10 Best Non-Profit Website Examples to Inspire You

A non-profit website is an online presence created for, and maintained by, a non-profit organization.

Non-profit websites serve to promote the missions, activities, and services of these organizations. They’re there to raise awareness of the non-profit’s cause, and to communicate with its audience of donors, volunteers, and the public at large: providing information about the non-profit’s work, goals, and achievements.

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• Are you starting your own non-profit website? Our guide on How to Accept Donations Online can help!

Good website design is vital for all businesses – but, for non-profit organizations, they’re particularly important.

After all, a non-profit website has to make it easy for its users to navigate important information about the organization’s history, its work in the community, and its overarching vision. It has to make it simple for people to donate, to request further information, or to register their interest in getting involved.

Here’s where design comes in. Non-profit websites need to be created and crafted in a way that engenders a positive user experience: building trust with visitors, and making them want to know more. Want to explore some of the factors that contribute to good non-profit website design? It’s as simple as A, B, C…

• Accessibility: a well-designed website ensures that all users – regardless of their abilities or disabilities – can access the information they need.
• Branding: consistent, cohesive branding – from both a visual, and a messaging perspective – reinforces a non-profit’s identity, and helps create a sense of credibility and trustworthiness with visitors.
• Call-to-Action (CTA): how you design and write your website’s calls to action can play a crucial role in whether your users take the action you want them to: be that donating, signing up to your non-profit’s mailing list, or reading more about the services you provide.

Ready to explore our 10 favorite non-profit examples on the web – and get inspired?

Let’s dive in.

From its bold (and relevant) red-and-white color scheme to its simple navigation, there’s a lot to love about the American Heart Association’s website.

With clear CTAs to “donate once” or “donate monthly” – both in the sticky menu bar, and right at the top of the homepage – the website lets users know exactly how, and where, they can support the charity.

What’s more, the non-profit website example’s homepage includes links to blog articles and news. This, of course, is a key content marketing strategy: engaging readers with informative, relevant articles to offer them a tangible benefit – rather than simply asking for a donation.

Spearheaded by its enigmatic, eponymous founder – Back to the Future and Teen Wolf actor Michael J. Fox – this non-profit advocates for people with Parkinson’s, and undertakes research to help science better understand the disease.

We love the website because of how seamlessly it weaves compelling CTAs alongside news about the latest Parkinson’s research. When you first enter the site, a pop-up appears offering “breaking news”, plus there’s a wealth of webinars, podcasts, links to books, and articles dedicated to raising awareness about the condition.

This non-profit website is also notable in its use of the celebrity-as-endorsement strategy. It makes clever use of quotes to convey empathy, and speak directly to the reader. The website also clearly publicizes its central goal and ethos – ”to eliminate Parkinson’s in our lifetime” – which helps communicate a sense of urgency and gravitas.

Ever heard of the design philosophy “less is more”? The New York Public Library hasn’t.

This striking non-profit website immediately catches the eye with a design language that’s all noise and color – in the best way.

Its “spotlight” section curates the library’s latest news and developments, while – a short scroll away – the “what’s on” section recaps upcoming exhibitions and author talks. The website is simple to scan and navigate, while quick, visible links make it simple to sign up to the library’s newsletter, browse the staff’s top book picks, or find out more about career pathways.

The World Wildlife Fund’s website deviates impressively from the norm by keeping the focus not on what the charity does – but on the ongoing climate crisis it’s working to circumvent.

How does this look on the website? Well, the first thing you see when you land on the non-profit’s homepage isn’t about the charity’s work, but a link to an article on how nature-based solutions can help address the climate crisis. By scrolling down you can, of course, view WWF’s work in action – but importantly, it’s education, rather than selling the charity, that’s the primary goal.

We also love how transparent WWF is around its mission, goals, and impact. The non-profit website utilizes social proof by shining a light on some key figures – 3,600 grants for conservation leadership, for example, or five million worldwide members – in order to bolster its authority and credibility, and build trust with its audience.

Like WWF – and like the horn of the animal this charity is dedicated to protecting – Save the Rhino’s non-profit website gets straight to the point.

At the top of its homepage, this non-profit bombards the reader with some stark, sobering – yet vital – knowledge: the latest statistics around rhino poaching.

This non-profit website is also inspirational in its use of video. Embedded into the homepage is a video allowing the site’s user to explore more about what the charity does, and how it’s working to prevent the world’s rhinoceros population from extinction.

