The Nonprofit Communications Trends Report

The 2023 Nonprofit Communications Trends Report is now available!

What’s Inside the 2023 Report:

  • Five themes we think need addressing NOW

  • New data on how nonprofit communications programs respond to crises

  • Why nonprofits use social media and how they use video

  • Updated data on email list management and other email best practices

  • New data on how well your tech platforms integrate

  • New data on how the pandemic affects communications programs and internal collaboration

  • Updated data on teams size and growth as well as salaries and how to plan for future growth

  • Why nonprofit communications staff are looking for new jobs

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It’s the “Go-To” Source for What’s REALLY Happening in the World of Nonprofit Communications.

(And our most popular download of the year!)

Curious what other nonprofit communicators are thinking and doing? Need data on best practices? Looking for starting benchmarks? Need backup to get buy-in from your boss?

It’s all in the free Nonprofit Communications Trends Reports.

The 2023 Report is now available.

The data in the 2023 Report is based on an online survey completed by 522 participants.

Previous Reports

You can find all of the reports back to 2015 in our Free Learning Center. Become a Nonprofit Marketing Guide Member to access these reports and other free resources!

Where to Find What Data

In the 2022 Report:

  • How nonprofit communicators are implementing DEI policies
  • New data on communications team sizes and how teams grow
  • New data on strategic use of communications
  • Updated data on how often nonprofits use 15 different communications channels
  • New data on how nonprofit communicators can build healthier habits around time and productivity

In the 2021 Report:

  • Impact of the pandemic on nonprofit communicators
  • New data on managing time and boundaries
  • Relative importance of various communications channels
  • Adoption of various email, social media, and messaging best practices.
  • Updated data on communications team salaries.

In the 2020 Report:

  • New data on nonprofit communications objectives
  • New data on how nonprofits manage their email lists
  • New data on how nonprofits are engaging supporters on social media
  • Updated data on effective communications team models
  • The types of skills nonprofit communicators want to develop

In the 2019 Report:

  • New data on priority level, experience and effectiveness for 12 marketing strategies
  • Updated data on communications teams sizes, structures, and budgets
  • Updated communications team salaries, including regional differences
  • New data on writing skills, annual report formats, and the use of video
  • New data on organizational culture around communications work

In the 2018 Report:

  • Effectiveness on 12 specific communications goals
  • How much content teams typically create
  • How staff rate their levels of expertise on a dozen communications skills
  • The types of training communications staff get and who pays for it
  • Demographic data for nonprofit communications staff

In the 2017 Report:

  • The four models for how the majority of nonprofit communications teams are structured, including important differences
  • Extensive data on how nonprofit communications teams can measure their own effectiveness
  • Important differences in how communications directors, development directors, and executive directors view and approach communications work

In the 2015 Report:

  • The points of conflict in nonprofit communications
  • Portrait of a typical nonprofit communications director

Other Popular Resources

E-Book

The First 100 Days at Your New Nonprofit Marketing Job

Whether you are new to the world of nonprofit marketing or a veteran who has recently switched jobs, this free e-book will help you succeed.

Paperback Book

High-Impact, Low-Cost Ways to Build Support for Your Good Cause

A nonprofit’s real-world survival guide and nitty-gritty how-to handbook. This down-to-earth book shows how to hack through the bewildering jungle of marketing options and miles-long to-do lists to clear a marketing path that’s right for your organization, no matter how understaffed or underfunded.

Course

How to Raise Awareness E-Course

If you need to raise awareness but aren’t sure where to start or how to ensure your efforts pay off, take our free course to learn how. Free Membership required.