1. Content is king.

To keep supporters, volunteers, and donors informed and engaged with your nonprofit, having a blog full of valuable content is imperative. To create interesting content, follow these tips:

• Consider what your audience wants to see. Think about what type of content your target audience would be most interested in. For example, if your nonprofit attracts supporters who are younger professionals starting out in their careers, consider including professional development advice on your blogroll.
• Establish a consistent voice for your brand. Based on who your target audience is, you want to establish a voice for your nonprofit that is consistent and credible. This could mean that your language is extremely professional or casual and relaxed. Additionally, make sure that your marketing language is consistent across your blog posts to present a professional and unified image of your nonprofit.
• Incorporate visual elements. Although written content will make up the bulk of your blogroll content, incorporating visual elements such as images and videos will help keep readers engaged. Choose feature images for your blog posts for a more professional feel, and embed related videos into longer blog posts to break up text.

Having valuable blog content not only keeps readers engaged with your nonprofit’s website but also helps with the discoverability of your nonprofit. By creating well-written blog posts, you’ll be able to rank higher on search engine results pages for related search terms. That means that more people will read your content, view your website, and convert into supporters or donors.

2. Less is more.

Strip out everything that isn’t absolutely essential. Don’t duplicate content. If you have an About Us, Our Mission, and Home page that all say they same thing, just in a different way, then you need to get rid of some pages. This is also true for donation forms. Users don’t want to spend time filling out unnecessary input fields, they just want to donate. Again, strip out anything unessential. Do you really need to collect their phone number, age, and gender? Probably not. Simple is better.

3. Transparency equals trust.

Transparency will look different for each nonprofit. However, it’s crucial to show your supporters that your organization is trustworthy and aiding your beneficiaries properly. Some common nonprofit transparency practices include:

• Financial reporting. When people make donations to your nonprofit, they want to know that their gifts are being used for your beneficiaries. To that end, you can publish annual financial statements, including balance sheets, income statements, and cash flow statements. That way, your supporters can easily see how your organization used the money you received.
• Campaign or program results. At the end of a specific campaign or program, let donors know if you met your goals and the impact funds made on your beneficiaries. For example, if you’re an animal shelter, you can tell supporters how much money you raised and how many puppies you will be able to rehome with those funds.
• Third-party verification. To help your supporters trust your organization, you can seek verification from a third-party. Nonprofit watchdogs provide information, reviews, and ratings of other nonprofit organizations. They’ll create an evaluation of your organization that is publicly available. Plus, if they point out any areas that you can improve on, you can make those changes and ask to be re-evaluated.

To determine what will work for your nonprofit, thoroughly research transparency practices and consider how your organization can be more open with your audience. This could mean making a small change like posting profiles of your board members on your website, or it could mean releasing financial statements every quarter.

4. Integrity is everything.

The thing I respect most about charity: water is their commitment to integrity. And it IS a commitment. It’s not something you decide to do once. During my time there, charity: water always made the decision towards integrity over the easy way. This is a value that has to start from the top and work downward. If it starts at the executive level, then your staff, interns, and volunteers are likely to follow.

5. Put your money where your mouth is.

If you want a site like charity: water’s, then you have to hire talented designers, developers, photographers, and content strategists. This could be an agency (like Fifty & Fifty, shameless plug) or an in-house team. If online donations are a priority for your organization, you need to invest some financial resources in your website. Don’t hire your son’s friend just because he’s cheap and made one website for a high school punk-rock band — hire professionals.

6. Culture counts.

Create a workplace culture that reflects your nonprofit’s values and attracts potential employees who will be committed to these ideals. Working at a nonprofit organization can be difficult and may require late nights and weekends. You want to be sure that your employees feel empowered to work.

To create a positive work environment, follow these suggestions:

• Prioritize open communication. Encourage employees to speak their minds and create an environment where they feel comfortable enough to do so. Respect their opinions and take them into consideration as you organize your fundraising campaigns and events.
• Show appreciation for hard work. When your staff members go the extra mile, make sure to recognize the effort they’ve put in. This can be as simple as saying “thank you” or as involved as hosting a party for a job well done. This makes your employees feel appreciated and valued, which motivates them to continue their good work.
• Implement team-building activities. Organize team-building activities and retreats so your employees will be more likely to form connections with one another. This will help them engage further with their work. Common team-building activities include team dinners, escape rooms, and scavenger hunts.

When your organization is famous for its culture, you’ll not only have more employee applicants, but you’ll also have interns and volunteers eager to participate. Take advantage of their help by having a volunteer coordinator to keep them involved and efficient long-term.

7. Beauty is in the details.

Before anything was launched or released, every sentence was re-read, every pixel was pushed, and every punctuation was perfectly placed. You need someone on your team with meticulous attention to detail. Train your team to look for specific details as well. This commitment to quality takes time and money, so you’ll need to adjust your budgets and launch dates accordingly. It’s the details that take a product from decent to decadent.

Special Credit: kurs akcji tesla