WINSPIRE NEWS

Your destination for insight into the world of event fundraising and charity auctions.

Our 8 Favorite (Free!) Tools for Nonprofit Fundraising

Posted by Lou Prisco

Fundraising Tools_Blog HeaderEvery Nonprofit Marketer/Fundraiser has ran into the same problem while doing their job; a lack of resources and tools to use! I was the Marketing Manager for a Nonprofit for 7+ years and would experience this each day at work.

How do I crop and edit an image without Photoshop? We can’t hire a full time designer, but we want pretty invitation flyers for our upcoming event!

Luckily, I was pretty savvy with Google Search and came across a TON of really cool free resources that are completely free to use for Nonprofit Fundraisers and Marketers.

Check out our favorite 8 resources for Nonprofits that are completely free!

  1. Techsoup
  2. Slack
  3. Canva
  4. Typito
  5. Google Ad Grants
  6. Hotjar
  7. Vecteezy
  8. Unsplash

Techsoup  📀

Techsoup was created exclusively for Nonprofits! They provide connections and resources to help power your nonprofit through technology. Techsoup offers services including highly discounted software (Microsoft Office, Anti-virus software, etc.) for any registered Nonprofit.

I recall getting my Nonprofit colleagues setup with a highly discounted license to Adobe Acrobat Pro. It was a game-changer to be able to edit PDFs!

You can learn more about Techsoup here.

Slack  💬

Running a nonprofit is a collaborative effort. Slack is an effective tool when it comes to keeping your team on the same page.

Slack allows for communication throughout your entire organization through organized channels, file-sharing, and even face-to-face video calls and screen sharing. Check it out here.

p.s. you can easily send GIFs through Slack. Yes, please!

giphy (12)-1

Canva  🎨

Canva is a great resource if you need to design a flyer for your upcoming charity golf event or yearly gala! They provide easy-to-use templates for designing posters, flyers, annual reports, and other marketing materials to help you spread the word about an upcoming event.

canva_test

Their free account is great, but go here to apply for a free Nonprofit Canva Account and get full access to everything.

Typito  🎥

Thinking about enhancing your social media marketing game? Typito is an excellent tool for building your nonprofit’s social media presence with customizable motion graphic templates to help you create on-brand videos built for top social media platforms.

Typito is an easy tool for using your creativity to publicize your cause on social media.

DOWNLOAD HANDBOOK

Google Ad Grants  📊

Google offers qualifying charities $10,000 per month of free advertising through their Ad Words pay-per-click platform. Google Ad Grants works by displaying your message to people who are searching for keywords related to your nonprofit.

AdWords_for_Nonprofits_Example

Every time someone clicks on your ad, $2 is deducted from the $10,000 monthly budget of in-kind advertising. The more eyes you have on your nonprofit’s message, the more volunteers and potential donors you can reach for your cause.

Click here to apply through Google.

Hotjar  🖥️

Hotjar is an incredible resource for nonprofits that want to maximize their reach and the potential of their websites. Hotjar provides insight, analysis, and feedback for how users are engaging with your website.heatmaps-0

If you just updated your website and are featuring an upcoming event, you can use Hotjar to see if your users are interested in your upcoming event based on their clicks, taps, and scrolling behaviors.

This is the most user friendly way to optimize your website, and it's free for nonprofits if you apply!

Your organization must be recognized as an official nonprofit or charitable organization in the country where you're located. Click here to learn more and apply.

Vecteezy  🖥️

Vecteezy is another tool to help you build high quality and engaging marketing materials. I personally have been using Vecteezy for years whenever I need icons or other small images for PDFs I'm designing.

You can browse their vector files here.

Unsplash  🖼️

Stock photos have really evolved in the past few years! Our favorite free stock photo site leading the charge here is Unsplash.

Unsplash offers free high-resolution photos for your creative use. If you are looking to rebrand your website or use high quality images to attract potential donors to your event, Unsplash is a great resource!

unsplash_header

You can browse countless high quality images ranging from nature to travel to fashion; whatever fits your cause!

I hope you find all of these resources useful! You can contact me below if you have any specific questions or want to chat about your upcoming event. Happy Fundraising!!

Lou Prisco | Fundraising Manager
lprisco@winspireme.com

Fundraising Strategy, Learning Center
Lou Prisco
Lou Prisco
Lou has 7+ years experience working at a small nonprofit before joining the Winspire team. As the Fundraising Manager, Lou is responsible for educating Nonprofits on best-practices when it comes to raising funds.

Related Posts

Design Your Own Charity Auction Catalog [+ Template]

If your nonprofit is hosting an auction fundraising event, it’s important to consider how to get participants excited about bidding on your most valuable auction items. Designing a charity auction catalog will help you do just that!

30+ Best Live Auction Items for Nonprofit Fundraisers

Many nonprofits find a live auction to be one of the most lucrative fundraising events they run. Participants have the opportunity to meet other passionate supporters and get caught up in a fun, competitive atmosphere as bidding wars ensue. This entertainment value combined with the opportunity to purchase one-of-a-kind items creates a positive attendee experience while bringing in revenue to fund your organization’s mission.

30+ Silent Auction Basket Ideas for Nonprofit Events

Gift baskets are a staple of silent auctions. It’s generally easier to procure smaller, lower-value auction items than big-ticket ones, and bundling several of the smaller donations you receive into one basket gives the items a higher starting value. Plus, well-designed baskets are more unique than physical items or gift certificates alone.