How Nonprofits Can Grow in 2026: Marketing, Fundraising, and Donor Retention Strategies

Nonprofits have amazing vision statements that represent so much care and passion for the communities they serve. But we’ve seen it time and time again: small staff, overstretched Executive Directors, no dedicated Communications and Marketing director, and, ultimately, strategies that don’t align with the visions nonprofit organizations set out to achieve.

U.S. charitable giving hit a record $617 billion in 2025, but fewer people are giving than ever before. The donor pool is shrinking; on average, fewer donors are giving larger gifts, and organic social reach is near zero. For nonprofits operating with lean teams, this isn't a minor shift; it’s a strategic challenge that isn’t going away.

It can be hard to tell if you are checking the necessary boxes to stay up to date and relevant in 2026. That’s why we’ve compiled a checklist of high-impact strategies you can use to ensure your nonprofit doesn't fall behind.

1. Email is Still Your Most Powerful Channel

2. Build a Giving Path that Grows with Your Donors

3. You’re Losing Donors You Already Have

4. Video is No Longer Optional

5. Tangible Campaigns Outperform General Appeals

6. Optimize for User Experience

7. Build a Storytelling System

8. AI Isn’t a Magic Fix — But You Can Use it Wisely

1. Email Is Still Your Most Powerful Channel

Facebook, Instagram, BlueSky, X, TikTok, YouTube, text messages… the list goes on. Nonprofits often get lost in the shuffle of which platforms will have the most impact, but the reality is that email marketing is still the tried and true; in fact, 48% of donors prefer to receive updates and appeals via email.

Oftentimes, we see organizations that are treating their email list as a finite resource, a never-ending well that we can tap when we need to get a response, but here are a few strategies that can help you ensure that your email funnel is treated like the valuable resource that it is.

1. Convert New Subscribers - Have an evergreen campaign that helps to convert new subscribers. What would your donors or clients want to know about your organization? Gathering email addresses for impact reports, free resources, and events can be a great way to ensure that you can always communicate with the people who care most about your mission.
   

2. Schedule Database Deep Cleans - Keeping your email database up to date is essential in ensuring that your newsletters, campaign updates, and donation needs get delivered at a high percentage.
   
   This doesn’t just include people who have actively unsubscribed; it also means users who have consistently not engaged with your content.
   
   Assign a database manager and schedule regular cleaning days on your calendar! The larger your database, the more often we’d suggest doing maintenance. Use tools like NeverBounce and ZeroBounce to help validate and clean up your lists!
   

3. Segment & Nurture Subscribers -  Your email list is full of people who have different priorities and are at different stages of the donor or client journey. Creating automated segmentation and workflows that help move people through their different stages automatically is a highly effective way to increase monthly donors, convert new visitors, increase event engagement, and more!
   

4. Create an Email Opt-Out Survey - When users are unsubscribing, it can be really helpful to have an opt-out survey; this gives your team additional feedback on your audience’s preferences for communication, the value of your email content, and other insights that can keep your email at the top of its game!

2. Build a Giving Path That Grows With Your Donors

Every nonprofit organization has donors who have been faithfully giving for a long time, but have you ever directly asked them if they’d be willing to give more? 

By creating a predictable donor funnel or path, you can work to increase the investment of the people who are already faithfully giving to your mission. 

Here are a few places those asked can be highly successful:

1. Subscribers to Donors - Who is subscribed via email or social media but hasn’t given yet? What are specific campaigns, initiatives, or missions that you can directly ask them to give to? What’s the impact of their dollars directly?

2. Donors to Recurring Donors - Look through your donor list and find supporters who have only ever given one-time gifts. In these appeals, it’s really important to help givers understand why recurring giving is so important. Help them see how it will impact staff salaries, clients supported, etc.

3. Increasing Recurring Giving - When was the last time you directly asked recurring givers to increase their support? With the right motivation, these givers can be even more bought in. Offer them ways to increase their understanding of the organization. Things like an Annual Givers Zoom, quarterly impact report, or impact stories can be effective ways to show the ROI of their investment with your mission.

4. Multi-Year Givers to Major Donors - Identifying the donors who have given over $5000 over the course of several years can be a great way to identify donors who might be qualified to refer or become major donors. Schedule appreciation conversations when donors get to a certain number of consecutive giving years, acknowledge them with a call from the executive director, and use that as an opportunity to talk about the future of their giving.

