Digital marketing for charities: how to build awareness, engagement, and donations online
Digital marketing has become one of the most powerful tools a charity can use to grow awareness, inspire supporters, and drive long-term impact. But for many organisations, it can feel overwhelming. Charity marketers are often expected to juggle many roles whilst navigating a maze of platforms, algorithms, and acronyms.
The truth is, successful charity marketing isn’t about doing everything. It’s about understanding your audience and telling your story in a way that moves people. It’s about building a funnel that turns awareness into action.
In my work with charities such as Myeloma UK, Depaul UK, The Vegetarian Society, and World Horse Welfare, I’ve seen how digital strategy can completely transform visibility. I’ve seen how it can increase fundraising, and supporter confidence.
The real purpose of digital marketing for charities
Digital marketing isn’t just about traffic or conversions, it’s about connection. When we connect on a human level we’re more likely to be moved to act.
The charities that succeed digitally are the ones that view marketing not as an afterthought, but as an extension of their mission. Digital marketing is the bridge between your story and the people ready to support it.
Building a strong digital foundation
Define your goals clearly
Before you run a single ad or publish a post, define what success looks like. Do you want more donations? Increased awareness? Volunteer sign-ups?
Many charities benefit from setting clear KPI’s based on either their own historic data or industry benchmarks. However the best digital campaigns evolve with your audience.
Create a website that tells your story
Your website is the door to what your charities offers. It should be more than just a donation page backed up by lengthy impact reports. It should make visitors feel something. Charities should demonstrate a clear mission, utilise compelling visuals, and most importantly use authentic storytelling. This will always outperform jargon-heavy copy.
Optimise for accessibility and mobile-first design, keep navigation simple, and make donating or getting involved as easy as possible.
Mastering the digital ecosystem
Google Ad Grants: your £7,500-per-month opportunity
The Google Ad Grant is one of the most underused tools in the sector. It gives eligible charities up to £7,500 per month in free advertising to drive awareness, and increase donations.
When managed strategically, it can transform how supporters find you. I’ve seen charities triple their website traffic and significantly grow donations simply by making better use of their grant and pairing it with targeted campaigns.
Focus on strong keyword research, paired with relevant landing pages, and continuous optimisation.
Meta Ads and paid social: storytelling that scales
Social platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and even TikTok give charities a unique space to tell stories visually and emotionally. The most effective charity campaigns show need and impact.
Through carefully planned Meta campaigns, I’ve supported charities in building national awareness around urgent issues from petition-driven movements like the Vegetarian Society’s campaign to end chick culling to audience-led storytelling that doubled online engagement for smaller community foundations.
A well-structured funnel is key: awareness ads to reach new audiences, engagement ads to build trust, and conversion ads to drive donations or sign-ups.
Charities getting digital storytelling right
No matter how many campaigns I run or strategies I write, I’m always learning from other charities who are doing things differently, those who take creative risks, tell their stories boldly, and put authenticity before polish.
I’m constantly inspired by organisations like Crisis UK, who reframe conversations around homelessness with empathy and dignity, using storytelling that focuses on possibility rather than pity. Their tone is powerful, human, and deeply aligned with their mission.
Then there’s RSPB, whose TikTok content is wonderfully unexpected, sometimes a little bizarre, but always engaging. They remind us that audiences want personality, vs polished case study type videos and that relevance often comes from experimentation.
On LinkedIn, I’ve been really impressed by the content from RNIB (Royal National Institute of Blind People). Their posts are thoughtful, educational, and rooted in lived experience, a brilliant example of how professional platforms can still be emotional spaces.
And in terms of campaign creativity, Breakthrough T1D (formerly JDRF) consistently produces standout video campaigns. Their storytelling really demonstrates the life of diabetes and the who care for them.
These examples show how digital marketing for charities isn’t one-size-fits-all. Each organisation leans into its own voice and that’s exactly what makes their content so effective.
Email and content marketing: keeping supporters close
Email remains one of the most effective channels for charity growth. The key is segmentation and storytelling, sending the right message to the right people at the right time. I can’t wait to see charities do away with boring monthly newsletters sent to their entire list with no segmentation.
Use your emails to share impact stories, share the voices of those with lived experience. Pair this with consistent blog content optimised for search, every article should help educate or inspire your audience.
SEO: building organic authority
Search engine optimisation (SEO) is how your charity gets found by people already searching for what you do. Start with keyword research, then build content that answers those searches with warmth and expertise.
SEO is a long-term investment, but it’s one that pays off. For one UK charity I worked with last year, improving on-page SEO and refreshing key landing pages led to sustained traffic growth, reducing dependency on ads and increasing volunteer sign-ups organically.
The power of messaging and storytelling
Many charities fall into the trap of starting their story with, “We were founded in 1850…” when supporters really want to hear, “Here’s the change you can make today.”
Your message should start with impact. Why you exist, who you help, and what change looks like when someone gets involved.
By reframing messaging from institutional to inspirational, charities can transform how people connect with them online. It’s not about broadcasting, it’s about belonging.
Conversions vs connections
Too often, charities focus on single-point conversions, one-off donations or sign-ups, instead of building a true digital funnel.
The most successful organisations invest in nurture. They use storytelling to draw people in, content to educate them, social proof to build trust, and personalised communication to convert and retain.
Digital marketing isn’t just about quick one off donations, it’s about turning awareness into lifelong advocacy.
Emerging trends shaping the future of charity marketing
AI and automation: streamlining supporter communication while keeping messages personal.
Micro-donations and mobile giving: frictionless, on-the-go generosity.
Video storytelling: short-form content continues to outperform static posts.
Collaborative campaigns: partnerships between charities and influencers for social good.
The digital landscape will keep evolving, but the charities that thrive are those that stay agile, creative, and audience-focused.
In summary
Digital marketing for charities is about empathy, and consistency. When you combine strategic thinking with storytelling and smart digital tools, you create a marketing engine that fuels your goals.
Empowering teams and building confidence
One of my favourite parts of working in this sector is helping charity teams feel confident in their own digital skills.
“Hope’s extensive knowledge, helpful advice, and friendly approach has given us the learnings we needed to tackle Ads Manager with confidence.”
— North Devon Hospice
Upskilling your team ensures long-term sustainability. Even small in-house improvements — like learning to interpret data or manage simple ad campaigns — can lead to lasting impact.
“Hope worked well with our team members and helped to make sure everyone understood the importance of marketing and the campaigns we were running.”
— Nurture UK
And when strategic advice guides the bigger picture:
“Hope has given our charity outstanding professional advice to support our digital strategy.”
— World Horse Welfare
Author bio
Hope Marshall is the founder and director of Marshall Creative, a digital marketing agency helping charities and ethical organisations grow through data-driven strategy, storytelling, and paid media. Hope has worked with national and global charities including Myeloma UK, Depaul UK, The Vegetarian Society, World Horse Welfare, and Nurture UK, delivering campaigns that raise awareness, drive donations, and build lasting supporter relationships.