Dr Jane Goodall’s focus is on chimpanzees, rather than rhinos. But her approach is just as fervent as any other animal conservation charity – and her website is equally striking.

In particular, we love the Jane Goodall Institute’s website’s deployment of visuals and statistics to demonstrate the charity’s impact. The user can view more information about Jane, explore her work in greater depth, or – by clicking through to the “Where in the World is Jane?” section – read about her story and journey to date.

In a style that’s perhaps atypical of most non-profit websites, Dr Jane Goodall’s online presence injects a sense of humor and lightheartedness into proceedings. A “Fun FAQs” section asks the audience what type of shoes Jane wore while observing chimps in Gombe, or about what her favorite place on earth is.

All in all, her website is a testament to how humor, information, and statistics can combine to balance emotional resonance with an engaging, entertaining approach.

No monkey business here!

With Save the Rhino and WWF, we talked about non-profit websites which put their causes – rather than information about the organizations themselves – at the fore.

Invisible Children does the opposite, but to potent, powerful effect.

The website frontloads the charity’s mission at the top of the homepage – “We partner with local peacebuilders across central Africa to end violent conflict.” The effect? Telling the user exactly what the charity is all about, so they perfectly understand, in a nutshell, Invisible Children’s essence – without having to scroll further down the page.

We also love Invisible Children’s website’s application of design elements. Its “Our Work” section features a neat list, in which scrolling over each feature of the charity’s approach expands that section out.

Scroll further down, and there’s all the news, updates, and blog articles you’d expect – as well as clear, clickable links to sign up to Invisible Children’s newsletter. There’s also sections on the charity’s values, as well as a part titled “You Have a Role to Play”. Here, colorful CTAs and compelling copy invite the user to either “Learn”, “Donate”, or “Act” – leaving them roused and ready to pledge themselves (and their bank accounts!) to the cause.

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• Need help forming your own vision? Check out this list of inspirig Vision Statement Examples to get started.

Power for Parkinson’s is an Austin, Texas-based non-profit which provides free online mind and body fitness classes for people with Parkinson’s.

Its mission is an inclusive one – and its website reflects this to a tee. Inclusive and accessible in both design and functionality, the website uses bold typography and a bright blue interface to make it simple to navigate and peruse. We particularly love how it showcases its instructors – humanizing them, while also featuring large blue CTA buttons to take their classes.

We also love how simple, yet relatable, its contact us page is. It includes everything a good contact us page should do – with contact details, social media links, the physical address of its headquarters, as well as a link to complete a customer satisfaction form. And, to top it all off, there’s an image of all the instructors, sitting together, to add a personal, professional touch.

Of all the homepages of the non-profit website examples we’ve featured here, charity: water’s is the most aesthetically impressive.

Superimposed over a series of moving images – which depict communities in third-world communities drawing from, and playing in, taps full of clean, fresh water – the homepage clearly sets out the charity’s vision: “Help bring clean and safe water to every person on the planet.”

The homepage makes it easy to donate, with preset dominations allowing users to give however much they can, or want to – in a matter of clicks.

We’re also huge fans of charity:water’s blog section. Accessible from the homepage, it contains videos and articles that tell the non-profit’s story, and update readers with the latest news.

Malala Fund is named after the pioneering Malala Yousafzai – who, in 2012, was shot by a masked gunman for speaking out publicly on behalf of girls, and their right to learn.

Its website is an excellent example of how non-profits can encourage donations and talk about their work, without ever feeling salesy or pushy. Malala Fund’s website achieves this delicate balance through placing compelling copy – ”More than 120 million girls are out of school today; donate to keep girls learning during and after the global crisis” – alongside clear, clickable CTAs.

Malala Fund also sports an online store – with all profits supporting the charity’s plight to give the world’s girls an education. Like the rest of Malala Fund’s website, its store is easy to navigate, with options to select items in multiple sizes, pay in different ways, or share it via social media.

The 10 non-profit website examples we’ve featured here showcase not only the best of this sector’s causes – from saving chimpanzees and rhinos to promoting clean water in developing countries – but the best of its websites.

Feeling inspired? The navigability, design, content, and features of these 10 sites offer plenty to borrow from and build on. So – what’s next?

Well, it’s time to create your own non-profit website – and we can help.

We have guides for all aspects of non-profit website creation and design – including the best non-profit hosting providers. And, for even more non-profit website inspo, check out our guide to the best non-profit templates with which to build your website around.

That’s it from us – good luck, and enjoy!