Instagram is a great social platform to showcase the good work of any nonprofit organization. If a picture is worth 1,000 words, every post on Instagram is rich in storytelling, and a great place to share your mission and vision. Your Instagram feed could be one of the best ways for people to see what your organization is doing up front and behind the scenes.
We have identified 10 nonprofit Instagram accounts fro the North Texas area that are doing a great job communicating their mission and happenings. Take a look.
- North Texas Food Bank
The North Texas Food Bank is a nonprofit relief organization, providing access to more than 170,000 meals each day for hungry children, seniors, and families through a network of more than 1,000 programs and 200 partner agencies. What do we love about their Instagram feed?
User-Generated Content
You can easily see many of the programs and partner agencies in action through shared content from people and organizations supporting them.
Community
There’s a great sense of community and people caring for other people. It’s easy for people to see how they could fit into this great story of giving.
Needs Education
Many of the posts communicate the needs they have for food items and educate people on specifics of what they need.
2. The Samaritan Inn
The Samaritan Inn is more than just a place to spend the night. It is a comprehensive program that teaches self-sufficiency and life skills to meet the needs of individuals and families experiencing homelessness. They help willing people gain dignity and independence. On a typical night, approximately 160 people sleep at the Inn, of which 60 are children. What do we love about their Instagram feed?
Immediate Needs
In the pic above, it’s very clear they need toilet paper. I know of another nonprofit that had a van on their list, and sure enough, someone donated one. Make the ask for needs with a photo or graphic.
Thank You
There are many notes and cards with thank you messages on them. This let’s people know the things they donated are in use and appreciated.
Progress
They’re building a new facility and it’s great to see how it’s progressing.
3. OurCalling
OurCalling leads homeless people to Christ & makes disciples on the streets. They’re out on the streets of Dallas assisting the shelterless homeless. What do we love about their Instagram feed?
Call to Action
Many of their posts have a call to action, whether it be to volunteer, donate, or attend an event. It’s not just the ask, but the creative way they do it.
Reality
They are showing the reality of some difficult times, but also the hope that there is for help and long-term solutions.
Hope
By showing some of the success stories and thankful people with smiles, there’s a sense of hope for what can seem like a hopeless situation. Photos showing happy endings, or even happy moments during a process, are great reminders that people volunteering their time or donating to an organization is very worthwhile.
4. Color Me Empowered
Color Me Empowered is a charitable organization creating quality public arts projects for at-risk youth and neglected communities in Dallas, Texas. What do we love about their Instagram feed?
Art Showcase
They don’t have many posts, but the posts they have showcases the kids’ artwork. Showing what you do with “action” photos is a great way to show people what you’re doing.
5. Mission Arlington
Mission Arlington is more a movement than a strategy, more a spirit than a structure, more like a family than an organization. I’ve been involved there, and it is really hard to explain what they do. I’ll try, so here we go. Mission Arlington helps people in the community by making their city their mission field. They are heavily involved in the community to make it better for everyone living there, especially homeless or impoverished people. What do we love about their Instagram feed?
Volunteers
We really love seeing the volunteers in action. If someone wanted to volunteer for them, it’s pretty clear by looking at their feed to see how you can help.
Smiling Faces
There are so many beautiful, smiling faces in this feed. They truly are doing great work in the community and you can see it in every image.
Tillie
I have to give a shout out to Tillie Burgin. She started Missions Arlington. If you scroll down in the feed a little ways and see a 90+ year-old lady pulling a load of boxes on a dolly, that’s Tillie, and that image is not staged. She’s very involved and it’s not uncommon to see her working hard to help people.
6. Dwell With Dignity
Dwell with Dignity’s mission is to help families escape poverty and homelessness through design; one household at a time. What do we love about their Instagram feed?
Great Photo Quality
Their showcase of home designs and thrift store items are photographed with great lighting and high-quality photos. When people are scrolling quickly through their Instagram feed, these images will stand out nicely.
Opportunities
They have many events supporting their organization and they do a great job letting you know about them in their feed.
7. Humane Society of North Texas
Humane Society of North Texas works to improve the lives of all animals in North Texas. HSNT serves over 28,000 animals annually through many crucial programs. What do we love about their Instagram feed?
Cuteness
Let’s face it. Nobody can resist a cute pic or video. Babies and pets are adorable. Utilize the cute factor in your posts.
Current Events
The tie in posts with current events such as Giving Tuesday and North Texas Giving Day. They also have many holiday related posts.
8. Camp Summit Texas
Camp Summit is a residential or “sleep away” camp for children and adults with special needs located in North Texas. What do we love about their Instagram feed?
The Human Element
We love all of the smiling faces and their feed is all about the people. They’re having fun and you can see what types of activities the camp has going on.
Consistency
They’re posting regularly and they have a good amount of current content on their feed.
9. Challenge Air
Challenge Air is a nonprofit organization helping with confidence and self-esteem for special needs kids and youth through aviation. What do we love about their Instagram feed?
Action photos
Although they don’t have many posts, the posts clearly show what they’re doing with some really happy kids.
10. Dallas Habitat for Humanity
As an anchor for hope, change, and stability, Dallas Habitat has served more than 1,600 low-income families since 1986, resulting in an investment of approximately $150 million in more than 25 Dallas area neighborhoods. Habitat families pay nearly $2 million annually in property taxes in Dallas County. What do we love about their Instagram feed?
Groups
If you’ve never served with Habitat, this feed will make you want to be part of their wonderful story. Habitat has large groups of people on a build, all working on different projects to build a new home.
Wide Range of Posts
There’s everything from volunteering to behind-the-scenes, showing the build process, but also the training, giving, and many other things that go into making this organization successful.
Wrap-up
If you’re a nonprofit and you’re not using Instagram, there’s no better time to start than now. To recap the benefits of using Instagram for nonprofit marketing, here are some of the benefits:
- Each post is a photo and a photo is worth 1,000 words.
- It’s all visual, as all posts are an image or a video.
- Your feed becomes a chronological storytelling tool.
- It’s a great communication vehicle.
- It’s a great way to show the behind-the-scenes happenings, which for a nonprofit shows transparency.
- Showcase the good work you’re doing.
- Reach people where they are by being on this mainstream social platform.
Thanks and happy Instagramming!
Need Specific Help?
Interested in a specific topic? Review the topics below to get the info, news, and tips you need!
