15 Excellent Examples of Nonprofit Website Design in 2023

Nonprofit websites don’t aim to sell products or services to their visitors, but they still need to convince people to support their cause. Websites are one of the primary ways charity organisations connect with their potential patrons.

Nonprofit websites should be well-organised and easy to navigate. They also need to be visually appealing and have a feel-good vibe.

Based on these criteria, we have compiled a list of some of the best nonprofit website design examples.

1. Charity: water

Charity: water works to bring clean water to people in developing countries.

Why their site is excellent:

• Excellent choice and placement of images. The homepage has three vibrant photos that cover edge-to-edge screen space, dividing the page into three distinct segments. The colour scheme is bright and welcoming.
• The navigation bar sections – Why Water? Our Work and About Us are perfect to let a new visitor find out more about them.
• Correct placement of call-to-action buttons. The Donate and Fundraise options at the top-right are easy to access while small enough not to be obtrusive. The Give Monthly button overlaid on the top of the feature image takes a little more focus but still allows space to focus on the work that charity: water does. Scrolling down, you’ll see a grid of six photos accompanied by short text and more call-to-action.
• The site features well-chosen headings and an organised footer section.
• With a mobile-friendly and responsive design, the site looks equally good on the small screen. The top bar still contains the Donate button for a call to action, but the fundraiser option is moved off so as not to take up too much space.

Website: charitywater.org

2. Red Cross Australia

Red Cross AU is the Australian chapter of the prolific charity organisation.

Why their site is excellent:

• Red Cross’ website has a very user-friendly navigation bar. The bar has three sections – Get help, Get Involved and Support Us. Additionally, it has two call-to-actions – Volunteer and Donate. There are also a link to Contact and a Search.
• Every page of the site looks neat and modern. The design and colour scheme is consistent across the site, which goes very well with the brand image of the Red Cross.
• The banner image shows a direct example of how the Red Cross is helping people and also encourages visitors to donate with a call-to-action button.
• The site works well on mobile devices. It retains the look and feel across different screen sizes. The sticky navigation bar stays in position as one scrolls.

Website: redcross.org.au

3. World Wildlife Fund

WWF works on wilderness preservation and protection of the environment.

Why their site is excellent:

• WWF has a very informative website that aims to educate visitors about the current status of wildlife across the planet. The navigation bar includes Our work, Species that you should know and care about, Places that are important for wilderness preservation, About us and How to help. Hovering mouse pointers on these headings brings out drop-down menus with well-organised sections.
• The Donate and Adopt call-to-action buttons at the top right corner take the visitor to a page with multiple donation options and information. This is a great way to convert potential participators.
• The rest of the homepage presents informative content from WWF. It blends images, text and social media content using a grid of rectangular boxes. The site looks great on a small screen. Overall the design is visually appealing.

Website: worldwildlife.org

4. Habitat for Humanity

Habitat for Humanity provides housing for those who are in need.

Why their site is excellent:

• Their site design is simple. It uses monochromatic grids with images to present information, news and stories. The presentation is elegant.
• The top bar has a search box, several social media profiles and a Donate. The organisation is very active on social media platforms, and they use their site to encourage people to visit their social pages.
• As expected, the site renders nicely on mobile devices. Like the desktop site, it has a Load More button at the bottom of the News and Stories section instead of the infinite scrolling seen on some sites. Though infinite scrolling is a good thing for social media or ecommerce websites, users may find that annoying on a mobile platform.

Website: habitat.org

5. Feeding America

Feeding America is a hunger relief organisation that operates throughout the US.

Why their site is excellent:

• The homepage has a carousel of appealing images with appropriate call-to-action. Each page of the website uses real-life photos to communicate the message of the organisation.
• Feeding America makes it very easy to find food banks or get help for those who are in need. The navigation bar sticks to the top as you scroll down the site. It has a Need Help button in addition to the usual Donate.
• The overall design of the site is neat and tidy. It’s completely mobile responsive.

Website: feedingamerica.org

6. Greenpeace Australia

Greenpeace works for a green and peaceful future. They address environmental issues with protests and campaigns.

Why their site is excellent:

• The site of Greenpeace is beautifully designed. They use a combination of images, whitespace, graphics and social media posts to make the website come alive.
• As an action-focused organisation, Greenpeace makes it easy for people to participate in their movements by providing take-action links to various environmental campaigns.

Website: greenpeace.org.au

7. One Drop

One Drop provides sustainable access to safe water to millions of people across the world.

Why their site is excellent:

• This charity website has a modern design with a beautiful colour scheme. The use of bold colours, the right combination of images, beautiful typography, and the use of real-life photos make this site stand out from other nonprofit organisation websites.
• The site homepage features a full-page inspirational video that will definitely make the visitors like One Drop and what they do. The rest of the homepage is simple, but at the same time, aesthetically, It introduces the visitors to the projects and events run by the organisation.
• One Drop’s website looks equally good on the small screen. It has interactive elements and smooth transition effects.

Website: onedrop.org

8. Rotary

Rotary is a social organisation working across the world to create lasting changes.

