AmazonSmile

Online mega retailer Amazon’s AmazonSmile website allows shoppers to donate money to eligible charitable organizations of their choice when they shop. The AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5 percent of a purchase price to the organization of a shopper’s choice. To be eligible, organizations must be registered and in good standing with the IRS as a 501(c)(3).

Google Ad Grants

Eligible organizations (check your organization’s status with Google here) can receive up to $10,000 per month in free advertising through Google Ad Grants’ AdWords advertising program. Participating organizations can build and manage their own AdWords accounts and can run keyword-targeted text ads that appear on Google search results pages.

Google Apps for Nonprofits

Google also offers a suite of business apps such as Gmail, Google Calendar and Google Drive free for all members of Google for Nonprofits. The suite includes cloud storage across Gmail and Google Drive, and members receive free 24/7 technical support.

Microsoft Office 365

Similar to Google Apps, Office 365, Microsoft’s answer to cloud computing, includes the Microsoft suite of products, including the Outlook.com email client. Basic Web apps are free for eligible 501(c)(3) nonprofits. The nonprofit plan also includes online document sharing and collaboration through Microsoft OneDrive.

Salesforce for Nonprofits

Customer relationship management service provider Salesforce offers resources for nonprofitsto help with donor/volunteer management. These include free user enterprise-level software licenses (up to 10) and discounts for additional licenses.

DreamHost

Qualifying nonprofits can receive a free website hosting plan from DreamHost.  Users would only need to pay for domain name registration.

Budgets for creative projects within nonprofits are notoriously strapped. Organizations can take advantage of free or nearly-free services for the following creative needs:

Stock Photography

For a relatively small monthly fee, StockUnlimited provides subscribers access to unlimited downloads of stock graphics, images, icons, buttons, backgrounds and more.

While users of flickr know the site as a place to store and share photos, many might not be aware that it also can be a place to find free photos under its Creative Commons license. Some of the photos on the site are free for organizations to use for noncommercial purposes, but be sure to carefully verify which photos meet that requirement.

Enhanced Digital Experiences

The Layar Creator feature of augmented reality and interactive print specialist Layar allows organizations to enhance marketing materials such as postcards, flyers, packaging and more with interactive content, including Web links, video messages and music clips. The site offers lower-than-average, pay-as-you-go pricing.

Freelance Help

For organizations looking to hire freelancers for certain projects, fiverr, an inexpensive, online freelance marketplace, may be the answer. Hire creative professionals to do anything from designing a banner ad to building website pages starting at as little as $5 per job.

These are just a few of the many free or discounted resources available to nonprofits. Start taking advantage of them today. And for assistance with your digital communications needs, call upon .orgSource, leaders in IT and digital strategies for more than 10 years.

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