5. Major Donors to Legacy or Planned Giving - According to plannedgiving.com the average Legacy gift is 200 times larger than a major donor's largest annual gift. So while these gifts are not an immediate benefit, spending time talking to your highly motivated donors about these types of gifts absolutely will impact the long-term outlook of your organization. Make sure you have information on your website, giving channels, and impact documentation about how donors can contribute to your vision as part of their legacy.

3. You're Losing Donors You Already Have

Nonprofits rely on their donors to keep their mission going, and monthly recurring or annual givers are some of the most critical donors to an organization. So whether manually managed by your fundraising manager or (ideally) digitally automated, all nonprofits should have a lapsed-donor workflow in place. 

1. Set Up a Trigger - In your donor CRM, create a trigger or list that automatically populates people who haven’t given in over 3 months.

2. Create a Reconversion Workflow - Build an email or text workflow that reminds users to opt back in to their regular giving. Make sure that these emails and texts include high-quality stories, data about your impact, etc.

3. Reminders for Phone Calls - If your automated workflows aren’t effective, consider adding a phone call into the mix. Hearing directly from your organization can help create that personal relationship that builds trust.

4. Lapsed Donor Survey - If your other efforts haven’t been effective, consider creating a lapsed donor survey to better understand the reasons that people are not continuing to support your organization. This kind of information can help illuminate gaps in communication, ways to improve, and more.

Donors can lapse for a variety of reasons: an expired credit card, a change in billing address, disagreement with something that happened, or a change in priorities. Setting up these steps will help you not only understand why these 

4. Video Is No Longer Optional

It’s 2026 and 68% of nonprofits post less than once weekly. And why is that? Because spending your time and energy creating content that gets no engagement feels demotivating. Because there are always higher priorities to work on.

Did you know that 57% of people who watch nonprofit videos go on to make a donation? Why is video such a powerful tool? 

1. Follow the Attention - The average mobile viewing session lasts more than 40 minutes; social media video viewing is replacing watching other forms of entertainment in people’s lives.

2. Connect with Younger Audiences - Video is very popular with millennials and younger generations (45 and younger). As your nonprofit is working to connect with younger donors, clients, and more, video is a highly effective way to do that.

You don’t have to start with high-production and expensive video; today most people have access to a high-quality video camera right in their phone. Here are our recommendations for a setup to get started with video.

DJI Osmo Pocket 3 Combo Kit

Capture high-quality videos with the help of this DJI Osmo Pocket 3, which includes the DJI Osmo Pocket 3 gimbal camera, the DJI Mic 2 Wireless Microphone System, a microSD card, and a battery handle and power bank to increase runtime. The microphone can be connected to a phone.

5. Tangible Campaigns Outperform General Appeals

Donors love being able to connect with something tangible when they are giving. Creating a clear goal that highlights specifically what giving impacts helps donors to get a sense of community, where their dollars are going, and how it will help your mission. 

Campaigns like the 375 Campaign from Pure Water for All Foundation or the 1000 @ $100 campaign from praisefm, provide a clear ask, a tangible goal, and an easy call to action. 

Take inspiration from things like GoFundMe Campaigns or Kiva to think about how donors give when they are motivated by specific needs. These types of asks appeal to both our practical and emotional sides, making them highly effective!

6. Optimize For User Experience

Whether it’s a volunteer form, the mobile version of your website, or your donation platform, the experience users have engaging with your online presence matters.

These types of fixes can help your organization better leverage the traffic and interest you are already getting to your site.

Clarity of your messaging is a big part of this as well. Can users tell exactly what your organization does within 5 seconds of coming to your website or landing page? 

Here are a few things you can do today to ensure your website is creating a good experience:

1. Measure and Analyze: Using free tools like Google Analytics and Microsoft Clarity can help you understand where users get stuck, get lost on the page, or fail to convert. 

2. Do the 5 Second Comprehension Test: Give a test to someone who doesn’t know anything about your website by letting them look at your site for 5 or 10 seconds and then ask them what you do. If they can’t give you a clear answer, there’s still room for improvement!

3. Look at Page Speed Insights: This is another free tool that will help you increase the technical performance of your website. Slow-loading sites can frustrate users and cause them to leave the site quickly!

