Helpful Tools and Apps for Busy Nonprofits
Managing a nonprofit takes considerable time and effort, but with limitless apps and online tools, we’re actually living in an ideal time to be busy!
Now more than ever before we have access to an abundance of helpful and affordable resources that make work (and life) easier. Name one thing you’d like help with, and it’s practically guaranteed that there’s an app or online tool for that!
Working with awesome nonprofits like yours every day, our team came up with the following list of helpful time-saving apps and tools just for you!
For Staying Organized
Google Apps for Work
Just when you thought Google couldn’t get any better, they have apps that provide everything you could possibly need to help keep you organized!
Here are just some of Google’s Apps for Work:
- Google Calendar: Schedule appointments and reminders
- Gmail: Create unlimited email accounts, using your company name (e.g., lucy@nonprofit.com)
- Google Docs, Spreadsheets, Slides and Forms: Make shareable projects
Teamup
With features similar to Google calendar, you can create unlimited calendars using Teamup without having an account with them AND you can share calendars with an unlimited number of people. It can also integrate with other calendars (including Google!) and has more format options, so you can get more fancy with your format and color settings.
For Managing Tasks & Projects
Todoist: For nonprofits of all sizes
Asana: For nonprofits of all sizes
Basecamp: For larger nonprofits
For Quick and Engaging Emails
Services like MailChimp & Constant Contact are great for sending out professional level emails to your supporters – especially when you’re short on time, staff, or money.
Both services not only provide hundreds of templates but make emails easy to customize based on your organization’s needs.
Whether you’re sending a monthly newsletter or an annual appeal, these services have the tools for you. All this, PLUS they both have awesome analytics tools! These services provide in depth analytics on the performance of your emails, so you can keep improving your strategies and ultimately create more effective and engaging email content.
MailChimp Plans: Free plan includes up to 2,000 subscribers and 12,000 emails per month and their Growing Business plan is $25 a month.
Constant Contact Plans: Free for the first 60 days, then $20 a month for a basic plan and $45 a month for a plus plan.
For Publishing Content
WordPress
You can create a free or very low-cost blog with WordPress. They make it super quick and easy to get started, plus there are free online videos all over the web that walk you through the setup that can help save you time.
Check out this Nonprofit Blogging Checklist to help get you started!
For Eye-Catching Media
Free tools for creating your own images, infographics and videos
Canva – Graphics
PicMonkey – Photo Editing
Piktochart – Infographics
Unsplash: Free Stock Photos
iMovie: Video Editing
For Consistent Engagement
Social Media Automation via Buffer and Hootsuite
We all know that social media is a great low budget tool for connecting and engaging with your supporters – But with so many platforms to choose from, how do you keep track of it all? That’s where services like Buffer and Hootsuite come in!
These services link together all your social media accounts in one convenient place, making it that much easier to control the messages you’re sharing with your followers. These services also go a step further by allowing you to schedule your posts at specific times – they’ll even use their analytics to let you know when the best times for you to post are! If you can find an hour or two at the beginning of your week to schedule some tweets and Facebook post, you’re on your way to creating a more engaging social media presence for your organization!
- Buffer Plans: Offers a free plan, but for small organizations, we recommend “The Awesome Plan” which costs $10 a month and lets you schedule up to 100 posts at a time.
- Hootsuite Plans: Offers a free plan, but recommends the Pro plan for businesses which costs $10 a month and lets you schedule up to 50 posts at a time.
For Fundraising & Management
Online fundraising and donor management via GiveGab
So, of course, we’re partial to our own product, BUT it also just so happens that GiveGab is a trusted fundraising platform for many large, medium and small nonprofits across the United States. Online fundraising platforms allow you to accept donations online, increasing your number of potential donors overall. Plus, you have a platform that allows you to quickly and easily create attractive campaigns so you can attract more donors to your organization. If you’re weighing your options or still considering going with an online platform, check out some guidelines we put together to help you choose the best fundraising platform for your nonprofit.
Benefiting from new apps and tools takes time, but it’s worth the effort if you want to improve productivity and efficiency for your nonprofit!
