Whether it is a new or established nonprofit there are a lot of resources out there to help an organization be sustainable. From communication to website integration an organization needs access to the online tools that help their community stay connected. The resources mentioned here are free and each serve a specific need.

Communication resources for nonprofits

Google for Nonprofits and Office 365

A nonprofit does not have to pay for email. The two leading sources for email and communication provide email and other solutions to nonprofits for free. Office 365 Nonprofit and Google for Nonprofits each provide free services for organizations that include email, document resources, cloud storage, calendars and other resources. Outlook 365 has been gaining traction and support with a reliable email network. Google for Nonprofits tends to be the popular choice because it provides the full version of G Suite, Google’s business platform including email and other services. With G Suite, an organization receives Google Drive storage, YouTube benefits, online document tools and much more.

$10,000 Google ad grant

Nonprofits rely on the support of their donors, community and grants. Often, grant writing can be an arduous process for an organization. Thankfully there are online resources provided through grants and are easy to apply for. One of these resources is Google for Nonprofits and the $10,000 Google ad grant. There are several reasons to sign up for Google for Nonprofits, but in my opinion this grant should be number one. Once you are accepted to the program an organization automatically qualifies for a $10,000 Google Ad Grant each month. Yes! Each month. If you work with a non-profit and are not taking advantage of this you are seriously losing out on one of the most powerful resources out there.

Business listing

Its important to make sure your business listing on both Google and Bing are accurate. When searching for your organization, a business listing provides quick information about your organization and how to connect. Another advantage to the Business listing is it allows you to provide posts about what is going on at the organization. This is great when during a campaign season or to help raise awareness to your cause.  Both Google and Bing provide a business listing for free. I recommend first creating your listing on Google because you can then import the listing to Bing. Once both are setup you can manage each according to your need.

Slack

Slack has grown to become the leading collaborative workspace for companies and organizations. They offer a free plan allowing groups to start with no investment. With Slack an organization can collaborate with its team and stay organized with file sharing.

Website resources for nonprofits

WordPress

WordPress, the leading website content management solution, helps nonprofits maintain their online community by becoming the central hub for all communication. In addition to WordPress, there are add-ons or plugins that provide their services for free if you are a nonprofit.

The Events Calendar

Nonprofits often schedule events to engage with their community. These events are featured on their website or other platforms to promote and register for the event. The Events Calendar Pro is a paid, licensed WordPress Plugin. If you are a nonprofit, The Events Calendar will provide the full plugin for free. With this plugin a nonprofit can schedule new events on their website, import events from Facebook, and provide event registration.

WordPress Multi-language (WPML)

If you are using Google translate to provide multi-language versions of your website, stop doing this. Google is a great resource to translate a word or simple phrase but it does not provide the literal translation. Often it can be difficult for an organization to communicate in multiple languages because of this. WordPress Multi-language or WPML is a paid, licensed WordPress Plugin and is the standard for translating your website. They offer a free license for nonprofits. With WPML, an organization can translate its website content into over 40 languages. The translation is automatic but WPML does allow manual translation as well in order to correct the literal meaning of the content.