10 free tools for NGOs

How can you streamline the daily work of both a company and an NGO in the rapidly evolving digital age? The answer is obvious – with the help of numerous online tools and systems that support smooth communication, manage processes or conduct marketing activities. However, the question that immediately springs to mind is how to do this with limited funds – fortunately, many manufacturers offer their solutions to NGOs free of charge. Which tools of this type will work best for any NGO?

10 free tools for NGOs – table of contents:

1. Firmbee
2. Slack
3. Google Suite for non-profit organizations (G4NP)
4. Canva
5. Buffer
6. Mailchimp
7. Salesforce
8. Hotjar
9. CallHub
10. Google Ad Grant
11. Summary
12. Check out our video about free project management software for NGO’s

Firmbee

Easier management of projects organized by NGOs? If you care about achieving this effect, decide on Firmbee, which NGOs can use free of charge. Write an email to [email protected], and once your application is granted, you will get access to a number of functionalities such as:

• managing tasks using kanban boards,
• creating a database of volunteers and recruiting them,
• assigning tasks to team members,
• prioritizing individual tasks,
• and much, much more.

Firmbee stands out among other solutions on the market as it lets you share some materials with donors, so the organization can be fully transparent.

Slack

In the daily life of any organization – whether a business or an NGO – a communicator is indispensable, allowing everyone to be in constant contact with each other. Slack is especially recommended because of its feature of creating numerous channels and thematic threads. It works well for organizations with both a dozen and several hundred employees or volunteers. This free solution is worth using in conjunction with Firmbee, described above – the tools can be integrated with each other, ensuring ease of communication between those working for the NGO.

Google Suite for non-profit organizations (G4NP)

Looking for an alternative to the paid MS Office suite? Google comes to the rescue, making its tools – including Documents, Spreadsheets, Presentations, Hangouts and Calendar – available to NGOs free of charge (regardless of the number of users). The Google suite allows you to perform a number of activities necessary for the daily functioning of your organization, significantly reducing operating costs.

Canva

Are you looking for a way to create engaging graphics, but lack the skills to use advanced programs to do so, or the resources to engage a professional to perform these tasks for your NGO? This is where Canva, a currently very popular graphic design program, comes in. This solution offers thousands of templates created for diverse marketing materials (both online, such as graphics for social media posts, and offline, such as catalogs and brochures).

A free version of Canva is available to everyone (a limited catalog of resources), and keen users can choose the paid version (more templates, graphic elements, fonts, etc.) – NGOs can get the upgraded version for free if they meet the criteria set by the service. All you need to do to get access to Canva Pro is to register on the site and fill out an application form. The service will then verify your status and decide whether to grant you access.

Buffer

Nowadays, no organization can function without regular social media communication – and preferably on several, best-fit platforms. Creating compelling content requires a lot of commitment and time. Buffer is a free tool that will support you in this effort – it allows you to schedule posts along with graphics or videos on 3 social media accounts at the same time, and then publishes them according to a set schedule. All in one place, and on top of that with access for everyone involved!

Mailchimp

Would you like to take advantage of email marketing? If so, you will need a suitable program for creating and sending newsletters or email marketing campaigns – such as Mailchimp. With its help, you will easily create a message to send to your recipients and you will be able to accurately monitor the results (percentage of downloads, clicks, etc.).

You can use Mailchimp free of charge if you have less than 2 thousand subscribers and do not send more than 10 thousand emails per month. For this reason, it will be perfect for starting out when you are just gathering a group of regular recipients.

Salesforce

When you run an NGO, relationships with donors are undoubtedly very important to you – you do everything you can to constantly nurture them. The Salesforce Nonprofit Success Pack, a free version of Salesforce CRM, will help you in this, making it easier to organize fundraising tasks. By using information organized in a systematic way, the program will support you in establishing and developing relationships with donors and managing the donation process.

Hotjar

Heat maps are a solution commonly used by profit-oriented companies, but they will also work well for NGOs. They are used to study the behavior of users on websites – they indicate which elements meet with interest and which are omitted by viewers. With such information, necessary changes can be made to the site, which will translate into better response from different audiences – volunteer, donors or beneficiaries. All the advanced features are available to eligible NGOs.

CallHub

CallHub is used by NGOs such as the American Red Cross and Amnesty International. It allows them to conduct call center activities (focused on raising funds). As part of the Collective Calling Campaign, the company provides NGOs with the possibility to make 5,000 calls.

Google Ad Grant

Certainly you are well aware of how important paid advertising campaigns are these days – and how much of your marketing budget needs to be allocated to this area. In this regard, Google also addresses the needs or financial pains of NGOs by providing access to an advertising account with a $10,000 limit (for qualifying organizations). Taking advantage of this opportunity gives you the chance to promote yourself for the most relevant keywords.

Summary

The above presentation of the top 10 free tools for NGOs clearly shows their diversity in terms of the areas they support. The choice of appropriate solutions offered by numerous vendors should be dictated by the current needs of the NGO, especially in terms of the competencies of individual team members. Due to the fact that the main processes in the organization include project management, we particularly recommend our solution, that is Firmbee.

Check out our video about free project management software for NGO’s:

Read also: How to start an NGO?

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