83% of Instagram users say they discover new products and services on Instagram. This means that they are using Instagram as a channel to take inspiration from. The same study also reveals that by simply being on Instagram, brands can make a positive impression on potential donors/employees/customers. To get the most out of Instagram, you have to be smart about your approach. Here are insights from some nonprofits on Instagram.

1. 7 NONPROFITS
ON INSTAGRAM
WHO ARE
GETTING IT
RIGHT

2. Breakfast with friends, baby shower,
business trip… Millions, 500 million
daily to be more precise, are
wondering.
IS IT INSTAGRAMMABLE?

3. The photo-sharing giant boasts an active user base of
more than 1 billion people. And 500 million people use
Instagram Stories every day
83% of Instagram users say they discover new products
and services on Instagram. This means that they are
using Instagram as a channel to take inspiration from

4. Use these tips from
leading nonprofits to
launch brand-new
Instagram campaigns or
revise already existing
strategies

5. Charity: Water
Their digital marketing efforts
certainly pay off. Their online
engagement keeps on increasing,
and 70% of their contributions come
from online donations and online
fundraisers

6. BUILD A COMMUNITY
Charity: water has built an online platform that allows people to create
fundraising campaigns linked to personal events, such as marathons,
holidays, or birthdays.
DESIGN MATTERS
Charity: water genuinely puts design at the center of what they do
FOCUS ON DONORS
Charity: water often thanks to donors in the captions of their Instagram
posts and in that way makes them feel valued and important
USE PICTURES WITH FACES
A study from Georgia Tech looked at 1.1 million random Instagram
pictures and discovered these two really interesting bits of information

7. The Movember
Foundation
Movember is an annual event
involving the growing of mustaches
during November to raise awareness
of men’s health issues, such as
prostate cancer, testicular cancer,
and men’s suicide.

8. USE A RECOGNIZABLE PROFILE IMAGE
It’s important for users to instantly recognize it when they visit your
Instagram profile
PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR COLOR PALETTE
Movember Foundation uses a select color palette for their photos,
helping them to create a distinct style
CREATE A BRAND-SPECIFIC HASHTAG
The hashtag #Movember allows the Movember Foundation to tell a
story about what they’re passionate about both personally and
professionally

9. Pencils of
Promise
Pencils of Promise runs a range of
programs: building schools, training
teachers, and educating people
about the importance of hygiene and
sanitation

10. DEVELOP A CLEAR BRAND MESSAGE
Pencils of Promise tells a simple, compelling story that appeals to the
emotions of their audience. Talk about your work in a way that
resonates with multiple audiences while telling a consistent story
USE INSTAGRAM TO HAVE THE AUDIENCE CONNECT
TO YOUR MISSION
Pencils of Promise rarely uses social media to ask supporters to donate
GET CREATIVE WITH YOUR POSTS
Pencils of Promise used animation to bring their Instagram posts to life

11. World Bicycle
Relief
World Bicycle Relief is an
international, nonprofit organization
that specializes in large-scale,
comprehensive bicycle distribution
programs to aid poverty relief in
developing countries around the
world

12. SHOWCASE IMPACT
WBR’s images are not only human-centric, but they feature youth and
others directly helped
CAPITALIZE ON #GIVINGTUESDAY AND OTHER
CAMPAIGNS AND HASHTAGS.
Giving Tuesday is celebrated on the Tuesday following Thanksgiving
and the widely recognized events Black Friday and Cyber Monday
USE CTAS
In one of their Instagram images, WBR invites their audience to ‘double
tap if you like these smiles as much as we do’ in a caption
accompanying two young smiling boys on their mother’s WBR bicycle

13. Love Has No
Labels
Love Has No Labels is a movement to
promote acceptance and inclusion of
all people across race, religion,
gender, sexual orientation, age, and
ability

14. UGC
User-Generated Content has been key to the success of Love Has No
Labels. Their Valentine’s Day campaign, created with digital agency
R/GA went viral
POST USEFUL INFORMATION
Love Has No Labels posted “inclusion tips”, helping those whose
friends are newly open about their LGBTQ+ identity help them

15. DOSOMETHING
DoSomething is the largest not-for-
profit exclusively for young people
and social change. DoSomething’s
millions of members represent every
US area code and 131 countries

16. SPEAK TO YOUR AUDIENCE
DoSomething does this exceptionally well. Since their audience is
predominantly young people, Gen Y and Gen Z, they run their
Instagram accordingly.
TAKE ADVANTAGE OF INSTAGRAM STORIES
DoSomething has multiple Instagram Story Highlights. Story highlights
are collections of images and videos that can be ‘pinned’ to your
Instagram profile indefinitely
CREATE CUSTOM ILLUSTRATIONS
For Thumb Wars, a campaign that aims to aims to stop texting and
driving, DoSomething took the illustration approach

17. FASHION
REVOLUTION
Fashion Revolution is a global
movement working towards raising
awareness around the true cost of
fashion, and sustainability in the
fashion industry

18. POST A VARIETY OF CONTENT
Fashion Revolution has a fantastic balance of inspirational quotes,
pictures of their supporters from around the world and infographics
MAKE INFORMATION FUN AND INTERESTING
Fashion Revolution is heading the game with this one. They present
important information appealingly
USE INSTAGRAM’S FULL POTENTIAL
Fashion Revolution organized a live Instagram chat unpacking the
issues on fashion waste, from offcuts and incinerated stock to landfills
the global journey of secondhand clothes

19. Every nonprofit in the list above is recognizable. It’s
essential to have your brand incorporated in most
images in the form of your logo, a color, or your name
While high-quality images and videos are crucial when
posting on a visual platform like Instagram, it’s
important to keep the human feel
BE RECOGNIZABLE
KEEP IT AUTHENTIC

20. Instagram is the perfect place for nonprofits to share
their missions, engage supporters, and build
communities of brand advocates. Instagram can help you
with one of the main challenges of nonprofits’
marketing: to inspire people to make a difference for
people they’ve never met
https://donorbox.org/nonprofit-
blog/instagram-tips-for-nonprofits/