7 of my favorite marketing tools with nonprofit discounts

As a nonprofit communicator, you’re wearing too many hats. There are emails to send, images to post, stories to collect, with no end in sight. And while no one wants to add a new technology to their life (must I remember yet another password?), an investment up front can save a lot of time in the long run.

The good news? That investment doesn’t need to blow your budget. Over my years of consulting, I have found some great tools with nonprofit discounts. I’ve grouped them into three categories: design, project management, and collaboration.

Below I’ll list the tool, why I love it, and what the current discount is. Keep in mind that these businesses change their policies frequently, so make sure to check to see if the discount is still accurate.

Design

Canva

I’m listing Canva first for a reason; it has had a seismic effect on nonprofit communications. Previously (I’m old), Adobe products were our main tool for design, which no one could afford. But Canva has democratized good design and made it possible for your organization to streamline its brand and produce high-quality content quickly. I cannot recommend it enough. I might write a blog post about Canva features in the future, but just know it is, hands down, the best way to create visual content for your nonprofit.

Cost: $120/year for Canva Pro. FREE for nonprofits.

Unsplash

Unsplash is a massive library of photos that are completely free and fair use. This is my favorite place to find high-resolution photos for websites, social media, and even print. You don’t need to list attribution, though it’s always nice to.

Cost: Free photos with unlimited use.

Project Management

Project management tools are a beast unto themselves. There are approximately one gajillion types that are all pretty similar and a bit different. I have pulled the ones I like the most, which offer a nonprofit discount, here with a few words about what makes them different.

As always, you should pick the system that works best for you and your team. Some have a higher learning curve than others, some have helpful apps, some are more visual, etc. It’s all about what works for you and your organization.

Monday.com: Lots of templates, good for multiple team members, visually pleasing

Cost: 2 free users. Up to 5 free users for nonprofits.

Trello: Very visual. Drag and drop. Good for work flows and weekly task organization. Great for event planning.

Cost: Free for one user. 75% off for nonprofits

Airtable: Entirely customizable. Record based, so very good for managing individual items such as volunteers or clients going through a work flow. Lots of automation.

Cost: Free limited use. 50% for nonprofits.

Asana: Very customizable. Lots of automation. Great for lots of overlapping projects and team members.

Cost: Free for limited use. 50% off for nonprofits.

Collaboration

Slack

Slack is like a group text that doesn’t make you want to throw your phone into the ocean. You can turn off/on notifications (yay work life balance) and have several different groups within your organization, keeping conversations focused and only bothering the people you need to. The other benefit is that this works on wifi, which is helpful if you have team members in rural areas who are on the go.

Cost: Free for limited use. 85% off the Business+ plan.

And those are my favorite marketing tools that offer discounts to nonprofits! Do you have any you love? Let me know in the comments!