If you’re the marketing or advancement director for your small nonprofit organization, you may sometimes struggle to decide what to post on social media1.
It’s easier when you have a specific project, capital campaign, or event to talk about… but what about the “regular” times when there’s nothing timely to post about?
Worry no more; we’ve got your back.
Many nonprofit organizations have a target demographic for their social media accounts that can be divided into three unique segments*:
- Clients
- Donors
- General public (potential donors & potential clients)
We’ve put together a list of 10 evergreen posts for nonprofits to help you fill your social media feeds with lasting, engaging content that will help you to educate and engage with all three of your target segments about who you are as an organization, what you do, why you do it, and how they can get involved or get help.
What's An "Evergreen" Post?
Content is considered to be “evergreen” if it isn’t tied to a specific time frame and continues to be relevant into the indefinite future.
For example, a post about next month’s event at 7pm on the 12th is timely … a post that explains or highlights your core services is evergreen.
1. Highlight a Program or Service
Grab your services brochure or your program guide, and select one from the list to spotlight in a post. Keep your text short and educational in this post.
- What’s the service or program you are providing?
- How does it work? (a sentence or two)
- How does it fit into your mission/vision (i.e. how does it solve the problem your organization aims to fix?)
2. Client Testimonial
Testimonials or quotes from people your organization has helped are invaluable for proving that your organization IS fulfilling (or working toward fulfilling) your vision and mission.
- Get written permission before using names, images, or other identifying information. Use initials or pseudonyms as necessary, but make sure to note when you’re using a false name.
- Even if a review is posted publicly (on Google, Facebook, Yelp, etc.), you should get permission from the author of the review before reposting. Google in particular considers reviews posted there to be user-owned.
- Minor edits for readability, spelling/grammar are usually acceptable, but, again, get permission before posting.
3. Call for Reviews
Keep your quotes and testimonials fresh (and help balance any negative reviews) by regularly asking your clients and supporters to review your organization.
- Post direct links to common review sites like:
- Google My Business
- Yelp
- Great Nonprofits
- Charity Navigator
- Charity Watch
- Facebook Recommendations
- Your website’s “submit your story” form
- Ask for honest reviews.
- NEVER offer or hint at payment or rewards for positive reviews.
- Prompt donors and supporters to review based on their impression of your organization, how well you use the funds given to you, and the value of your mission/vision.
4. Share A Blog Post
Obviously, you’ll have to have a blog for this one. (But you probably should have a blog if you don’t already.)
- Share your most recent post (or one that hasn’t been shared in several months)
- Add an excerpt from the post, making sure to use your top-performing keywords that are applicable to the post topic.
- Include the full link to the post and encourage people to subscribe to your blog.
5. Ask a Question
Engage directly and personally with your followers by asking them to answer a question. It could be something related to your mission, your organization, the season, or something random, but make sure it’s something that people will be comfortable answering publicly. Examples:
- We were founded in 1995! What’s your favorite memory from the 1990s?
- Our logo is blue to symbolize clean water. It’s also the popular favorite color in the world. What’s your favorite color and why?
- It’s national pancake day! What do you like to put on your pancakes?
HERE’S AN IDEA…
Increase audience engagement by selecting one random commenter to receive a freebie, like a branded t-shirt or hat or coffee mug!
6. Behind the Scenes
Give your followers a “peek behind the curtain” to see the inner workings of your organization.
This might mean a photo of something like:
- a co-worker’s very full desk
- a cleverly-organized storage cabinet
- your brand new logo signage
- the welcome desk with a friendly receptionist
- a close-up image that hints of a new venture that hasn’t been announced yet
- notes from a productive staff meeting
Just make it an interesting photo and add a short description with some personality that is consistent with your brand’s voice. The idea here is to remind your followers that you are “real people” working toward your vision/mission every day.
7. Find Us on Amazon Smile
Reminding your followers to select your nonprofit organization on Amazon Smile has two main benefits:
- Receive automatic 0.5% donation from every eligible purchase. These can really add up over time! Plus, Jeff Bezos can spare it, amiright?
- Remind your supporters of your organization every time they use the Amazon site or app (especially now that the app supports Smile!).
Reminder posts about Amazon Smile are particularly useful during the holiday season or other heavy-shopping seasons (e.g. back-to-school shopping in late July and August), when people are likely to be visiting Amazon over and over. It’s also a simple way to convert a potential donor into a donor (albeit a minor one… but that’s a step in a very good direction, and every little bit helps!).
If your organization isn’t on Amazon Smile, we recommend that you consider it. Check out the details here
8. Encouragement or Inspiration
Craft a message directly aimed at your clients and potential clients to encourage them as they face the problem your organization aims to help solve. Remind them that help is available, and simultaneously show your supporters that you are living your mission.
- If you are quoting someone, verify that the person is someone your organization wants to be associated with.
- Include a link to the original source if possible.
9. What's the situation?
What is the problem your organization aims to fix? Do some research and post a recent scientific study or surprising fact about the topic. Then point people to your organization and your vision/mission as the solution (or one solution) to the problem and provide a link to the “ways to give” page on your site.
10. Thank Your Supporters
If you’re in nonprofit advancement, then you know the mantra about thanking donors seven times for every ask… so here’s one of those opportunities to show how grateful your organization is for the individuals, families, grantors, business sponsors, and foundations who keep you going.
Thank your supporters for:
- Helping you meet a fundraising goal
- Signing up for automatic recurring donations
- Sponsoring or attending your event
- Awarding your org a (specific) grant
- Following, “liking,” and sharing your page
- And any other reason you can come up with… There are so many!
If all of this seems daunting to you, you’re not alone! Fortunately, there are plenty of options for helping you to manage and schedule your nonprofit social media content. Most have a free trial or even a free account option, but you may find that many services offer deep discounts for nonprofit organizations (you’ll just have to provide documentation for your tax-exempt status).
Need help from a human being? We’ve got you.
Contact us for details about how we can help you take your social media presence from painful to worthwhile!
1. In this post, we’re talking about the cornerstone sites—Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and (depending on your demographic) LinkedIn. YouTube, SnapChat, TikTok, QQ, and others require a different tone and focus that we’re not going into here.
2. Some nonprofits solve this challenge by having multiple separate social media accounts or private groups for donors and supporters. While that may be a great option for some organizations, many small and start-up nonprofits may find that, even with separate or private supporter accounts, an on-boarding and educational process is required to convert even consistent donors into passionate, committed partners who are interested in a dedicated page just for them. (That’s a topic
for a different post.)
Well done on this fundraising blog post! Your writing style keeps readers hooked from start to finish.