Top 3 Free Tools for Nonprofits
If you work for a nonprofit, your technology budget is probably limited. Your organization probably wants as much funding as possible to go towards your mission. But having the right technology helps you do your job better—and ultimately raise more money for your cause.
Good news: Three of the best technology tools out there are offered to nonprofits for FREE! Find out what they are and how you start using them today (without breaking the bank).
#1: Google for Nonprofits
Google is the ultimate tool to collaborate and organize your work. You may have read about our love for using Google Photos to keep important photos organized. Beyond Gmail, Google Docs, Drive, and Calendar, some other tools that are great for nonprofits include:
Google Voice: Get a free phone number for your nonprofit that can be accessed by multiple individuals. You can get incoming calls and texts forwarded and received to your phone or computer without having to share your personal/work phone number. You can also get your voicemails transcribed and forwarded as an email or text so that you never miss an important message.
YouTube Nonprofit Program: Have you ever seen a donate button pop up while watching a YouTube video? As a nonprofit, you may be eligible to unlock this feature and raise funds directly through the platform. If you have powerful videos that tell the story of your organization, this is an excellent, free option for connecting with your supporters.
Google Ad Grants: Did you know that as a nonprofit, you are eligible for $10,000 in free advertising credits each month? It’s true! While digital advertising is typically “pay-to-play”, the Google Ad Grants program allows nonprofits to run search ads for free. Getting your organization listed on the first page of search results is HUGE when it comes to growing awareness. You definitely want to take advantage of this to bring potential supporters straight to your website!
If your organization uses Gmail for your inbox, chances are you’re already signed up for the Google suite of apps. All the products mentioned above are already bundled in for free.
Google Ads can be a bit confusing to navigate and set up for the first time. Tune into our upcoming free webinar on Monday, June 3 at 3 pm ET to learn how Google Ad Grants works and what 3 ads you should run right now. We’ll walk you through each step so you know exactly what to do.
#2: Canva Pro
If you’re like most nonprofits and don’t have a graphic designer on your team, Canva is for you. It has thousands of templates and millions of images and graphics for you to create powerful marketing campaigns. And as a registered nonprofit, social impact, or public health organization, you can get all the premium features of Canva Teams for free!
“Set and forget” your brand kit by uploading your fonts and logos, and selecting your color scheme—and you’ll be able to create social media infographics, presentations, reports, posters, flyers, and signs in minutes. You can turn one graphic into many different sizes with Magic Resize, use Background Remover to get creative with your images, and bring your designs to life with animations and GIFs.
#3: Fundraise Up
Hands down, this is our favorite donation platform out there. Every aspect of their platform is driven by data—even the blue color they use for donate buttons (a particular shade resulted in 8% more conversions)! Most nonprofits raise TWICE as much money once they switch to this platform, especially from monthly donors. Every supporter is asked multiple times throughout the checkout process if they want to sign up for a monthly gift—and a lot of people do.
Your donors will have a frictionless experience, too. They won’t be asked for their address until after the donation goes through (goodbye, abandoned checkouts!). After transitioning to Fundraise Up right before the busy holiday time, one of our clients shared that this was the “best present to the organization” they had ever received. It was their strongest year-end fundraising season in 15 years.
Fundraise Up completely free to use, and no contract is required to get up and running. The platform integrates with all major CRMs. You can leave any time, so why not give it a try?
P.S. At the Purpose Collective, we love Fundraise Up so much that we became a Certified Fundraise Up Partner. Check out our Getting Started with Fundraise Up package to start transforming your donor experience today.
Now, go forth and give these tools a try! We hope they make your life (and your job) a little bit easier.
Before we go… Here's one more free opportunity for you! Book a Free Office Hours time slot with our digital marketing experts. Bring any marketing or messaging question you have, and we’ll spend an hour brainstorming and troubleshooting solutions with you.
