual content options.
• A free app for Apple and Android devices.
• The ability to create personal collections to organize and save stock photos.

When using stock photos in your social media marketing efforts, be sure to find colors consistent with your organization’s branding and images relevant to the goal of each post. Unsplash is another useful alternative to consider when you’re searching for suitable stock images for your nonprofit.

Steps to Create a Nonprofit Marketing Plan

Subscribing to nonprofit marketing tools is just one part of enhancing your marketing efforts. You’ll also need a strategic plan when putting these tools to use, which you can develop in the following steps:

1. Identify your target audience. Use data from your prospect research, constituent relationship management (CRM) solution, and other data sources to determine who you hope to reach with your marketing messages. To ensure your marketing strategy is as specific as possible, you can break down this target audience into segments based on shared characteristics. For example, you might find a large percentage of your volunteers are college students in your local area, but those who participate in matching gifts tend to be middle-aged supporters from surrounding states.
2. Choose your marketing channels. Using what you know about your target audience, determine which types of messages they’re most responsive to and which channels they use most often. In the example above, your young volunteers may be more active on social media while matching gift donors would prefer an email from your organization.
3. Develop consistent branding. When your target audience sees your nonprofit’s branding, they’ll be confident the message came from you and they’ll be reminded of your mission in every element of the content. Develop consistent graphics, branding, and content to build your nonprofit’s credibility. A style guide can be especially helpful for standardizing your brand guidelines across your team.
4. Create compelling marketing content. This is where you’ll get to put those free nonprofit marketing tools to use! Create email templates, social media posts, website content, and various other types of communications based on your target audience and the message you’re trying to convey. Remember to employ a multi-channel approach, leveraging the different strengths of multiple channels to share the same message.
5. Analyze your nonprofit marketing plan performance. It’s always important to keep an eye on your marketing efforts and adjust them as needed. This way, you’ll ensure your strategy is as effective as possible. Depending on the marketing channels you use, you’ll be able to track important metrics associated with the engagement your marketing messages receive. Plus, free analytics tools like Google Analytics can help you track channel-specific performance.

Remember, your nonprofit marketing plan will evolve over time, especially as you learn what works and what doesn’t work for your unique audience. Be flexible and open to new ideas as you adapt your marketing approach and expand the reach of your communications.

Marketing Matching Gifts With These Tools

Equipped with a well-crafted marketing plan, your nonprofit is ready to put its best foot forward when promoting its fundraising initiatives. And since an estimated $4-7 billion in matching gifts goes unclaimed each year, you’ll need a strong marketing approach to get donors on board.

Incorporate matching gifts into your:

• Content: Your website is a great place to share educational content about matching gifts, especially if you’ve embedded an auto-submission tool. This way, your audience can immediately check their eligibility and submit a match request upon reading your matching gifts content.
• Emails: Emails can also share educational content, but provide the flexibility for visually-appealing materials! Add a section about matching gifts to your existing newsletter or start a campaign specifically to educate recipients about the opportunity. Even a subject line that says, “Your gift today could be doubled” will capture donors’ attention.
• Social media posts: Share matching gift basics, impactful statistics, and concise instructions for how to get started on your social media channels. Illustrate the concept with graphics of doubled gifts or large numbers to truly demonstrate the impact of matching gifts.
• Graphic design: Tie matching gifts to your nonprofit by creating illustrations and visuals branded to your organization.

Scheduling your posts, emails, and other marketing messages is the best way to ensure your efforts are cohesive. Plan a dedicated matching gifts marketing campaign to educate existing supporters, then create a plan for reaching potential or new donors in the future.

Leveraging Nonprofit Marketing Tools for Success

Equipped with these free nonprofit marketing tools, your organization can take your marketing strategy—from advertising to social media—to new heights. Set yourself up for success by setting clear goals and identifying how each tool can contribute toward achieving those goals. This ensures that you’re making the most of your time and resources.

For instance, if you’re planning to dive into Google Ad Grants but aren’t quite certain where to begin, take some time to conduct research or reach out to experts who can help you optimize your Google Ad Grant results. If you’re interested in learning more about how to secure more support for your nonprofit, explore these informative resources:

• How to Apply for the Google Ad Grant: Basics + Steps. Ready to launch your content marketing strategy? Learn how to apply for the Google Ad Grant to start promoting your website today!
• Measuring Google Ad Grants Success: How To Track Winning Ads. So you’ve chosen marketing tools and employed a communications strategy—now what? Measure the performance of your Google Ads with these tips!
• 8 Matching Gift Metrics Every Nonprofit Should Analyze. Every successful marketing campaign produces significant fundraising results. Learn how to analyze matching gifts metrics in this guide.