Using Pinterest may not seem like a natural thing for every nonprofit. Maybe you don't think your cause is "visual" enough, or maybe you're not allowed to publish pictures of the people your nonprofit helps. Regardless of these hurdles, you can still have a genuine and active presence on Pinterest. Here are some great pinboards from nonprofits who deal with a broad spectrum of issue areas. (Psst...these ideas may be included in the class I'm teaching at the Washington Foundation Center in April.)
1. National Wildlife Federation: Project ideas
People on Pinterest love how-to and DIY ideas for their homes. The National Wildlife Federation blogs about ideas for how to make bird houses and treats for the wildlife in your backyard, then posts them on Pinterest with good accompanying photos.
National Wildlife Federation on Pinterest
2. American Red Cross: Disaster preparedness checklist ideas
Everyone wants to be prepared in case of a disaster, and the American Red Cross, rather than posting overwhelming "to-do" lists, opts to post one thing at a time that you can do to prepare for an emergency.
Red Cross on Pinterest
3. Women of the ELCA: Quotes
Quotes get shared a LOT on Pinterest, and Women of the ELCA uses ShareAsImage to quickly capture comments from their Facebook page and turn them into pretty, formatted quotes for Pinterest. No Photoshop skills required. Plus, it's a great way to showcase community-created content.
Women of the ELCA on Pinterest
4. KaBOOM!: Great DIY projects + cute kid pictures
DIY project ideas and instructions are huge on Pinterest, as mentioned earlier, but so are pictures of cute kids! KaBOOM! has a board dedicated to DIY playground ideas that happens to contain some really cute kid pictures to boot.
KaBOOM! on Pinterest
5. RAINN: Raising awareness with quick facts
The Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN) uses the visual focus of Pinterest to share startling facts and statistics in a visually-compelling way.
RAINN on Pinterest
6. Minnesota Zoo: OMG BABY ANIMALS
Baby animal pictures get shared a lot on Pinterest (who doesn't like a daily dose of cuteness?) and the Minnesota Zoo caters to that audience with this great board of cute baby animal pictures from the zoo. (Say it with me, now: "Awwww!")
Minnesota Zoo on Pinterest
7. The Case Foundation: Infographics
The Case Foundation's "Social Citizens" board shares bits of infographics about social citizenship. This is a great way to present data in a visually-compelling and easy-to-digest way.
Case Foundation on Pinterest
8. GlobalGiving Foundation: Heart-wrenching images and stories with calls to action
GlobalGiving encourages people to donate to their projects, and spread the word about them, with emotionally-compelling photos and stories.
GlobalGiving on Pinterest
9. AARP: Celebrating grandparents
AARP has a board that's a mixture of cute quotes about being a grandparent, and adorable photos of grandparents and grandchildren spending time together.
AARP on Pinterest
10. Oceana: Weird-looking creatures
Oceana has an intriguing board of strange-looking sea creatures that immediately capture your attention.
Oceana on Pinterest
11. Pancreatic Cancer Action Network: Colorful calls to action
This board features beautifully-designed, easy-to-grasp calls to action that link back to a page with more information. Since pins on Pinterest are easy to share, this helps spread their advocacy message on a new medium.
Pancreatic Cancer Action Network on Pinterest
12. American Cancer Society: Recipes
Recipes and food-related pins get lots of traction on Pinterest, so the American Cancer Society created a great board with easy, healthy recipes. I love how they balance the recipe itself and a picture of the food in the limited space they have.
American Cancer Society on Pinterest
13. New York Public Library: Book recommendations from librarians
I love to read, so this board immediately snagged my attention. Each pin links to a book in their online catalog, and in the caption they include a quote from the book, which makes you want to keep reading. It's like Reading Rainbow for grownups!
New York Public Library on Pinterest
Have you seen any unique and interesting nonprofit pinboards? Share them in the comments!