Social Media for Nonprofits: The Complete Guide (2026)

55% of people who engage with nonprofits on social media take action -- donating, volunteering, signing petitions, or sharing the cause. That makes social media the highest-ROI marketing channel available to mission-driven organizations, and it costs nothing to publish a post.

Yet most nonprofits are still posting sporadically, leading with donation asks instead of impact stories, and leaving free tools like the Google Ad Grant ($10K/month in free ads) completely untouched. With limited budgets and small teams, you cannot afford to waste a single post. This guide covers exactly how to make every one count in 2026 -- from platform selection and content ideas to fundraising tactics and scheduling tools that save your team hours every week.

This guide is part of our Social Media for Small Business series. See also: Social Media for Churches and Social Media for Healthcare.

TL;DR

• 55% of people who engage with nonprofits on social media take action (donate, volunteer, share), making it the highest-ROI awareness channel for mission-driven organizations
• Facebook remains the #1 fundraising platform for nonprofits, but TikTok follower growth surged 37% in 2024-2025 and is now essential for reaching younger donors
• Video content generates 12x more shares than text and images combined -- prioritize short-form video across Reels, TikTok, and YouTube Shorts
• Follow the 80/20 rule: 80% value-driven content (impact stories, education, behind-the-scenes), 20% direct fundraising asks
• Giving Tuesday alone raises $3.1B+ annually, heavily driven by social media campaigns and peer-to-peer sharing
• Use a social media scheduler and AI content generator to maintain consistent posting on a shoestring budget
• Combine email and social media to increase donations by 25% compared to either channel alone

Table of Contents

1. 55% of Social Media Supporters Take Action
2. Which Platforms Work Best for Nonprofits
3. 20 Content Ideas for Nonprofits
4. Fundraising on Social Media: What Actually Works
5. Storytelling That Drives Donations
6. The Posting Schedule for Nonprofits
7. Free and Low-Cost Tools for Nonprofits
8. Common Mistakes Nonprofits Make on Social Media
9. FAQs
10. Next Steps

55% of Social Media Supporters Take Action -- Here's How to Reach Them

Picture a donor scrolling their phone on a Tuesday evening. They pass a 30-second video of a woman holding up a certificate from your job training program, grinning, with a caption: "Meet Aisha. Six months ago she walked into our center with nothing on her resume. Today she's a certified medical assistant." That donor taps "Donate." They've never met Aisha. They've never visited your office. But that one post did what a stack of direct mail never could.

That scenario is not hypothetical -- it is playing out thousands of times a day. According to the Nonprofit Tech for Good report, 55% of people who engage with nonprofits on social media end up taking action: donating, volunteering, attending events, or sharing the cause with their own network. No other channel converts awareness into action at that rate for zero media cost.

Here's what the data looks like in practice:

• 70% of donors check a nonprofit's social media before giving, making your profiles a trust signal that directly impacts fundraising
• 29% of online donors say social media is the communication tool that most inspires them to give
• Peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns raise 3x more when supporters share through social channels

Direct mail response rates hover around 1-2%. Cold calling is expensive and increasingly ignored. Social media flips the economics entirely: your supporters become your distribution channel when they share your content, tag friends in posts, and create their own fundraising campaigns on your behalf.

The organizations winning on social media are not the ones with the biggest marketing budgets. They are the ones telling the most human stories, most consistently.

Which Platforms Work Best for Nonprofits

Your platform strategy depends on your audience demographics, content capacity, and fundraising goals. Here is how each platform serves nonprofits in 2026.

Facebook -- The Fundraising Powerhouse

Facebook is still the #1 fundraising platform for nonprofits, and it is not close. Facebook Fundraisers allow supporters to create campaigns on your behalf, donate directly without leaving the platform, and share progress updates with their networks. The average cost per donation on Facebook is $106 -- high for small asks, but remarkably efficient for major campaigns.

Best for: Donor communities, event promotion, Facebook Fundraisers, peer-to-peer campaigns, and reaching supporters aged 35+.

Key features: Facebook Fundraisers, donation buttons, Events, Groups for building donor communities, and live video for real-time engagement.

Instagram -- Visual Storytelling

Instagram is where your impact becomes visual. Instagram Stories drive 2x more engagement than feed posts for nonprofits, making them ideal for daily updates, quick volunteer calls, and behind-the-scenes moments. Reels extend your reach to new audiences through the algorithm's discovery features.

Best for: Impact photography, beneficiary stories, volunteer recruitment, and engaging supporters aged 25-44.

