Introduction

For small non-profits, digital marketing can seem overwhelming. Limited resources, time, and personnel often make it challenging to reach and engage an audience effectively. Yet, with the right tools, even small organisations can create impactful marketing campaigns without the need for a large team or extensive budget.

Here, we’ve compiled a list of essential time-saving tools across five categories: Trends and Ideas, Email, Social Media Strategy and Analysis, Design, and Reminders. Each tool can help you streamline your efforts, get inspired, and do much more with less.

Trends and Ideas

Staying up-to-date with trends and finding content ideas are crucial for keeping your audience engaged. The following tools will help you uncover the topics your audience is interested in and explore the latest trends relevant to your cause.

AnswerThePublic

This tool is a goldmine for topic ideas. Simply type in a keyword related to your organisation’s mission, and AnswerThePublic will generate a visual map of questions and phrases people commonly search for around that topic. This tool is particularly useful for understanding what potential supporters want to know, allowing you to tailor content that addresses their needs.

BuzzSumo

BuzzSumo enables you to discover the most popular content within your sector or topic area. You can identify high-performing content across social media platforms, which helps you learn what type of content resonates with people and can guide you in creating similar posts.

Google Alerts

With Google Alerts, you can set up notifications for specific keywords or phrases. This means you’ll receive regular updates on relevant topics, helping you stay informed about what’s happening in your field. Monitoring keywords related to your organisation’s focus can provide inspiration for timely and relevant content.

By leveraging these tools, you can keep your digital marketing efforts in line with current trends, which can help increase engagement and establish your organisation as a trusted source of information.

Email Marketing

Email remains one of the most effective communication channels for non-profits. It allows you to connect with your supporters, update them on your work, and encourage donations. However, crafting and sending personalised, engaging emails can be time-consuming. Here are some powerful tools that can help:

Lemlist

Lemlist is a user-friendly tool for sending customised email campaigns. It allows you to personalise emails at scale, making it easy to add a personal touch that resonates with readers. You can also track engagement metrics like open rates and click-through rates, which provide insight into the effectiveness of your campaigns. Lemlist’s automation features can save hours each week, allowing you to focus on crafting impactful messages.

Constant Contact

Constant Contact is a robust email marketing solution with specific features tailored for non-profits, including donation collection and event management integrations. Its easy-to-use templates allow you to quickly design professional-looking emails, and it provides extensive analytics to track your email performance. Constant Contact also offers customer support, making it ideal for teams who may need guidance.

Moosend

Moosend is another affordable option that’s user-friendly and packed with automation features. It allows you to create customised workflows based on subscriber behaviour, making it easy to send targeted messages to different segments of your audience. Moosend also has a range of templates, which is perfect for non-profits that need to create visually appealing emails without extensive design skills.

Social Media Strategy and Analysis

Building a social media presence is essential for non-profits to raise awareness and foster engagement. However, it’s often challenging to create consistent and relevant content, particularly when juggling other responsibilities. Here are tools that can simplify this process:

Sprout Social

Sprout Social provides a suite of social media tools that include publishing, analytics, and audience engagement features. Its reporting features offer in-depth insights into your audience demographics and engagement trends, which can help you adjust your content strategy. For non-profits, this tool is particularly useful for tracking social media impact and understanding supporter behaviour across platforms.

Copalana’s Social Media Strategy eBook

Our eBook, Copalana’s Social Media Strategy for Non-Profits, is a comprehensive guide to creating a winning strategy on social media—even if you’ve never made one before. It walks you through goal setting, ideation, content planning, and execution to build a powerful, sustainable social media presence.

Trello

Trello is a project management tool that helps teams organise tasks visually. For non-profits, Trello can streamline your content planning and scheduling process. You can create boards for different platforms, set deadlines, and assign tasks to team members. Its collaborative features ensure a consistent posting schedule with minimal effort.

SEMrush Social Media Toolkit

This toolkit offers comprehensive analytics to monitor performance across multiple social platforms. You can track engagement, analyse competitor activity, and schedule posts. It also provides strategic suggestions like the best times to post and trending topics to share.

Together, these tools make it easier to plan, track, and improve your social media efforts without adding extra work to your team’s plates.

Design

Effective visuals are essential for capturing attention and communicating your message - especially on social media. Fortunately, creating professional designs no longer requires a graphic designer, thanks to these accessible design tools:

Canva

Canva is an intuitive, drag-and-drop design tool that enables anyone to create beautiful graphics. It offers pre-made templates for social media, presentations, posters, and more, which is ideal for non-profits that lack design experience. Canva’s free version includes numerous templates, fonts, and images, allowing you to create consistent, branded visuals quickly.

Veed.io AI Video Generator

Veed.io simplifies video editing for beginners, enabling you to create engaging video content without prior editing skills. You can use its AI Video Generator to quickly produce relevant content, then enhance it with subtitles, captions, and filters. This tool is ideal for creating compelling videos for social media or promotional campaigns.

By using these tools, you can create high-quality visual content that enhances your message and increases your chances of connecting with audiences—even on a limited budget.

Reminders

Aligning your digital marketing efforts with important dates can significantly increase visibility and engagement. By tapping into relevant holidays or awareness days, you can make your content timelier and more relatable. Here are some helpful calendars for cause-based planning:

GlobalGiving CSR Events Calendar

• Highlights corporate social responsibility and philanthropic events.

YouGiveGoods Cause Awareness Calendar

• Lists major global and national awareness days across various causes.

Diversity Resources Diversity Calendar

• Includes culturally relevant diversity-focused observances and celebrations.

Council of Europe Human Rights Calendar

• Features key dates connected to social justice and advocacy.

Millie Social Impact Calendar

• Showcases social impact events for deeper audience engagement.

Integrating these dates into your content calendar can help create a timely and engaging digital marketing strategy without requiring constant brainstorming for new ideas.

Copalana StoryTeller: Share What Matters Most

By incorporating these tools into your digital marketing strategy, your small non-profit can streamline operations, stay relevant, and engage with supporters effectively.

If you’re looking to take your storytelling to the next level, our Copalana StoryTeller tool offers a suite of features specifically designed for non-profits. StoryTeller enables you to share meaningful stories that highlight your mission, accomplishments, and community impact.

With Copalana, you can focus more on telling your authentic story and less on technical execution - ensuring your voice reaches the people who matter most.