4. Audit the Mobile Version of your Website: Most organizations see 35-60% of their traffic on mobile, but when’s the last time you looked to see if all the formatting is correctly rendering, buttons are easy to click, and the menu is clear to users? These updates can ensure that mobile users are having the best experience using your site.

5. Clarify Calls to Action: Look through your site and eliminate places where buttons say “Learn More” or “Read More”; instead, replace this with more specific action language like “See our services,” “Support our Mission”, etc. These simple steps can help ensure that users clearly understand the next steps you are asking them to take.

6. Schedule Your Communication Plan: Understanding how often each person in your database gets communicated a certain message is a really important part of creating a positive user experience across your organization, ensuring that donors aren’t fatigued and also that messaging is consistent!

7. Build a Storytelling System 

Most nonprofits have amazing, impactful, and joy-filled stories, but taking the time to share them can fall down the priority list. Our brains are hard-wired to understand and interpret stories.  Storytelling helps connect the practical with the emotional - showcase the impact of your mission and vision. 

Here are a few ways you can incorporate more storytelling into your strategies this year:

1. Capture Your Wins with Photos - Finding a trusted photographer that your team can rely on is really important; photos can ensure that your stories are easy to share on social media, your website, in impact reports, pitch decks, and more. And this doesn’t have to be expensive; if you don’t have a budget for a professional photographer, connect with a local high school or college and help someone build their portfolio!

2. Create a Process to Request Stories - One of the best ways to get new stories is just to ask! Create automations to follow up after appointments or meetings, send out requests for reviews, etc. Creating a landing page for stories can be another great way to encourage people to submit their celebrations! These can be an excellent way to make sure the best stories are captured and known!

3. Set Reminders to Create and Publish Stories - Don’t let too much time go by without stopping to celebrate (and capture) your best stories from the year. Set a team celebration meeting once a quarter to honor the wins of your team, your best client success stories, and to look at reviews. These places are the best ways to mine for the best stories that are just waiting to be told!

4. Find Regular Places to Include Stories - One of the best ways to ensure that you capture stories is to make places where you need them! 

8. AI Isn't a Magic Fix — But You Can Use it Wisely

I’m sure you've seen, heard, and been advertised to about all the ways that AI is going to change your life and your workflow, but the truth is that AI isn’t good at everything. Many nonprofits are already turning to AI to try to create designs and complex topics. Something that it doesn’t excel at, and guess what, your viewers can tell. Instead of using AI like a fix-all, here are some ways that it can excel at helping you in your day-to-day:

1. Ideation and Brainstorming - If you are feeling stuck on what to post on social media, how to craft an email, or the name for your next event. Let AI help you get out of your rut. Think of it like another person at the brainstorming table!

2. Analyzing data - AI can spot trends better than most people. Try adding your data to your tool of choice and see what trends and insights it can help you find. Our one note is to just ensure that the data is anonymized to protect your donors!

3. Meeting summaries and board governance - AI-supported tools are commonly used for meeting minutes, document summaries, and preparation materials, improving governance efficiency and clarity. 

Growing your nonprofit's impact in 2026 doesn't require doing everything at once; it requires doing the right things well. 

Whether that's cleaning up your email database, building a giving path for your most loyal donors, or finally getting comfortable in front of a camera, small, consistent steps compound into real momentum over time. 

The organizations that thrive this year won't be the ones with the biggest budgets; they'll be the ones with the clearest strategy and the discipline to follow through on it. 

If you're ready to turn this checklist into a plan, Elevation would love to help you identify your priorities, build a roadmap, and start climbing toward your mission's next chapter.

Google Ad Grant vs. Google Ads: What Nonprofits Need to Know in 2026

“Google will give us $120,000 in free advertising with the Google Ad Grant. Can you help us spend it?”

We hear something along these lines from nonprofits all the time; some have approved Google Ad Grant accounts, and some just know that it’s available. And, for sure, the Google Ad Grant is a great program that your organization should be taking advantage of, but there are a lot of myths and misconceptions about it as well. 

What we’ve seen at ELEVATION in our work with nonprofit organizations is that people get approved and then treat it exactly like a free version of Google Ads. But they aren’t the same; while the two tools look exactly the same, the strategies to execute campaigns are very different.

Here’s everything your organization needs to know, from the first application to long-term account health:

Step One: Get Approved for Google for Nonprofits

Before you can get a Google Ad Grant, you need to have an approved Google for Nonprofits account. This is a huge asset to your organization as it also gives you access to a free Google Business Workspace and the YouTube Nonprofit program. 