Key features: Donation stickers in Stories, Reels for viral impact videos, carousels for educational content, and link stickers for driving traffic to donation pages.

TikTok -- The Growth Engine

TikTok followers grew 37% for nonprofits in 2024-2025, making it the fastest-growing platform for mission-driven organizations. The algorithm rewards authentic, emotional content -- exactly what nonprofits produce naturally. A single compelling impact video can reach millions of viewers who have never heard of your organization.

Best for: Reaching donors under 35, viral storytelling, awareness campaigns, and volunteer recruitment.

Key features: TikTok for Good program, duet/stitch features for supporter engagement, and an algorithm that does not require a large following to go viral.

LinkedIn -- Corporate Partnerships and Grants

LinkedIn is underutilized by most nonprofits, but it is the best platform for corporate partnerships, grant visibility, board member recruitment, and thought leadership. Decision-makers at foundations, corporations, and government agencies are active on LinkedIn and respond to well-positioned nonprofit content.

Best for: Grant announcements, corporate sponsor cultivation, board recruitment, executive thought leadership, and B2B partnerships.

YouTube -- Long-Form Impact

YouTube is the platform for documentaries, program explainers, donor testimonials, and annual impact reports in video format. YouTube Shorts also gives nonprofits access to short-form video distribution. Content on YouTube has an exceptionally long shelf life -- a well-optimized impact video can generate donations for years.

Best for: Long-form storytelling, program documentation, donor testimonials, and evergreen educational content.

X/Twitter -- Advocacy and Real-Time Updates

X remains valuable for advocacy campaigns, real-time updates during events or crises, hashtag campaigns, and engaging with journalists and policymakers. It is less effective for direct fundraising but strong for awareness and positioning your organization as a voice in your issue area.

Best for: Advocacy, crisis communication, hashtag campaigns, media relations, and policy engagement.

Ready to amplify your nonprofit's mission on social media? Try PostEverywhere free -- schedule impact stories, fundraising campaigns, and volunteer calls across every platform from one dashboard.

20 Content Ideas for Nonprofits

Bookmark this list and pull from it whenever your content calendar looks thin. For a deeper dive into content planning, see our guide on how to plan a month of social media content.

Impact Stories (1-5)

1. Beneficiary spotlight -- Share a story (with informed consent) of someone your programs helped, focusing on their strength and agency
2. Program outcome data -- Turn your annual report statistics into visual posts: "This year, 1,200 families accessed clean water because of your support"
3. Before-and-after transformation -- Show tangible change your work creates (a restored habitat, a renovated community center, a graduate's journey)
4. Day-in-the-life of a program participant -- Follow someone through a typical day to show how your services make a difference
5. Data visualization -- Turn complex impact data into shareable infographics and carousel posts

Behind-the-Scenes (6-9)

6. Staff spotlight -- Introduce team members with short video interviews about why they do this work
7. Field work footage -- Raw, authentic clips from the field showing your team in action
8. Office culture and daily operations -- Humanize your organization by showing the real people behind the mission
9. How donations are used -- Walk supporters through exactly where their $25, $50, or $100 goes

Fundraising (10-13)

10. Campaign launch announcement -- Build anticipation with countdown posts leading to a fundraising campaign
11. Progress thermometer updates -- Share real-time updates as you approach a fundraising goal
12. Donor spotlight -- Feature long-time supporters (with their permission) and why they give
13. Match challenge -- "Every dollar donated this week is matched 2x by [corporate sponsor]"

Volunteer and Community (14-17)

14. Volunteer recruitment post -- Clear call to action with specific roles, time commitments, and impact
15. Volunteer spotlight -- Feature dedicated volunteers and the difference they make
16. Event recap -- Photo and video roundups from fundraising galas, community events, or volunteer days
17. Partner organization spotlight -- Highlight collaborations with other nonprofits or community partners

Education and Advocacy (18-20)

18. Issue awareness -- Myth-busting posts, statistics about your cause area, or explainer carousels
19. Advocacy call to action -- Direct followers to sign petitions, contact representatives, or attend hearings
20. Awareness month content -- Align with relevant awareness months (Mental Health Awareness Month, Hunger Action Month, etc.) to ride trending conversations

Fundraising on Social Media: What Actually Works

Not all fundraising tactics perform equally on social media. Here is what the data shows about what actually converts followers into donors.

Facebook Fundraisers and Donation Tools

Facebook's built-in fundraising tools remain the gold standard for nonprofit social fundraising. Supporters can create personal fundraising campaigns for their birthdays, marathons, or personal milestones -- and their friends donate without ever leaving Facebook. The friction is minimal, and the social proof of seeing friends donate is powerful.

