Social media for nonprofits: a plan that brings in volunteers and donations
Most nonprofits run their social media on goodwill: a volunteer with an hour on Sunday, a coordinator between two meetings. That is enough, if the hour is spent well. This is a plan built for that hour: what to post where, how to run an appeal from first post to thank-you, and how a few people share the work without stepping on each other.
Rodolfo MotaFounder of SPREVA
The short version
Show the work, not the organisation: the people you help, the volunteers who help, what changed this week. Post three times a week, and around an appeal, every day for its two weeks, with a clear way to give or sign up. Let volunteers write and a coordinator approve, keep each appeal's posts together in one campaign, and judge it by the clicks to your donation page, not by likes.
Where your supporters are
Each network reaches a different kind of supporter:
| Network | Who you reach | What to post |
|---|---|---|
| Local supporters, donors, families | Stories from the work, events, appeals with the link to give | |
| Younger supporters and volunteers | Faces, behind the scenes, a carousel of what a donation does | |
| Companies, partners, skilled volunteers | Results, partnerships, roles you need filled | |
| Google Business Profile | People nearby looking for you | Opening times, events, where to drop off donations |
| X, Threads, Bluesky | Journalists, advocates, your cause's community | News, statements, a call to act |
Five kinds of post that work
A good week mixes these:
- A person: someone you helped, with their permission and in their words.
- A volunteer: who they are and why they give their Saturday.
- A number with a face: what one donation pays for, shown, not just stated.
- Behind the scenes: the warehouse, the kitchen, the van at seven in the morning.
- A thank-you, to donors and partners by name, once they have agreed to it.
Running an appeal, step by step
- 1
Make a campaign for the appeal in SPREVA, such as Winter appeal, so every post for it stays together.
- 2
Plan two weeks of posts: the need on day one, stories on the days after, progress halfway, a last call, then the thank-you.
- 3
Put the donation link in each post, with tracking parameters, so your site shows which network brought each gift.
- 4
Add them to a queue, one or two a day, and schedule the last call for the final morning.
- 5
Thank people when it ends, with what the appeal raised and what it will do.
Volunteers can write, a coordinator approves
Invite volunteers as Editors: they write posts and send them for review, but cannot publish. A coordinator approves each one, or sends it back with a note, from a computer or a phone. Nothing goes out unseen, and the work is shared. Each person needs a seat on your plan, except reviewers, who are free. How to manage social media as a team: roles, approval and who can publish.
When the board wants to see it first
For sensitive subjects, a statement or a story about someone vulnerable, turn on approval and invite the director or a board member as a reviewer. Every post waits for their yes, and a post nobody approved by its time does not go out. Reviewers take no seat on your plan.
Telling people's stories with care
The people you serve are not content. Before you post about anyone:
- Ask, in writing, and say where the post will appear. Children need a guardian's consent.
- Show dignity, not pity. A person doing something, not a person in need.
- Leave out what could harm them: a face, a street, a school, when it is not needed.
What to measure
Likes are pleasant and say little. Watch clicks to your donation and volunteer pages, filtered by the appeal's campaign in Analytics, and compare with the weeks before it. Your donation site shows what those visits became. How to plan and track a social media campaign, from the first post to the results.
Plan your next appeal
Make a campaign for your next appeal, invite one volunteer as an Editor, and queue the first week. Every plan starts with a 7-day trial.
Questions
How often should a nonprofit post?
Three times a week keeps you visible. During an appeal, once or twice a day for its two weeks.
Can volunteers post without the password?
Yes. They work in SPREVA with their own login and never see the networks' passwords. Remove them when they leave.
Can someone check posts before they go out?
Yes. Turn on approval and every post waits for a reviewer, who approves it or sends it back with a note.
Do we need video?
No. Photos and honest words carry a nonprofit a long way. A short phone video from the work helps on Reels and TikTok when you have one.
How do we know if an appeal worked on social media?
Filter Analytics by the appeal's campaign for clicks and reach, and check your donation site for the gifts from those visits.
Written by
Rodolfo Mota
Founder of SPREVA
Makes SPREVA in Portugal: the Studio, the tools an agent works with, and the publishing behind them.
Keep reading
- How to manage social media as a team: roles, approval and who can publishRun social media as a team without stepping on each other: who writes, who publishes, who approves, and how roles, review and a record keep it clear.
- How to plan and track a social media campaign, from the first post to the resultsPlan a social media campaign and track it: one goal, a set of posts across networks, a label that follows them to the calendar and Analytics, and a fair read.
- A social media routine for a small business, in one hour a weekA weekly routine for a café, a salon or a shop: one hour to schedule a week of posts to Instagram, Facebook, Google and TikTok, and a look at what worked.