To qualify, your organization needs to:

• Hold valid charitable status in your country. In the US, that means an active 501(c)(3) status with the IRS. Google for Nonprofits is currently available in the US and more than 65 other countries, so look up the requirements in your specific country if you aren’t in the US.

• Be verified through Google’s Nonprofit validation process. As part of your application process, Google will ask you to submit a verification through Goodstack, which takes a couple of days to process.

• Ensure that you are eligible based on your nonprofit category. Government entities, schools/academic institutions, hospitals, and healthcare organizations are not eligible under the current terms.

What you need to apply:

1. An active EIN Number

2. Your Website

3. A Mission Statement

4. Your Contact Information

Once all of this information is submitted, Google will review your application and send you an email update when the request is approved. Note: In our experience, this process can take just a few days up to a few weeks. If you don’t hear back about your application in the timeframe outlined, we recommend reaching out to the Nonprofits team to help keep your request moving. Once your Google for Nonprofits account is active, you can begin the process of requesting the Google Ad Grant.

NOTE: Make sure that you add multiple people to your Google for Nonprofits account to ensure that access stays current!

Setting Up the Account: Access, Analytics, and Tag Manager

Once the Ad Grant is approved, the technical setup determines whether everything downstream works.

1. Get proper Ad Grant account access. Make sure whoever is managing the account, internal staff or an agency partner, has admin-level access set up correctly from day one.

2. Install Google Analytics (GA4). You need visibility into more than just visits. GA4 needs to be tracking meaningful user behavior on your site, not just pageviews.

3. Set up Google Tag Manager. GTM is what makes conversion tracking manageable at scale; it lets you deploy and update tracking tags (donation completions, form submissions, newsletter signups, event registrations) without needing a developer for every change.

4. Connect conversion tracking to Google Ads. Without accurate conversions flowing into the account, your campaigns have nothing to learn from.

5. Ensure that your relevant pages are optimized. Take a look at the pages that you are planning to promote and make sure that they are optimized for your target keywords and set up with conversions in Google Analytics.

Only once analytics, tag management, and conversion tracking are confirmed working should campaign build-out begin. Building campaigns on top of broken tracking just means optimizing toward the wrong signals.

Keeping Your Google Ad Grant Account Active

Getting Ad Grant approval (while slow) is the easy part. Staying compliant is where we’ve seen accounts live or die. Here’s what your account needs to maintain, month over month:

• A% click-through rate, account-wide. Fall below it for two consecutive months, and your account is subject to temporary deactivation. New accounts get a grace period, but after that, Google expects sustained performance.

• Keyword Quality Scores of 3 or higher. Anything scoring a 1 or 2 has to be paused or removed, and increasingly, Google's systems will pause these automatically.

• Working conversion tracking. Your account needs at least one meaningful conversion action being tracked, a donation, a form fill, a newsletter signup, an event registration, etc.

• At least two ad groups per campaign, each with at least two responsive search ads and two active sitelink extensions. This isn't just a compliance checkbox; it's a better account structure.

• Monthly login and activity, with a meaningful account change at least every 90 days, plus a completed response to Google's annual nonprofit program survey. Accounts that go quiet are just as much at risk as accounts that violate a performance rule.

• A website that holds up its end. HTTPS, working links, fast load times, and content that clearly reflects a mission-driven (not commercial) organization. 

Google Ads vs. Ad Grant: The Strategy Difference

Standard Google Ads runs like a straightforward auction; Google's incentive is to prioritize ads that are most likely to earn them revenue, rewarding advertisers willing to pay the most. Bid high enough on a competitive keyword, and you show up. It's a system built around who can pay, not just which site is the most high-quality or relevant.

The Google Ad Grant flips that logic. Because grant accounts are capped, there’s a low likelihood that you’ll outbid a standard advertiser on a broad, high-competition term like "donate to charity" or "volunteer opportunities." Chasing those competitive keywords is likely to lead to low click-through, weakened Quality Scores, and a risk of falling out of compliance.

That’s why our approach is nearly the opposite: prioritize longer-tail keywords that still have decent search volume, but where paid competition is thin, something like "donate used medical equipment Minneapolis" instead of "donate to charity." These terms carry high intent, face far less competition from paid advertisers, and help accounts actually get impressions, earn clicks, and build the performance history it needs to stay healthy.

