There are plenty of valuable resources for charities and not-for-profit organisations that can help you save time and money. From help managing donations to free IT support, we’ve gathered the handiest links you need to know about. Let’s go over them.
This free software suite functions like Microsoft Office and the user interface is virtually identical to it. It is compatible with macOS, Windows, Linux, and other operating systems.
LibreOffice is backed by a not-for-profit foundation, which offers no-cost downloads of the volunteer's developed open-source software. Programs available include word processing, spreadsheets and calculations, presentations, vector graphics, charts, databases, and formula editing.
The ‘Free Software For Charities’ project was designed to help run organisations like yours, that work on a non-profit basis. Benchmark offers accounting and payroll software, as well as other management software. Their software packages are supplied free of charge to all UK registered charities, churches, clubs and non-profit organisations (NPOs).
If you are unsure whether this is the right fit, they also offer a free trial and guided tour in order for you to understand how the software works.
The Non-Profit CRM Software from Salesforce aims to be a complete and all-inclusive platform to help manage your income streams, inbound grants, and programs.
The Non-Profit Cloud adapts to your team’s needs, offering solutions in everything from fundraising to marketing and engagement.
The first ten subscriptions are free to charities, and discounts apply on additional subscriptions, products, and services from Salesforce.
Charity IT Association (CITA)
This platform was created as fully free for charities with a turnover of less than £50,000 to make the most of the technology available, regardless of budget. If this applies to you, they will match your charity with professional IT staff seeking to donate their time and expertise to the third sector.
Services on offer include building a new website, migrating your data to a new software system and setting up a database.
Free to all UK registered charities, Donation Manager helps charities like yours manage all online and offline donations. Unlike other platforms that act as a middle man, collect the money and hold it on behalf of the charity, Donation Manager enables your charity to take online donations directly. Additionally, you can manage supporters, access a free gift aid claiming system, administer appeals and more.
Besides taking no commission, being completely free and getting donated funds to you quicker, Donation Manager gives donors the peace of mind of knowing their money will reach the designated charity no matter what.
The principle of Charity Escapes is simple: make it easier for charities to source the prizes they need for their fundraising events, and businesses to donate them. Businesses benefit from sales and additional marketing, charities can have prizes at their event that meets their message.
If your charity is hosting a fundraising event and needs auction or raffle prizes, fill out your application on Charity Escapes and they will help match-make you with other companies.
Don’tSendMeACard was created to combat the waste of greeting cards. The solution was customised ecards that can still be sent without the paper-waste, and the usual cost of cards and stamps being donated to nonprofits.
Charities can join the platform, invite supporters to use the website for their ecards, and fundraise simultaneously by hosting their promotional material.
Access a collection of reports, research, webinars, Twitter chats and handy guides on the Nonprofit Tech for Good website. Their focus is on helping charities like yours make the most of online trends and social media to fundraise and get your charity seen.
If you are unsure of where to start when it comes to marketing your charity digitally, we recommend all non-profit professionals visit their 101 Best Practices page.
Charitysetup by Small Charities Coalition
If you are passionate about a cause and looking to set up a charity where turnover is initially expected to be below £100,000 per year, this guide is for you.
It runs through the logistics of setting up a charity in simple steps to help you figure out the key actions that your charity needs to take to increase your impact, efficiency and sustainability.
Foundation for Social Improvement (FSI)
This online information hub holds affordable conferences, webinars, seminars and training courses very regularly for small charities. You can also find volunteer advisors on their free Charity Advice Hub that answer specific questions you may have.
Charities making less than £5M annually are granted free membership, and everyone can access the resources on the FSI blog.
Learn how your charity can better use technology for people with disabilities or impairments. AbilityNet offers free webinars, factsheets and guidelines, among other tools, to make your workplace, website and any other digital resources you have more accessible.
They also have a network of volunteers on hand to provide free IT support if you need it.
NCVO offers information, guidance and support to voluntary organisations. Learn from experts and your peers, and share your experiences with the community. Access practical resources designed to support the day-to-day running of your organisation. Small charities and non-profits with a turnover of less than £30k get a free Community Membership.
Lightful describes itself as a technology company for social good. This social media management tool is designed specifically for charities, nonprofits and social enterprises.
You can plan campaigns, plan your content using their calendar, access hundreds of thousands of free images to add to your posts, analyse your efforts through their analytics feature and more. Lightful offers free and paid services; to get a good grasp at the products on offer we recommend you try the free 30-day trial and see if it works for your charity.
Think your charity could benefit from learning product management and creating a web app? If so, Tech for Better is here to help. Their programme lets you team up with developers and a product team to design, build and test a new digital product that is similar to a mobile app.
Once the programme is over, if you want to carry on taking your project to the next level, their freelance developers are on hand to help you.
The only con: Tech for Good has a very limited number of fully-funded and part-funded places for nonprofits and social impact startups on their programme.
Createxplore supports charities and nonprofits by connecting them with creative hobbyists that want to help them.
This free online matchmaking platform allows charities like yours to meet creators seeking to donate their skills, resources, and knowledge. You can share your specific creative needs on a given project, including anything from social media marketing to logo design, and define what budget (if any) you have available. From then, you will be able to connect with passionate creators to make your vision come to life.
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