9 Ways Freelance Writers Can Work With Nonprofits

A guest post by Ivana, who is from Macedonia

As an active member of nonprofits in my country since 2007, I can clearly see how nonprofits and freelance writers can mutually benefit from their collaboration.

I have written grant proposals, sponsorship packages, crowdfunding campaigns, website and brochure content for non-profits based in my country and abroad. Thus I realized that there are many ways in which such companies can use writing services for various purposes.

This is where freelancers can step in and offer their writing services to nonprofits working in numerous sectors.

When it comes to fundraising, nonprofit organizations are operating in a very competitive environment. The bad news for them is that their reason for existence, the problem they try to solve and the solutions they offer may not reach the target group and the wider community because they are not written in language that inspires and grabs attention.

The good news is that nonprofits don’t need to hire full-time writing professionals separately for each of their needs, or train their staff to do so, but they can outsource writing tasks to professional freelance writers.

So, freelance writers, make sure you know what kind of service you can offer nonprofits when they come to you. Or better yet, go to nonprofits yourself and start working on new clients!

Grant proposal

These types of fundraising services can be expensive, especially if nonprofits seek consulting businesses to prepare their grant proposals. If you have the necessary grant writing skills, you can approach nonprofits and offer your services. It’s even better if you’re familiar with funding opportunities for nonprofits and you can give them an insight into their open call for grant proposals.

In my experience, some nonprofits require that you search for funding opportunities, write grant proposals, submit applications, and contact donors. But you can only engage with nonprofits to prepare grant proposals for them.

Sponsorship package

If you’re familiar with grant writing, you’re probably also comfortable with writing sponsorship proposals. In my opinion, since I write both, if a freelance writer knows how to convince a donor about the importance of a particular nonprofit project to the community, the freelancer also knows how to convince a business about the benefits of sponsoring a particular project. Non-Profit Activities Therefore, this is your second service to offer as a non-profit.

Crowdfunding campaigns

When it comes to writing a crowdfunding campaign, nonprofits need to find a persuasive storyteller who speaks in a language that most of the public understands. Most importantly, the language highlights the significance of a particular campaign and motivates readers to donate and share. Again, a freelance writer who knows how to talk to donors and businesses probably knows how to talk to the public who donates through crowdfunding platforms.

Email newsletter

Nonprofits can look to freelance writers to create engaging and inspiring content that gets a variety of audiences (donors, communities, businesses, and other nonprofits) genuinely interested in their content. As a freelance writer, you can combine your skills and knowledge in a variety of fields, come up with content for an email newsletter that will help nonprofits get grants and gain widespread support and recognition. And it could be your ongoing work with a few nonprofits.

Do a little research to find out which nonprofits already send email newsletters and which don’t. You can contact the first department if you think you can write their email newsletter better than they do now, or you can tell them the benefits of writing an email newsletter for them.

thank you letter

While the hunt for new donors is constant, it’s wise that nonprofits don’t forget about their existing donors. It stands to reason that they will build lasting relationships with them, so that donors support them again. Thank you letters are one way to achieve this, and it’s something a freelance writer can do.

E-magazine

In addition to email newsletters and thank-you letters, e-magazines are another strategy for communicating with donors, sending a message that the nonprofit is doing something worth mentioning. Freelance writers can write the content of those e-magazines, or rewrite it in a more interesting manner.

Website Content

We all know that a website is very important, especially when you are targeting young people. A study conducted by the Nielsen Norman Group Website of non-profit organization Reveal what people are looking for on nonprofit websites before deciding to donate What visitors wanted to see was the nonprofit’s mission, goals, objectives, and what they do to achieve it. Once the website design enables them to easily identify these categories, as you can already guess, content is the next step to getting someone to click on the donate button. Therefore, the method of writing website content is very important. Can you rewrite it in a more persuasive style for them?

Social media posts

Another strategy that nonprofits use to engage people is social media. But to achieve their goal, they must create interesting posts there. Nonprofits can hire freelance writers to come up with Twitter 140 character posts, Facebook posts, etc. The bottom line is creating concise and clear, yet inspiring content that will keep their audience engaged and attract more followers Freelance writers can actually be an important part of social marketing.

Infographic content

Numerous studies have shown that visuals are the driving force of marketing. Visuals are especially connected to social media. When it comes to infographics, which are so popular these days, in addition to hiring a graphic designer, nonprofits also need a few words to explain what the examples mean. This is something you can do. A freelance writer can come up with compelling content that explains what the nonprofit is doing and how they are solving a specific community problem.

If you are a freelance writer, you should try contacting nonprofits, just to let them know what kind of services you provide. The list above can give you an idea of ​​how to present yourself and your skills. It is great if you are an active part of non-profits, as it can help you a lot in converting your volunteer efforts into income. If you have no prior experience with them, but are still a good freelance writer, learn about nonprofits and approach them as your potential new clients.

PS When you approach them, don’t tell the nonprofit what you can write about, but how your writing will benefit them in terms of recruiting new supporters, volunteers, funding, and all that jazz.

I’m Ivana and I’m from Ohrid, Macedonia. I enjoy traveling, but Ohrid has to be my favorite place to visit. I am a political scientist, adventurer, extrovert, non-profit (more or less) activist and book lover, hence my writing endeavors. I have written about political issues, environmental issues and freelancing. At the moment, my personal blog is a work in progress.