Free and Discounted Resources for Nonprofits
Carol Walton
Below is a listing of free and discounted services to help meet all your programming needs. Our list includes support services, professional development, and products ranging from tech, social, email, and video tools.
Nonprofit support services
Online Impacts (Idealist listing)
Online Impacts is a nonprofit organization that develops websites, assists with digital marketing, and creates technology solutions for nonprofits completely free of cost.
Techsoup is a nonprofit international network of non-governmental organizations that provides technical support and technological tools to other nonprofits. Techsoup also partners with different companies to offer discounted software to nonprofits.
Grant Advisor is a web service featuring anonymous reviews from grant applicants sharing their experiences with grant-giving foundations.
NTEN (Nonprofit Technology Enterprise Network) is a nonprofit organization and community that offers online trainings, professional credentials, and resources. With your annually paid membership, nonprofits have access to benefits such as 50% off online courses, full access to resources, and a subscription to NTEN’s nonprofit tech discussion forum.
Professional development and online training
Nonprofit Ready is an organization that offers free professional development courses and online training to nonprofits and nonprofit professionals. Courses range from grant writing, fundraising, nonprofit leadership training, volunteer engagement, starting a nonprofit, and more.
TechSoup events feature free in-person and online events and webinars that include topics in communications and marketing, program management, fundraising, digital security, etc. In-person events are held in 120 cities worldwide. Their website also includes an archive of past webinars to meet your needs.
Google offers free online trainings and discounted certification programs to help nonprofit professionals advance.
Philanthropy University offers free online, certified training nonprofit training programs.
This website offers an archive of free online courses, videos, and podcasts for nonprofit professionals.
W3schools offers free tutorials to learn coding basics in HTML, CSS, Javascript, etc.
Products
Technology Applications
Google Workspace for Nonprofits
Google provides free business apps such as Gmail, Docs, Calendar, Drive, Google Meet, and Google Analytics.
Microsoft offers free or discounted products for nonprofits such as Office 365, Windows 10, Azure, Power BI Desktop, and more.
Squarespace, Duda, and Wix
Squarespace, Duda, and Wix are low-cost website builders.
Dreamhost is a web host provider that offers free shared website and email hosting for nonprofits.
Acrohost is a web hosting service that offers discounted plans for nonprofits. Their web hosting platform is powered by 100% green energy from wind and solar sources.
Hotjar offers analytical tools and “heatmaps” to gather data about user behavior and interaction with your website. It provides insight to help improve user experience. Users can start a free basic plan for up to 1,000 pageviews.
Internet Archive Wayback Machine
The Internet Archive Wayback Machine provides a digital archive of the World Wide Web. Nonprofits can view screenshots of past iterations of their website and monitor their progress in web design over time.
EasyPDF is a free online PDF converter that converts from and to PDFs.
Fast Scanner-Apple/Google Play
Fast Scanner is a free mobile app that allows users to scan multiple pages of documents, receipts, notes, and invoices into PDF documents.
Project management and communication
Slack is a cloud-based messaging platform that enables employees to communicate and collaborate on projects. Free and low-cost plans are available.
Trello is a free web-based tool that utilizes kanban lists that helps employees organize and manage projects. Free and low-cost plans are available.
Asana is a web-based tool that helps teams organize, track, and manage projects and tasks. Discounts are available for nonprofits.
Email tools
MailChimp is a marketing automation platform and email marketing services to manage mailing lists and create email marketing campaigns. Free subscription plan available for users with up to 2,000 email subscribers.
Flodesk is an email marketing service that enables users to create email campaigns, customize and schedule emails. Flodesk offers a 30-day free trial.
Vertical Response is an email marketing software. Monthly charges are based on the number of email subscribers.
Video and audio conferencing
Zoom is an online platform used for video and audio conferencing. Discounts for nonprofits are available.
UberConference is a cloud-based web conferencing tool. The service offers unlimited conferencing and a free plan for up to 10 accounts.
Social media apps
Buffer is a software application used for social media management. Users can use the application for free to maintain up to three social media channels or pay a low monthly cost for unlimited channel management and advanced features. Buffer also offers courses such as Intro to Social Media Strategy on SkillShare.
Lightful is a social media management platform that allows users to schedule their social media posts and track post analytics.
ManyChat is a communication tool that enables users to create automated SMS, Facebook, and Instagram messages.
Social Searcher is a free social media search engine that enables people to track public social mentions and hashtag mentions.
Graphic Design and Photo Editing Tools
Canva is a graphic design platform offering social media graphics, templates, presentations, and other visual content. Users can use the platform for free or subscribe to Canva Pro for unlimited options.
Snappa is a graphic design platform offering templates, social media graphics, and stock photos. Free and paid plans are available.
Iconfinder is an online database of free social media icons and illustrations.
Noun Project is an online database of free social media icons and photos.
Giphy Create users can create animated GIFs with captions.
Unsplash, Pexels, and Shutterstock
Unsplash and Shutterstock offer free photo stock and images.
Picmonkey is an online photo editing platform.
BeFunky is an online tool that allows users to edit photos, create photo collages and designs.
Venngage is an online tool that allows users to create infographics and presentations.
Video creation and editing tools
Animoto is an online video maker that allows users to drag and drop videos and customize videos. Users can create a free account to create unlimited videos or subscribe to their low-cost monthly subscription that includes advanced customization features.
ClipChamp is a video editing tool used to create video ads for Facebook and Instagram. ClimpChamp offers a free subscription and affordable pricing plans with advanced features such as unlimited cloud storage and audio stock.
Lumen5 is a video creation platform that enables users to create video content for social media, stories, and ads. Free subscription available.
Donated items
Good360 is an organization that provides nonprofits with donated goods such as school supplies, clothes, baby items, computers, etc. Their service is free for qualifying nonprofits.
FirstBook provides free books and reading materials to nonprofits who qualify.
***
Do you know of other services or products that will be a beneficial resource to include here? We’d love to hear from you! You can share the resource with us in this document or email us at act@idealist.org.
Carol Walton
As Program Manager of the Idealist Action Incubator, Carol offers guidance and support to our community of action-takers.