With tracking in place, campaign structure should reflect the long-tail approach above:

• Organize campaigns around specific programs or calls to action (a donation campaign, a volunteer recruitment campaign, an event-registration campaign) rather than one broad "About Us" campaign.

• Build at least two tightly themed ad groups per campaign, each mapped to a specific landing page, not just your homepage.

• Write responsive search ads that speak directly to the keyword's intent, and add sitelink extensions pointing to relevant, specific pages.

• Layer in negative keywords aggressively from the start, and keep expanding that list based on the Search Terms report.

• Monitor and optimize your campaigns to ensure that only the relevant keywords and ads are getting shown.

The Biggest Myth: You Won't Spend $10,000 in Month One

Here's the piece almost every organization misunderstands: a newly approved account, with a handful of campaigns and no conversion history, is not going to spend anywhere close to $10,000 in its first month. Chasing full budget utilization by bidding on broad or low-quality keywords is exactly how organizations end up below the 5% CTR threshold or holding a fistful of Quality Score 1 and 2 keywords.

This looks like:

• The keyword list expands with new, well-researched long-tail terms

• New landing pages get built for specific campaigns, appeals, and programs

• Conversion data accumulates, and Smart Bidding has more signal to work with

• CTR and Quality Score climb, which increases how competitive your bids effectively are

In our experience managing these accounts, this is a months-long build, not a switch you flip. Organizations that treat the Ad Grant as ongoing programmatic work, reviewing performance monthly, adding content and landing pages quarterly,  and refreshing ad copy regularly Organizations that set it up once and walk away are the ones that either plateau at a fraction of the budget or lose the account to compliance.

The Takeaway

The Google Ad Grant is a highly valuable tool available for the majority of nonprofits. But (as with most things) it rewards patience, structure, and ongoing attention in a way that standard Google Ads doesn't demand nearly as strictly. Getting the foundation right means ensuring clean analytics and conversion tracking, a long-tail keyword strategy built, and a real maintenance cadence.

If your organization wants to implement the Google Ad Grant, we would highly recommend working with a partner who has specific experience with the strategies needed to make use of these dollars. And if that’s not a possibility, make sure that you have someone dedicated to these efforts on your internal team.

This grant can be a highly effective tool to connect you with new donors, clients, and more, but only if it’s used effectively. Need help getting started? We’d love to connect.

How to Start a Nonprofit: 501c3 Setup Guide for New Organizations and Foundations

How to check and apply for nonprofit status

Many nonprofit leaders and a growing number of business owners are exploring how to start a nonprofit arm of a business. And it’s important to understand what the best structure is for your business.

Whether you’re launching a new nonprofit, launching a foundation as part of our existing business, or have been operating one for years, understanding your nonprofit status can open doors to grants, tax-deductible donations, corporate giving programs, nonprofit discounts, and more. Unfortunately, many organizations miss valuable opportunities simply because they haven’t verified their status or completed the application process correctly. 

Let’s walk through how to check your status, where and how to apply for nonprofit recognition, and avoid some of the most common mistakes nonprofits make. 

Why 501(c)(3) Status Matters

Obtaining a 501c3 status through the IRS allows your nonprofit to: 

• Accept tax-deductible donations

• Apply for grants and foundation funding 

• Qualify for nonprofit technology discounts

• Build credibility with donors and partners

• Participate in corporate gift matching programs

Without federal tax-exempt status, many funding opportunities simply aren’t available. 

Build Your Governance Foundation First

Before you touch an application, the IRS and most state filings expect your organization to have real governance in place. This is the step that new nonprofits (especially business-founded nonprofits) most often skip, and it's one of the more common reasons applications get flagged or delayed.

At a minimum, you'll need:

• Bylaws that outline how your organization is governed and how decisions get made

• An independent board of directors. For a standalone 501(c)(3), this means directors who aren't simply company employees or family members of the founder; genuine independence is part of what the IRS is evaluating

• A conflict-of-interest policy, which the IRS specifically asks about during the exemption application

Getting these documents right at the outset saves real time later; weak or missing governance language is one of the most common causes of delays once you reach the federal application.

Before You Apply

Before you begin the application process, make sure you have the following documents and information ready. Having everything organized ahead og time will make the filing process much smoother and help prevent unnecessary delays. 

