Top Non-Profit Blogs We Love
Driving traffic, improving SEO, establishing thought leadership — we all know blogs are good.
But it’s challenging to put a good blog together, and blogs for the nonprofit sector can sometimes be more challenging than others. Why? There’s generally more information to organize and present. A typical nonprofit sector blog has a lot of categories, a lot of feature stories, and a lot of different calls to action. In the midst of all the planning, it can be difficult to imagine the end result.
So whether for inspiration or just your own edification, here are some of our favorite nonprofit blogs that 1) work well, 2) run smoothly, and 3) look good while doing so. Enjoy!
The Case Foundation
An excellent blend of form and function, the Case Foundation’s blog is well-designed and easy to use. Right at the top you’ll find filters to sort posts by type, topic, and author, plus you can toggle back and forth between a grid view and a list view. Popular topics are given a spotlight above the main content and at the bottom there’s a simple, bright email signup banner.
Why we love it:
- Big, attractive interface
- Customized content controls
- Slick effects
- Attention to detail with design
Teach for America
Unlike the previous blog, Teach for America mixes other content like award recipients, press articles, and personal stories in with more typical posts. It’s the kind of thing that could get confusing quickly without some key visual organization cues. Here, they use alternating white and gray backgrounds to give each section defined separation from the next. Other clues work to help certain features stand out, such as the larger thumbnail on the top story and color-coded categories. Plus, the pop-up email signup banner is bright and inviting without being annoying or intrusive. If a user clicks to close the pop-up, another callout in the footer serves as a gentle reminder.
Why we love it:
- Clean, light look lets pops of color stand out
- Design shows, not tells, readers what’s important
- Smart use of email signup form
Human Rights Campaign
Before we get on with the good stuff, allow me to get one complaint out of the way: the use of text in images that have title text running over the top. It’s distracting enough in thumbnails, but in banner format it’s downright confusing! Other than that, everything works well. Like the Case Foundation, the filter and search bar serves as a handy tool to help readers narrow posts. The callout boxes near the bottom of the page manage to stand out while fitting in with the overall aesthetic. And I really like how the Facebook, Twitter, and comment icons at the bottom of each post preview lets me see at a glance how much engagement a post has — another way to highlight popular posts without specifically labeling them.
Why we love it:
- Social media integration
- Excellent functionality
- Bold brand-appropriate design
Gates Notes
Now, Gates Notes is technically the personal blog of Bill Gates and not connected to his nonprofit Gates Foundation, but I’m going to let it slide because of its philanthropy-focused content. Also because it’s just a fantastic blog. First of all, it’s obvious that someone with a design eye puts together the posts for publishing, because the thumbnails are beautiful. Listen: it can be a hard thing to get thumbnails right. Many blog platforms have automatic cropping tools that don’t often choose the best area of the original photo to crop. It’s clear that someone here is doing precision sizing for each of the photos for each post, and the attention to detail shines.
The main content is a neat grid divided by row into Recent, Popular, and Reading List posts. But my favorite view is in the footer, where the categories are organized visually by color. At a glance, you can see the four main topics and how many categories are in each one. It all adds up to a nice overall package.
Why we love it:
- Great visual organization
- Simple, modern layout
- Precise details
- Compelling design
What are your favorite nonprofit blogs?
