How To Start and Grow a Nonprofit Online

Nonprofit organizations are often founded to address a pressing need and work toward solutions or to add value to a given community. You want your mission to be front and center so people understand what you do and how they can help. Establishing a cohesive, professional digital presence for your nonprofit – a domain, website and custom email – is one of the most effective ways to reach people at scale.

Nationally, the five nonprofits with the most followers on the nonprofit search site, Charity Navigator, are Doctors Without Borders, the American Red Cross, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, The Nature Conservancy and Natural Resources Defense Council. These are well-established nonprofits with sweeping reach and a great deal of brand awareness. You can look at their branding, websites, fundraising campaigns and engagement activities for inspiration.

Create an online presence for your nonprofit

Creating an online presence for your nonprofit is critical in mobilizing people around your mission. This means recruiting volunteers, inspiring donations, and rallying advocates to champion your cause. Whether it’s signing petitions, making changes in their daily lives, or actively supporting your mission, engaging people online is the cornerstone of a successful nonprofit operation.

Select a custom domain to reflect your unique nonprofit

You can help your organization’s website stand out with a custom domain that gets straight to the point and tells people what you do. You may already be familiar with .org as a trusted and credible domain extension for mission-driven organizations and individuals, but the .org family of domains has expanded to include:

• .charity
• .foundation
• .gives
• .giving

These domains are available to anyone looking to engage with their communities and advance positive change in the world – regardless of whether they are a legally established nonprofit or not.

Here are just some of the ways each of these domains can help you differentiate your organization.

• .Charity is especially useful to organizations with a global presence where “charity” and “nonprofit” are synonymous with having a positive impact.
• .Foundation allows philanthropic entities to clearly and immediately signal to audiences that their website belongs to an organization with a commitment to philanthropy, including nonprofit philanthropic foundations and for-profit corporations with a philanthropic arm.
• .Gives is a great way to showcase initiatives that give back—to communities, employees, the environment, etc.
• .Giving makes it easier for mission-driven organizations and individuals to raise money for social causes, and can help people contribute to the causes they connect with the most.

Once you select your domain, you should set up a custom email – for example, @yourdomain.org – to bolster your branding and drive awareness for your organization.

Build your nonprofit website

As you build your website, consider important nonprofit functionality to help raise funds and engage with supporters. Make sure you have a way to accept online donations, solicit volunteer sign-ups, and clearly communicate upcoming events, opportunities and ways to get involved.

Craft a compelling website:

• Mission-driven design: Make your cause the hero. Clearly explain your impact and how visitors can get involved.
• Showcased results: Use powerful storytelling, before-and-after visuals, and donor recognition to illustrate the difference supporters make.
• Seamless giving: Integrate a user-friendly online donation system and volunteer sign-up process.
• Organized events calendar and sign-up: If you plan to rely on events for raising awareness, an online calendar and sign-up feature may help boost interest and attendance.

The .ORG Learning Center also offers a suite of free resources on how to protect your online presence, reach more supporters, build your brand, and much more.

Promoting your nonprofit

While your website is a necessary central location for donors to gather information, donate and connect, you will also need to build a full promotional plan, raise awareness and activate supporters.
Strategic promotion:

• Targeted outreach: Leverage email marketing to connect with specific audience segments. Share project updates, success stories, and calls to action tailored to their interests.
• Scaled reach: Social media allows you to post real-time updates to a wide audience. Craft a content calendar to consistently engage with your audience. Utilize SEO best practices to make your website easily discoverable online.
• Amplification through partnerships: Collaborate with local businesses, schools, or complementary organizations to spread awareness and potentially gain sponsorships.
• Access to resources: Google Ads offers nonprofits free advertising via a grant that can be applied for via an online form.

By focusing on a clear mission, showcasing impact, and strategically promoting your cause, you can build a website and promotional plan that drives donations, volunteerism, and a thriving community of supporters. Active supporters can be your biggest advocates and drivers of growth so keeping them engaged is critical.

Form your nonprofit with the right designation

In order to obtain tax-exempt status for your non-profit you must legally establish your organization. There are multiple types of nonprofit designations. Forbes has a list of 32 different nonprofit categories and the distinctions between them. The most common designation that you may be familiar with is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. The designation is important because it allows you to legally solicit tax-exempt funds from donors and opens you up to other funding sources like grants.

In addition to the legalities of setting up your nonprofit, you’ll also want to clearly define your mission and establish a plan for your organization. There are many resources to help you get started as you build your working model (Forbes) (National Council of Nonprofits).

Building your nonprofit web presence with Name.com

Name.com offers nonprofits a suite of best-in-class products that will help you establish and grow a professional presence that attracts, engages and drives users to action. From memorable domains and domain extensions to an industry-leading website and email products, Name.com has you covered.