• Your nonprofit’s legal name 

• Employer Identification Number (EIN) from the IRS

• List of your board of directors, including name and position

• Mission statement describing your charitable purpose

• Description of your current and planned activities

• Contact information for your organization and a responsible officer

• A debit or credit card on hand for filing fees

Once you’ve gathered these materials, you’re ready to begin the registration process with the IRS.

How to Obtain an EIN Number

An Employer Identification Number (EIN) serves as your organization’s federal tax ID number. Think of it as a Social Security Number for your nonprofit. 

Before applying for nonprofit status, you’ll need an EIN from the IRS. This step is completely free and won’t take more than twenty minutes of your time to complete the application. 

When applying: 

• Select “Other Non-profit/Tax-exempt Organizations” as your organization type. 

• Ensure your organization’s legal name is spelled correctly. 

• Use the same organization name across every document and application.

One of the most common delays in the nonprofit registration process comes from inconsistent information between filings. Even minor differences can create confusion and require additional time for corrections later. 

Register Your Nonprofit with Your State 

Forming a nonprofit organization at the state level is separate from obtaining federal tax-exempt status. Every state has a different process for registering, so do some research as to what your state requires and how to complete it accordingly. 

In Minnesota, organizations must file nonprofit incorporation documents through the Secretary of State before applying for federal recognition. 

During this step, you’ll establish: 

• Your nonprofit’s legal name

• Incorporators

• Registered agents

• Official contact information

Accuracy matters. Every document should contain the same organization name, leadership information, and contact details. 

Apply for Federal Tax-Exempt Status

Once your organization is legally incorporated and has an EIN, you can apply for federal recognition as a 501(c)(3) organization. 

Many smaller nonprofits qualify to use Form 1023-EZ, a streamlined application submitted through Pay.Gov. 

During the application process, you'll provide: 

• Organizational information

• Leadership information

• Mission and charitable purpose 

• Financial details 

• Classification information 

You’ll also be asked to identify an NTEE code that best describes your organization’s mission and activities. 

Choosing the most accurate classification helps ensure your nonprofit is properly categorized within IRS records and grant databases. 

Commonly Missed Opportunities for New Nonprofits

Many organizations focus entirely on obtaining their nonprofit status and overlook the opportunities that become available afterward. 

Grant Funding 

Many grantmakers require proof of 501c3 status before reviewing applications. Organizations that delay filing often miss funding cycles that could help launch or expand programs. 

Nonprofit Technology Programs

Verified nonprofits may qualify for discounts on: 

• Website hosting like Wordpress.com or Squarespace

• Email marketing platforms such as Mailchimp or Constant Contact

• Productivity software like Google Workspace for Nonprofits and Microsoft 365

• Project management tools, including Asana, Monday.com, or Trello

• Cloud storage solutions such as Google Drive, OneDrive, or Dropbox

These savings can significantly reduce administrative costs. 

Corporate Giving Programs

Many companies offer employee matching gifts and charitable giving programs that require nonprofits to maintain an active 501(c)(3) status. 

Google for Nonprofits and the Google Ad Grant.

 Once your 501(c)(3) status is confirmed, you become eligible to apply for Google for Nonprofits — including the Google Ad Grant, which provides up to $10,000 per month in free Google Search advertising. It's one of the highest-value, most overlooked resources available to a newly approved nonprofit.

What’s Your Status? 

If you’re not sure where your nonprofit stands today, now is a great time to find out. 

Ask yourself: 

• Do we have an EIN?

• Are we incorporated in our state?

• Have we received IRS approval as a 501c3?

• Are we taking advantage of the resources available to verified nonprofits? 

If any of those questions gave you pause, that's exactly the kind of groundwork our team helps organizations get right from the start, from choosing the right structure through to launching your first marketing campaigns once you're approved.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does it take to get 501(c)(3) status?

Filling out and completing the application depends on the length of your state form. The 1023-EZ form shouldn’t take longer than an hour if you have the proper information prepared. 

The approval timeline depends on which IRS application your organization submits. Organizations that qualify to file for Form 1023-EZ often receive a determination anytime between a few weeks and a few months, while the standard Form 1023 may take longer. Processing times vary based on the IRS workload and whether additional information is requested. 

How much does it cost to start a nonprofit organization?

The cost varies depending on your state and the type of application. Filing the 1023-EZ form with the IRS costs around $275, while the 1023 standard form costs $600. 