Why their site is excellent:

• The site uses a video with multiple segments on the homepage, showcasing the Rotary people in action. Though auto-playing videos aren’t perfect for all sites, here it serves the purpose.
• The navigation bar of the site is well-organised. Hovering your mouse pointer on it brings out a detailed drop-down. There’s also a search bar and call-to-actions like Join and Donate.

Website: rotary.org

9. Oxfam Australia

Oxfam is a well-known international organisation empowering communities and tackling poverty around the world.

Why their site is excellent:

• Oxfam is an excellent example of a standard nonprofit website. Their site is very organised, informative and contains several case studies. The choice of images with human faces and a green-focused colour palette help them quickly connect with the visitors.
• The site makes it easy to donate and gives several donation options. Some of Oxfam’s project pages have intriguing designs taking advantage of full-page images, animations and transition effects. These pages help them stand out among other nonprofit donation websites.
• The site is completely mobile responsive. Even some of their content-heavy pages work perfectly on mobile.

Website: oxfam.org.au

10. Children International

Children International helps children who live in poverty.

Why their site is excellent:

• The site uses scrolling using images of children in the background. The overall design goes well with the brand image of the nonprofit organisation.
• Apart from the search box in the navigation bar, there is another search function that lets the visitors search for children to sponsor. This is an excellent feature.

Website: children.org

11. Ford Foundation

Ford Foundation is a private organisation with a mission to build a fair and peaceful world.

Why their site is excellent:

• Ford Foundation has a very simple website. But it’s organised and follows user-friendly design principles. The homepage features multiple banner images with links, which can be scrolled by clicking on the left or right arrows.
• The rest of the homepage contains a nicely presented section on news and blog posts which can be filtered by type. The navigation bar is properly organised.
• All of the pages have a clean look, with lots of whitespace and elegant design elements. The site’s simple design choices make it more appealing.

Website: fordfoundation.org

12. buildOn

buildOn works towards breaking the cycle of poverty, illiteracy and low expectations through service and education.

Why their site is excellent:

• The homepage showcases their motto; We build hope. WE BUILDON, alongside a video slider that displays the videos of their work and the community they have worked for.
• It offers multilingual support that distinguishes this site from other nonprofit websites. Also, two highlighted call-to-actions, JOIN US and Donate, makes it easy to donate and join the buildOn movement.
• The sticky navigation bar remains fixed in place even while smoothly scrolling through the content and comes with three sections- Our work, Get Involved and About Us.
• Both the design and colour palette maintain consistency throughout the entire website, perfectly complementing and aligning with the colour of their logo.

Website: buildon.org

13. Give Kids the World Village

Give Kids the World Village is a nonprofit resort where families with children facing critical illnesses are provided with the extraordinary opportunity to embark on weeklong, fully sponsored vacations. You can take their site as a standard nonprofit website example.

Why their site is excellent:

• Give Kids the World Village utilises captivating images, an engaging layout, and a cheerful tone to convey its mission of bringing joyful moments to sick children.
• The sidebar menu shows what it offers to provide more information for interested users and allows one to navigate easily.
• The prominent Donate button remains accessible as the visitors explore the website.
• The site appears equally impressive on mobile devices, with the contents seamlessly adjusting to fit smaller screen sizes.

Website: gktw.org

14. SpayMart

Operating as a lifesaving animal welfare organisation, SpayMart is working towards enhancing the lives of animals through programs directed at education, fostering, education, rescue and affordable spay/neutering.

Why their site is excellent:

• The website showcases charming cat and kitten photos on every page, complemented by a vibrant colour scheme. These visuals engage visitors, inspiring them to adopt, foster, donate, or volunteer.
• There is an interactive real-time tally that showcases the remarkable number of cats’ lives the organisation has positively impacted by rescue and care. Also, the homepage offers prominently displayed direct links that provide instant access to the organisation’s highlighted programs.
• The directory-style cat search page allows visitors to search cats by their breed, size, age, gender, care and behaviour.

Website: spaymart.org

15. Leukemia and Lymphoma Society

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) is one of the largest nonprofits dedicated to creating a world without blood cancers by investing in ground-breaking research, education and support.

Why their site is excellent:

• The homepage includes a slideshow of images that comes with individual CTAs, including Find and Event, Learn More and Donate Today. The rest of the homepage effectively introduces visitors to the achievement it has received and projects run by the organisation.
• The menus are tailored for distinct audiences- Patients and caregivers, Researchers and healthcare professionals. And this makes sense as they will look for different information.
• The numerous pictures of patients used on the site are effective enough to foster a sense of collective hope while showcasing inspiring tales of their journey and recovery.
• The design incorporates plenty of white space and just enough information to turn the user experience convenient and not overwhelming.

Website: lls.org

Wrapping up

Nonprofit websites have different business purposes. But still, they need to follow the best practices of web design to provide the necessary information to their target groups and supporters.

Maintaining a good brand image is also another critical factor. Good-looking websites help nonprofits to reach more people and motivate visitors to advance their causes. If you are a web designer, you’ll find the above sites to be useful design inspirations.

On the other hand, if you run a nonprofit organisation, feel free to use these examples as samples for your new site. Regardless of size and type, all nonprofit companies deserve to have a solid web presence. After all, they are working for the greater good.