3 examples of how nonprofits can maximize their blogs

Nonprofits go to great lengths to curate robust email lists. And for good reason! Unlike social media followings, email lists are almost entirely within the control of the organization.

And when you need to put out a call to action, you’re just a keystroke away from reaching people who have already demonstrated support — whether they previously donated or signed up for the newsletter.

But any development team will tell you, you can’t interact with your base only when you’re asking for something. Your correspondence should be varied and should offer your supporters value. A strong blog or news section can really amplify that value.

Here are three great examples of how a nonprofit’s blog can be engaging and informative.

1. Share a client story

Save the Children does this really well in their Voices From the Field blog. This recent example tells the story of a mother who gave birth to premature twins. It accomplishes two distinct objectives: A. It humanizes a very common problem in the developing world: accessible maternity and prenatal treatment. And B. It shows what the organization is doing to solve the problem.

2. Introduce your staff and interns

Supporters want to learn more about your organization and how it works. A simple way to do this is to highlight your staff and interns, like charity: water does here. This type of blog post allows you to flex a little muscle and show off your team’s talent, while giving your supporters a sense of your organization’s culture and values.

3. Curate the news

This is a very effective way to keep supporters engaged with your organization. Advocacy groups in particular should take full advantage of all the news that’s generated around their core mission. The Anti-Defamation League is especially good at this. The organization recognizes that keeping up with all the news around hate and discrimination can be daunting and emotionally draining. So they create this helpful round-up. This format works across all different contexts however, from groups dedicated to the environment, public education and housing rights.