What happens when you need to depict something serious? A subject that is inherently not cute or fun or something hard to relate to. Plus, imagine you want people to join your cause, donate money, participate in volunteer activities, share your content, etc. Seems challenging, right? Well, that's part of the everyday work for nonprofit organizations, charities, and social enterprises.

But don't you worry! Not everything is complicated. If you're trying to change and positively impact your community, we'll give you a hand with the right visuals so you can make a statement, spread your message, and bring it to life.

In this article, we'll share a bit of our secret sauce to help you connect with your audience through pictures and easy-to-understand language, even if it's for a nonprofit!

The power of illustrations to improve your communication

Around 38% of people stop engaging with a website if the layout or content is unattractive. So, let's start there. You may not have a website yet, but you have a deck for partners or flyers to find volunteers. If the content you create and share is not consistent, likely, people will not interact or spend time on it. That's when doodles make their entrance!

People's response to images is usually more emotional, the opposite of how they might react to statistics or mathematical information, which sometimes can be harder to understand. The truth is that nobody will argue about your cause if they don't understand it. So instead, let's create conversations! Using illustrations is a way to present information about a serious matter in a more digestible and often more memorable way.

Adding illustrations to your digital or printed assets is one of the best ways to reach your viewers and explain your cause in the simplest way possible.

We know what you're probably thinking right now: "Guys! I'm not a designer, and I don't have a huge budget right now." And we understand what you mean, but we truly believe everyone can be creative!

You don't need a magic wand—or the huge budget to create your next posts for a fundraising event. Guess what? That's precisely how we can help you! With Blush, you can unlock thousands of free illustrations in all sorts of styles. You can edit backgrounds, colors, expressions, and other elements to get the composition you need. And since we've all sat in front of a screen thinking, "I don't know where to start," we also created a variety of Figma templates that are fully customizable so that you can get started faster—feeling less stressed now?

Let's keep going, amigos!

Different illustrations for different audiences

We all come from different backgrounds, cultures, and communities, and depending on your nonprofit's cause, you'll want to showcase diversity and inclusion. You want your message to be more than just words. You want to paint a picture in your reader's minds and connect with them.

Illustrations that represent your audience can be a great way to bring essential or severe issues to the light of the public. There are a few things to consider when choosing whether or not to use illustrations to get your point across.

1. Target your audience

Listen to your users and those who collaborate with you. Remember to be consistent with your audience. For example, if you're talking to kids, you'd want to seem approachable, so you need to choose illustrations that seem relatable to them. Or are you talking about accessible mobility solutions? Then don't forget to represent that audience and showcase specific characteristics in your assets, whether digital or printed.

‍2. Share your message with infographics

Don't be afraid to explore different styles to present your data or statistics. Remember that what might work for some doesn't always work for the rest. For example, infographics are a great way to share essential details to engage your audience. You can include some doodles in your materials to complement vital information.

3. Test + feedback

Sometimes, with small teams or with limited resources, we feel insecure about trying things. But you need to test your content and see which message is getting better engagement because, in the end, we need real actions! For example, you can post a poll with illustrations that represent each answer vs. a survey that's text only. Which one will your audience prefer?

Our top 5 recommendations for nonprofits

We have tons of doodles, categories, and styles, but if you're looking for some direction on where to start, here's our selection:

1. The Movement by Jorge Margarido

This pack is ideal for sharing your message about climate change or social justice.

2. Go Green by Edward Tapia

Promote a sustainable way of living with these eco-doodles. Choose from recycling bags, containers, or an eolic system! We're sure you'll find the right icon here.

3. The Little Things by Susana Salas

The Little Things is an excellent choice for social matters, therapy-related messaging, and wellness. You can find different icons to represent a calm scenario.

4. Yuppies by Irene Falgueras

Keep your message appropriate without losing formality by adding these minimalist doodles and icons from Yuppies.

5. Lifesavers by Deivid Saenz

Lifesavers has a full range of illustrations with medical scenes. It can be very helpful if you're working on an awareness campaign that needs some elements like doctors, medicines, or checkups.

What about permissions and usage limits?

Now you're ready to add some eye-catching elements to your creations,  but maybe you're still insecure about how you can use them. That's why we'll cover three key points here, but you can always check our license page for more information.

• Attributions: No need to give attributions each time. However, artists are always grateful if you give them credit wherever you use their illustrations.
• Free illustrations: You can use our free plan for your projects (yes, it's free forever). But if you're looking for more illustrations, print-resolution PNGs, or other formats like SVG, you can get the pro plan and check available discounts on our pricing page.
• Downloads: You have UNLIMITED downloads! Feel free to customize your doodles all you want!

Go ahead and use your persuasive powers to get people's support! Remember, images and illustrations are very effective ways to get attention and generate empathy.

Connect with your audience using illustrations!

There are many challenges in the world today. Some will say they are too big for any person to tackle, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't try.

We all can change something, whatever that something may be for you. That's where images, illustrations, and icons can make a difference as well. They help us make sense of things and bring an idea to life. They fulfill our ability to see the world in different ways and make it more approachable.

Whether you're working to spread awareness about neurodiversity in the workplace, planned parenthood, or any other cause worth supporting,  we're glad to help you with one more tool to achieve your goals!

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