To maximize Facebook Fundraisers: register your nonprofit with Facebook's charitable giving tools, actively encourage supporters to create birthday fundraisers, and share progress updates when campaigns are active.

Giving Tuesday Strategy

Giving Tuesday raises $3.1B+ annually, and social media is the primary driver. The most successful nonprofit Giving Tuesday campaigns start weeks before the actual day:

• 2 weeks before: Tease the campaign, share impact stories, build anticipation
• 1 week before: Announce a matching gift challenge, share specific goals
• Day of: Post multiple times across all platforms with clear donation links, real-time updates, and supporter shout-outs
• Day after: Thank donors publicly, share final totals, show immediate impact

Peer-to-Peer Campaigns

Peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns raise 3x more through social sharing than organization-led campaigns alone. The reason is simple: people trust recommendations from friends more than they trust organizations. Give your supporters easy-to-share campaign pages, pre-written social media copy, and graphics they can post on their own accounts.

Instagram Donation Stickers

Instagram Stories donation stickers let followers tap to donate directly within the app. Pair donation stickers with compelling Stories content -- a quick video update from the field, a beneficiary story, or a progress update -- for maximum conversion.

Monthly Giving Promotions

Recurring donors are worth significantly more over time than one-time donors. Use social media to promote monthly giving programs by emphasizing the sustained impact: "Just $10/month provides school supplies for one child for an entire year."

Stop losing donors to inconsistent posting. PostEverywhere's scheduling tools help your nonprofit maintain a consistent presence across Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, and more -- even with a one-person marketing team. See plans.

Storytelling That Drives Donations

Video content generates 12x more shares than text and images combined for nonprofits. That statistic alone should reshape your content strategy. But the format matters less than how you tell the story.

Lead With People, Not Problems

The most effective nonprofit storytelling centers on individuals, not statistics. A post saying "12 million children face food insecurity" is important but abstract. A post saying "Meet Maria, age 7. Last year she went to school hungry every day. This year, thanks to supporters like you, Maria starts every morning with a hot breakfast" is personal, emotional, and shareable.

Ethical Storytelling Matters

Avoid what critics call "poverty porn" -- exploitative imagery that strips dignity from the people you serve. Effective, ethical storytelling:

• Shows beneficiaries as agents of their own lives, not passive recipients
• Uses images and stories only with informed consent
• Focuses on strength, resilience, and progress rather than suffering
• Avoids graphic imagery designed purely to shock
• Gives beneficiaries a voice in how their story is told

Combine Data and Human Stories

The most compelling nonprofit content pairs statistics with individual narratives. Open with a human story to create emotional connection, then reinforce with data to build credibility.

Example structure: "When [person's name] first came to [organization], they were [situation]. Today, [outcome]. Last year alone, we helped [number] people achieve [result] -- and with your support, we can reach [goal]."

Donor Journey Stories

Do not forget to tell donor stories too. Feature supporters who explain why they give, what motivated their first donation, and how they have seen their contributions make a difference. These stories build social proof and give potential donors someone to identify with.

The Posting Schedule for Nonprofits

For nonprofits with small teams, a realistic schedule you can sustain beats an ambitious one that falls apart after two weeks. Here is what works.

Recommended Posting Frequency

Platform	Frequency	Content Focus
Facebook	3-5x/week	Fundraising, events, impact stories, community
Instagram Feed	3-4x/week	Visual impact stories, carousels, Reels
Instagram Stories	Daily	Behind-the-scenes, quick updates, donation stickers
TikTok	3-5x/week	Short-form impact videos, trends, volunteer content
LinkedIn	2-3x/week	Thought leadership, partnerships, grant news
YouTube	1-2x/month	Long-form documentaries, program explainers
X/Twitter	3-5x/week	Advocacy, real-time updates, news commentary

For platform-specific timing guidance, check our best time to post research.

Build a Campaign Calendar

Map your posting schedule to your annual calendar:

• January: New Year giving campaigns, annual impact report release
• March-April: Spring fundraising galas, volunteer recruitment push
• May: Awareness months relevant to your cause
• June-August: Summer program content, volunteer spotlights
• September: Back-to-school campaigns (education nonprofits), fall event promotion
• October-November: Giving Tuesday preparation, year-end appeal teasers
• December: Year-end giving campaigns, donor appreciation, impact recaps

Use a content calendar to plan campaigns weeks in advance and ensure your team never misses key dates.

Free and Low-Cost Tools for Nonprofits

Nonprofits have access to some of the best free tools in digital marketing. Take advantage of every one of these.

