Social Media for Charities: How to Grow Donations, Volunteers, and Impact on a Tiny Budget
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13 min readStep-by-step guide. Follow it to get results.
Social Media for Charities: Grow Donations and Impact on a Tiny Budget
Most charities know they "should be on social media" but struggle with limited staff, zero budget, and no clear strategy.
The result? Sporadic posts that nobody sees, and the assumption that social media doesn't work for charities.
It does. Charities that use social media strategically raise more donations and recruit more volunteers than those that don't. Here's how, even with a one-person team and no ad budget.
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Which platform has the best built-in fundraising tools for charities?
💡 Tip: Think carefully before selecting your answer!
Facebook: Your Fundraising Hub
Facebook has raised billions for nonprofits globally through its built-in fundraising tools.
How to activate Facebook fundraising:
- Register with Facebook as a charitable organization
- Enable the donate button on your page
- Promote birthday fundraisers to supporters
- Create Fundraiser campaigns for specific projects
- Thank every donor publicly (with permission)
Other Facebook advantages:
- Events feature for galas, walks, and volunteer days
- Groups for building supporter communities
- Targeted local advertising (even $5/day makes a difference)
Generate Facebook content with our Facebook Caption Generator.
Instagram: Visual Impact Storytelling
Best content types:
- Impact photos showing your work in action
- Reels with beneficiary stories (with consent)
- Carousels explaining your programs
- Stories with donation stickers and polls
- User-generated content from volunteers
Instagram donation features:
- Donation sticker in Stories
- Fundraiser feature in posts
- Link in bio to donation page
- Instagram Live with donate button
Generate captions with our Instagram Caption Generator.
TikTok: Viral Awareness
Organic reach on TikTok is higher than any other platform. Emotional content goes viral without ad spend. And behind-the-scenes content feels authentic, which is exactly what people want.
TikTok content ideas:
- Day in the life of a charity worker
- Before/after impact videos
- "How your $10 helps" breakdown
- Volunteer experience highlights
- Challenge campaigns (the Ice Bucket Challenge model)
LinkedIn: Corporate Partnerships
Use LinkedIn to connect with CSR managers, share impact reports with data, recruit board members, attract corporate sponsors, and promote volunteer opportunities to companies.
What's the most effective type of charity content on social media?
💡 Tip: Think carefully before selecting your answer!
Content Strategy: The 4 Pillars
Pillar 1: Impact Stories (40% of content)
Your most powerful content. Show what happens because of donations and volunteer work.
Formats:
- Individual beneficiary stories (always with consent)
- Before/after community transformation
- "Because of you" posts showing direct impact
- Milestone celebrations (meals served, homes built, lives changed)
- Program updates with real numbers
Example post:
Meet Sarah. 6 months ago, she joined our job training program.
Today, she started her first full-time position.
Your donations made this possible.
Every $50 funds one week of training.
Link in bio to help the next Sarah.
Generate impact content with our Nonprofit Awareness Post Generator and Nonprofit Social Media Caption Generator.
Pillar 2: Fundraising and Calls to Action (25% of content)
Direct asks for donations, volunteer signups, and event registrations.
Best practices:
- Be specific: "$25 provides clean water for one family for a month"
- Create urgency: matching gift deadlines, campaign end dates
- Show progress: "We're at $15,000 of our $20,000 goal"
- Make it easy: one click to donate, clear instructions
- Thank publicly: recognize donors and volunteers
Pillar 3: Behind-the-Scenes (20% of content)
Humanize your organization. Staff and volunteer spotlights, day-in-the-life content, site tours, program preparation, supply deliveries.
Pillar 4: Community Engagement (15% of content)
Volunteer appreciation posts, donor spotlights, partner shoutouts, event recaps, polls about community needs, user-generated content sharing.
How much of a charity's social media content should be direct donation asks?
💡 Tip: Think carefully before selecting your answer!
Fundraising Campaign Playbook
Giving Tuesday Campaign (6-Week Plan)
Year-End Giving Campaign
Start December 1st with a 31-day storytelling series. Share one impact story per day. Highlight the tax-deductible giving deadline. Use countdown stickers in Stories. End with a New Year impact report.
Emergency Response Campaign
When urgency is real, respond immediately. Post within 2 hours. Share verified information and your organization's response. Provide a clear donation link. Post daily updates on response efforts. Share impact numbers as they come in.
Budget-Friendly Tips
Free tools to use:
- Content Calendar Generator, plan your month
- Engagement Calculator, track performance
- Social Media Budget Calculator, allocate limited funds
- Canva (free nonprofit plan), design graphics
- Facebook and Instagram native scheduling, no paid tool needed
Time-saving strategies:
- Batch content creation: create a month's content in one session
- Repurpose across platforms: one story becomes an Instagram post, Facebook update, and tweet
- Use templates: create 5 post templates and rotate them
- Train volunteers: assign dedicated volunteers as social media helpers
- Schedule in advance: use free scheduling tools to set and forget
Maximize reach without ads:
- Partner with local businesses for cross-promotion
- Ask board members to share posts from their personal accounts
- Tag donors, volunteers, and partners in relevant posts
- Use hashtags strategically (5-10 per post on Instagram)
- Go live during events for real-time engagement
For tool recommendations with nonprofit discounts, see our Best Social Media Tools for Nonprofits and Buffer Nonprofit Pricing.
Measuring What Matters
Don't obsess over vanity metrics. 100 engaged supporters who donate are worth more than 10,000 passive followers.
Step-by-Step: Get Started This Week
- Set up Facebook and Instagram, these two platforms cover most of your needs
- Enable donation features, Facebook Fundraisers, Instagram donation sticker
- Create 3 content templates, impact story, call to action, behind-the-scenes
- Post 3-4x per week, consistency matters more than frequency
- Respond to every comment and message, engagement builds community
- Plan one campaign per quarter, Giving Tuesday, year-end, spring, summer
- Track donations from social, use unique links or codes per platform
Related reading:
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