Corporate Giving Programs

Yes, however, the nonprofit must be established as a separate legal entity with its own governing board, mission, finances, and operations. A for-profit organization cannot simply “become” a nonprofit organization or use a nonprofit organization to benefit the business financially. Many companies create a nonprofit organization or charitable foundation to support community initiatives, educational programs, or charitable causes. However, the nonprofit must operate exclusively for charitable purposes and comply with all IRS requirements for tax-exempt organizations. 

What’s the difference between a nonprofit and a foundation?

A nonprofit organization is a broad term that describes organizations formed to serve charitable, educational, religious, scientific, or other public-benefit purposes. Most 501(c)(3) organizations, including food shelves, community organizations, schools, and charities, are nonprofit organizations. 

A foundation is a specific type of nonprofit organization. Foundations are typically funded by a single individual, family, or corporation and primarily distribute grants to other charitable organizations rather than operating their own programs. Some foundations do run charitable organizations rather than operating their own programs. Some foundations do run charitable programs directly, but grantmaking is their primary focus. 

In short: 

• Nonprofit: Provides charitable services or programs directly to the community.

• Foundation: Usually provides funding to support the work of other nonprofits.

Why Elevation Started

It's easy to get caught up chasing society's definition of success.

The promotions. The numbers. The next milestone. The idea that if you just work harder, earn more, and keep climbing, fulfillment will eventually follow. For a while, I did exactly that. But despite achieving many of the things people strive for, I found myself asking a difficult question: If this is success, why does it still feel so empty?

That question led me down a different path.

Through God's guidance, I began to see life through a new lens. One experience in particular changed everything. After going on a mission trip, I came home with a completely different perspective on what mattered most. What I saw and experienced challenged many of the goals I had been pursuing and made me realize I wanted to invest my time, talents, and resources into something bigger than myself.

I started using my background in business and marketing to support organizations making a real difference in the world. Some of those early projects included work with organizations like Feed My Starving Children. As I saw the impact these efforts could create, it became clear that the skills I had developed in the corporate world could be used for something far greater.

That's when the vision for Elevation began to take shape. At one point, I made the decision to sell many of the things that represented my former pursuit of success, including my house and luxury vehicles, and reinvest those resources into building Elevation. What once symbolized achievement became the foundation for something I believed would create lasting impact. Looking back, it remains one of the greatest investments I've ever made.

The Heart Behind Elevation

Elevation was founded with a simple mission: to help purpose-driven organizations grow their impact through strategic marketing, storytelling, fundraising, and digital experiences.

Over the years, I've had the privilege of working alongside ministries, nonprofits, schools, churches, and mission-focused organizations that are transforming lives every day.

Again and again, I noticed the same challenge. Incredible organizations were doing life-changing work, but many struggled to communicate their story effectively enough to reach the people who wanted to support them. That's where we come in.

The Work We Do

We believe growth should be about more than generating clicks, impressions, or website traffic. At its best, marketing connects people to causes, communities, and opportunities that can genuinely change lives.

Today, our team partners with organizations that share a commitment to making a meaningful difference through their work. Whether it's a church, school, pregnancy resource center, clean water initiative, nonprofit, or mission-driven organization, we help amplify their message and expand their reach.

When we partner with an organization, we're not simply building websites or launching campaigns. We're helping them inspire action, deepen engagement, and advance their mission with clarity, confidence, and impact.

Why This Blog Exists

One question I hear often is: "What's actually working right now?"

The marketing landscape changes constantly. New platforms emerge, algorithms shift, and trends come and go. But the principles of effective communication remain remarkably consistent.

This blog is where we'll share insights, lessons, and practical strategies from our work in the field. Our goal is to provide content that is practical, actionable, and grounded in real-world experience. You can expect content covering topics such as:

• Marketing and fundraising strategy

• Storytelling and brand development

• Website best practices

• Digital advertising and lead generation

• Nonprofit growth and donor engagement

• Faith-based communications

• Industry trends and emerging opportunities

• Lessons learned from real client projects

Looking Ahead

We're excited to use this space to share what we're learning, what's working, and where we see opportunities for organizations to grow their impact.

Whether you're a nonprofit leader, church staff member, business owner, marketer, donor, or simply someone passionate about meaningful work, I hope you'll find value here.

Thank you for being part of the journey.

We're just getting started.

Darren Johson

Founder, Elevation