Google Ad Grant -- $10K/Month Free

Google offers eligible nonprofits $10,000 per month in free Google Ads. This is one of the most underutilized resources in the nonprofit sector. Use it to drive traffic to donation pages, volunteer sign-ups, and program information. You must maintain the account actively and meet Google's compliance requirements to keep the grant active.

Meta Nonprofit Tools

Facebook and Instagram offer free fundraising tools for registered nonprofits, including Facebook Fundraisers, donation buttons on Pages, Instagram donation stickers in Stories, and the ability for supporters to create personal fundraising campaigns. Registration through Meta's Social Impact tools is free but requires verification.

Canva for Nonprofits

Canva offers free Canva Pro access for eligible nonprofits, giving your team access to premium templates, brand kits, background remover, and advanced design features. This alone can replace the need for a dedicated graphic designer for most social media content.

PostEverywhere for Scheduling

Managing social media across 5-6 platforms manually is not sustainable for a small nonprofit team. A social media scheduler like PostEverywhere lets you plan, create, and auto-publish content across every platform from one dashboard. Use our AI content generator to draft captions and generate visuals when your team is stretched thin. Cross-posting features ensure one piece of content reaches every platform without manual reposting.

TikTok for Good

TikTok's nonprofit program provides access to donation stickers, special profile features, and promotional support for registered nonprofits. The application process is straightforward, and the platform actively promotes nonprofit content through its recommendation algorithm.

Your mission deserves to be seen on every platform. PostEverywhere helps nonprofits schedule content across Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, LinkedIn, YouTube, and X from one place. No more logging into six different apps.

Common Mistakes Nonprofits Make on Social Media

These are the mistakes we see most often from nonprofit social media accounts -- and every one of them is fixable.

Only Posting Donation Asks

This is the fastest way to lose followers. If every post says "Donate now," your audience will tune out or unfollow. Follow the 80/20 rule: 80% of your content should be impact stories, education, behind-the-scenes looks, and community updates. Only 20% should be direct fundraising asks. People do not follow nonprofits to be solicited. They follow to feel connected to the mission.

Telling Stories That Strip Beneficiaries of Dignity

"Poverty porn" imagery -- exploitative photos of suffering designed to guilt people into donating -- hurts your brand and your mission. It reduces the people you serve to objects of pity. Show empowerment, not pity. Feature beneficiaries as agents of their own stories: graduating, working, thriving. Donors respond to hope and transformation, not guilt.

Missing Giving Tuesday Entirely

Too many nonprofits either skip Giving Tuesday or post one generic "It's Giving Tuesday!" without a campaign, a goal amount, or a matching challenge. Giving Tuesday raises $3.1B+ annually. Organizations that plan a structured campaign with a dollar target, a corporate match, countdown content, and real-time progress updates consistently raise multiples of what the "one generic post" orgs collect.

Not Using Facebook's Built-In Fundraising Tools

Facebook Fundraisers and Instagram donation stickers are free and frictionless -- supporters can give without ever leaving the app. Yet most nonprofits have never registered for Meta's charitable giving tools. It takes 15 minutes to set up and gives every supporter the ability to create birthday fundraisers, milestone campaigns, and one-tap donations on your behalf.

Failing to Apply for the Google Ad Grant

Google gives eligible nonprofits $10,000 per month in free Google Ads. That is $120K a year in advertising that most qualifying organizations never claim. The application process is straightforward through Google for Nonprofits, and the grant can drive thousands of visitors to your donation pages, volunteer sign-ups, and program information every month.

Treating Volunteers as Free Labor Instead of Content Collaborators

Your volunteers are sitting on some of the most engaging content you could post. Their stories about why they show up, what the experience means to them, and what they have seen your organization accomplish are authentically compelling in a way that branded content rarely is. Feature volunteers. Interview them on camera. Let them take over your Stories for a day. This content consistently outperforms polished organizational posts.

Not Showing Impact With Numbers

Donors want to know what their $50 actually does. "Help us make a difference" is vague and forgettable. "Your $50 fed 12 families this week" is specific, tangible, and shareable. Always connect dollar amounts to concrete outcomes. Every fundraising post should answer the question: "What will my donation accomplish?"

Going Dark Between Campaigns

If your organization only shows up on social media in November and December, your supporters forget about you for the other ten months. The algorithm forgets about you too -- platforms reward accounts that post consistently, not ones that flood the feed twice a year. Even 3-4 posts per week year-round keeps you visible, builds trust, and means your year-end campaign reaches an audience that is already engaged. Learn more in our guide to growing your social media presence.

