2021 Nonprofit Calendar with Marketing Ideas

We’ve put together a full year’s worth of marketing ideas, tailored for nonprofit organizations to help keep community members informed, active and engaged all year long. Use the below calendar to plan your 2021 marketing.

Key marketing tactics for nonprofits:

• Newsletter & Holiday Emails: Provide your community members an easy way to stay informed of activities and engage in events and giving.
• Social Posting: Keep community members informed of the latest news, engaged in happenings, and gain visibility with potential members.
• Social Ads: Increase your reach to engage additional community members.
• Fundraising Event: Bolster your fundraising efforts with seasonal event campaigns.
• Sign-Up Tools: Invite current and new members to join your email list for news and activity updates through Sign-Up Forms on your website and social media platforms, as well as using a Text-To-Join code on paper materials.
• Online polls & Surveys: Make your emails and social posts more interactive and engaging by adding Polls and Surveys to collect feedback on events and gauge the interests of your members.
• Automated Emails: Build relationships automatically by greeting new people with welcome emails and acknowledging current members on birthdays and anniversaries.
• Website: Tell your story and engage new members by building a professional, mobile responsive website.
• Google My Business: Make your organization front and center in Google search results and Google Maps when people are searching in their local area for your organization or an organization like yours.

Monthly nonprofit marketing plan with ideas for nonprofit organizations

Use the nonprofit calendar with marketing ideas and tools below to help you plan your 2021 marketing and accomplish your goals.

January

• Leverage your members’ New Year inspiration to encourage them to volunteer, get other people involved, attend upcoming events, and create personal goals for 2021
  • Newsletter Email
  • Social Posting
  • Social Ad
• Review your mission statement, goals, and inspirational stories to ensure you have a strong and cohesive message across your website, social media platforms, and other outreach efforts
  • Website
  • Newsletter Email
  • Social Posting
  • Social Ad

February

• Share your upcoming activities and ask members to send a story of love leading up to Valentine’s Day, which you can then share out to your larger community
  • Newsletter Email
  • Social Posting
• Provide members with behind the scenes content that shows volunteers or staff members hard at work
  • Newsletter Email
  • Social Posting

March

• Partner with your favorite small business for cross-promotion on National Mom and Pop Business Owners Day and share your upcoming activities
  • Newsletter Email
  • Social Posting
• Check out the performance of your recent newsletters and social campaigns to see what content is resonating with your members so you can create better campaigns moving forward
  • Newsletter Email
  • Automated Email

April

• Add a family-friendly joke to your newsletter and social posts to bring joy to your members on April Fool’s Day and share your upcoming activities
  • Newsletter Email
  • Social Posting

May

• Send out a Memorial Day acknowledgement commemorating fallen soldiers and share your upcoming activities
  • Newsletter Email
  • Social Posting
• Host a charity silent auction, community BBQ, or walk-a-thon as a way to bring members together and raise money for your cause
  • Fundraising Event

June

• Encourage members to share out their family-oriented summer activities on Facebook and Instagram to compile great stories for your newsletter update and share your upcoming activities
  • Newsletter Email
  • Social Posting
• Figure out what content will resonate with your members by sending a survey to determine where they are in their journey and how you can best support them
  • Online Polls & Surveys

July

• Share out staff’s favorite 4th of July recipes and upcoming activities and ask community members for their favorite Independence Day traditions
  • Newsletter Email
  • Social Posting

August

• As the summer winds down and schedules fill up, let your members know about the support available to help families going back to school and share out your upcoming events
  • Newsletter Email
  • Social Posting
• Use the influx of residents moving to your community in the late summer and early fall as a catalyst to incorporate new members by sharing upcoming events, volunteer opportunities, and donation options
  • Social Ads
  • Social Posting

September

• Encourage members to join you for an end of summer concert that features a local band (whether in person or virtual), that is open to the larger community and share out any other upcoming activities
  • Newsletter Email
  • Social Posting
• Prepare for your holiday fundraising push by ensuring the year-round tactics are established and optimized
  • All year-round tactics
• Encourage sign-ups before the holiday season begins by adding a clear call to action that offers a free eBook or simple to get involved quickly
  • Social Posting
  • Social Ads
  • Email Sign-Up Tools

October

• Share upcoming activities, including bringing families together with a Trunk-or-Treat event that’s fun for everyone – don’t forget to take a video to share after the event
  • Newsletter Email
  • Social Posting

November

• Encourage members to give back this holiday season by volunteering at your organization or the local food kitchen for Thanksgiving and share any other upcoming activities
  • Newsletter Email
  • Social Posting
  • Social Ad
• Gather together your community (and take some work off their plates) by hosting a Thanksgiving bake sale
  • Fundraising Event
• Give thanks to your community by showing the impact of what their support means through stories or videos
  • Holiday Email
  • Social Posting

December

• Set up your year-end fundraising push by leveraging Giving Tuesday and share your upcoming events
  • Newsletter Email
  • Social Posting
• Send holiday greetings to your community and their families
  • Holiday Email

Year-round marketing ideas

• Set up birthday and anniversary greetings, welcome emails to new subscribers, and reminder emails to stay connected with members
  • Automated Emails
• Create a professional, mobile-responsive website to tell your story and increase your reach
  • Website
• Add sign-up forms on your website and social media platforms, and create a Text-To-Join code to add to pamphlets to encourage your community to stay in the know
  • Sign-Up Tools
• Set yourself up to be found online by those who are searching for the types of services you offer
  • Google My Business

Looking for more ways to plan your online marketing for 2021? Check out our full online marketing calendar with a free template and full list of marketing holidays.