FAQs

How do we tell beneficiary stories ethically on social media?

Always get informed consent before sharing anyone's story -- explain exactly where and how it will be used and give people the right to review the final post. Focus on the person's strength, agency, and progress rather than their suffering. Let beneficiaries have a voice in how their story is told, and avoid images designed to shock or invoke guilt. Ethical storytelling builds long-term trust with both your audience and the communities you serve.

Should nonprofits invest in paid social media ads or stick to organic?

Start with organic content and free tools before spending a dollar. The Google Ad Grant gives eligible nonprofits $10K/month in free Google Ads, and Meta's organic reach for compelling nonprofit content is still strong. Once you have a consistent posting cadence and know which content resonates, invest $50-200/month boosting your top-performing posts -- especially impact videos and Giving Tuesday campaigns. Paid amplification works best when layered on top of content that already performs organically.

How do we make Giving Tuesday actually work for our organization?

Start planning at least six weeks before the day. Set a specific dollar goal, secure a corporate matching partner, and build a content calendar that creates anticipation -- tease the campaign two weeks out, announce the match one week out, and post multiple times on the day itself with real-time progress updates and donor shout-outs. Organizations that treat Giving Tuesday as a full campaign (not a single post) consistently raise 5-10x more than those that wing it.

What's the Google Ad Grant and how do we apply?

Google offers eligible 501(c)(3) nonprofits $10,000 per month in free Google Search ads through its Google for Nonprofits program. You apply through TechSoup verification, then set up a Google Ads account with campaigns driving traffic to donation pages, volunteer sign-ups, or program information. You must maintain the account actively and meet Google's compliance standards (5% click-through rate, proper geo-targeting) to keep the grant active. Most eligible nonprofits never apply -- do not be one of them.

How do we keep supporters engaged between fundraising campaigns?

Post impact stories, volunteer spotlights, behind-the-scenes content, and issue-area education year-round. Supporters follow you because they care about your mission, not because they want to be asked for money every week. Use a social media scheduler to plan 3-4 posts per week even during quiet months. When your year-end campaign arrives, you will be reaching an audience that has been engaged all year -- not one that forgot you exist.

What should a nonprofit post when there's no active campaign running?

This is when your best content happens. Feature a volunteer's story. Share a data point about your impact area. Post a 30-second clip from a program in action. Show where last quarter's donations went with specific numbers. Run a "day in the life" of a staff member. Repost a supporter's testimonial. The 80/20 rule applies here -- most of your content should be value-driven storytelling, not fundraising asks. The campaigns land harder when your audience is already invested in the narrative.

How do we measure ROI on social media for a nonprofit?

Track four metrics monthly: follower growth, engagement rate (likes + comments + shares divided by followers), website clicks from social, and donations attributed to social media (use UTM parameters on every link). Beyond direct donations, measure volunteer sign-ups, email list growth, and peer-to-peer campaign creation that originated from social posts. A single impact video that gets shared 500 times and leads to 20 new monthly donors has an ROI that dwarfs most direct mail campaigns.

Next Steps

Here is your action plan -- not a vague list of best practices, but specific things to do this week.

1. Today: Post one impact story. A real person your organization helped (with consent), with a specific outcome. "Maria graduated from our job training program in March. She starts her new role at [company] on Monday." One post. Real name, real result. Hit publish today.
2. This week: Apply for the Google Ad Grant if you have not already. It is $10K/month in free advertising -- check eligibility here. The application takes about an hour and the payoff is enormous.
3. Set up fundraising tools: Enable Facebook Fundraisers and Instagram donation stickers. These take 15 minutes to configure and give every supporter a frictionless way to give -- birthday fundraisers, one-tap donations in Stories, and peer-to-peer campaigns on your behalf.
4. Plan your Giving Tuesday campaign now. Do not wait until November. Map out the matching challenge, the goal amount, and the content calendar today. The organizations that raise the most on Giving Tuesday are the ones that started planning months ahead.
5. Get consistent: Use a social media scheduler to plan and schedule a week of content every Monday. Even 3-4 posts per week keeps you visible between campaigns and ensures the algorithm does not forget you exist.

The nonprofits making the biggest impact online are not the ones with the biggest marketing budgets. They are the ones that show up consistently with human stories. A single 30-second video of a beneficiary holding up their certificate, grinning at the camera, can raise more than a month of email blasts. Your supporters are scrolling right now. Give them a reason to stop and care.

Get started with PostEverywhere for free -- plan, schedule, and publish your nonprofit's content across every platform from one dashboard.