Introduction

Nonprofit organizations face unique challenges when it comes to project management and collaboration. Tight budgets, limited resources, and a reliance on volunteers can make it difficult to stay organized and keep projects on track. That's where Trello comes in - a versatile project management tool that can help nonprofits and NGOs streamline their workflows and achieve their goals more efficiently.

Trello offers a range of features and benefits that make it an ideal choice for nonprofit project management. From organizing volunteer tasks to planning fundraising events, Trello provides a visual and intuitive platform for teams to collaborate and stay on the same page. Plus, with special discounts available for eligible nonprofits, Trello is an affordable solution for organizations looking to maximize their impact.

In this article, we'll explore how Trello can be used to support various aspects of nonprofit operations, including volunteer management, event planning, and content creation. We'll also provide details on the discounts Trello offers to nonprofits and highlight some powerful integrations that can take your nonprofit's productivity to the next level.

So if you're a nonprofit looking for a better way to manage your projects and collaborate with your team, read on to discover how Trello can help you achieve your mission.

Trello Nonprofit Pricing & Discounts

If you're affiliated with a nonprofit and are interested in using Trello to streamline your workflow, it's worth applying for Atlassian's Community License. This license allows eligible organizations to access Atlassian's wide range of products, including Trello, at a significant 75% discount off the standard pricing.

To be eligible for the Atlassian Community License, your nonprofit organization must be non-government, non-academic, non-commercial, non-political, and non-religious. If your organization meets these criteria, you can apply for the license directly through the Atlassian website.

The application process is straightforward. Simply visit the Atlassian Community License request page and provide the required information about your nonprofit. Once your application is submitted, it will be verified by Percent, a third-party organization that manages the approval process. Upon verification, you'll receive a confirmation email with details on how to proceed and access your discounted Trello nonprofit pricing.

Trello offers a tiered pricing structure, with higher tiers providing increased functionality and features. The four main tiers are:

• Free: Includes unlimited Cards, 10 Boards, 10MB per file, and unlimited Power-Ups
• Standard ($5/month): Offers unlimited Boards, 250MB per file, advanced checklists, and custom fields
• Premium ($10/month): Provides advanced views, unlimited automations, and priority support
• Enterprise ($17.50+/month): Includes unlimited workspaces, organization-wide access, and Power-Up administration

With the Atlassian Community License, your nonprofit can access any of these tiers at a 75% discount, making Trello an affordable and powerful tool for managing your organization's projects and workflows.

To get started, head over to the Atlassian Community License request page and submit your application. Once approved, you'll be able to take advantage of the discounted Trello nonprofit pricing and begin streamlining your organization's processes with this versatile project management tool.

Understanding Trello's Structure

Trello is a hierarchical project management tool that helps users break projects down into manageable tasks. The Trello boards form the highest level of organization, encompassing the entire project. Within each board, lists are used to categorize specific aspects of the project, such as marketing or development. Cards represent individual tasks within each list and are the most granular level of Trello's organizational structure.

Cards offer a wide range of customizable features to help manage project tasks effectively. These include a description field for detailed information, member assignments, labels for easy searching, checklists for subtasks, file attachments, power-ups for added functionality, and automations for streamlining workflows. By utilizing Trello's boards, lists, and cards, along with their associated features, nonprofits can efficiently manage their projects and optimize their project management structure.

Essential Nonprofit Use Cases

Trello is a versatile project management tool that can be used for a variety of purposes by nonprofit organizations. Here are some essential use cases for nonprofits:

Volunteer Management and Donor Management:

• Create a Board for each project that needs volunteers
• Add Lists detailing the types of help needed (e.g., Marketing, Social Media, Events)
• Add Cards representing specific tasks and assign them to volunteers
• Track volunteer contributions and manage donor information

Fundraising and Event Planning:

• Create a Board for each fundraising campaign or event
• Add Lists for different stages (e.g., Planning, Marketing, Attendees)
• Add Cards for specific tasks like creating promotional materials or sending invitations
• Monitor progress and ensure everything stays on schedule
• See our guide to event planning in Trello for more ideas

Content Creation and Task Management:

• Create a Board for your organization's content calendar
• Add Lists for different types of content (e.g., blog posts, social media posts)
• Add Cards for specific pieces of content and use Checklists and Attachments to track progress
• Manage tasks, both big and small, by creating Cards and utilizing various add-ons

By leveraging Trello's features and Power-Ups, nonprofits can streamline their workflow, improve collaboration, and effectively manage essential aspects like nonprofit volunteer management, fundraising management, event planning, and donor management.

Power-Ups for Nonprofits

Nonprofit users of Trello have access to a number of powerful power-ups (Trello’s marketplace apps) that can help streamline workflows and boost productivity. Here are a few particularly useful ones:

Reports By Blue Cat: This Power-Up provides a top-level view of your organization's Trello data, allowing you to generate reports and charts to track productivity, progress, and performance. It's great for keeping stakeholders informed and identifying areas for improvement. You can also generate to-do lists to help your team stay on top of important tasks.

Forms By Blue Cat: Need to collect data or feedback from donors, volunteers, or other stakeholders? Forms By Blue Cat lets you create custom forms right in Trello and automatically turn form responses into Trello cards. It's a huge time-saver for data collection and organization.

Google Drive: This Power-Up allows you to attach Google Drive files directly to Trello cards. It's perfect for keeping important documents, spreadsheets, and presentations organized and accessible to your whole team. Plus, attached files update automatically in Trello whenever they're edited in Google Drive.

Other useful Power-Ups for nonprofits include Evernote for note-taking and research, Slack for team communication, and MailChimp for email marketing campaigns. With these nonprofit software integrations, Trello becomes an even more robust project management tool to help your organization run smoothly and efficiently.

Integration with Nonprofit Tools

Trello offers powerful integrations with popular nonprofit software, making it even more useful for organizations. Here are a few key nonprofit tools that integrate with Trello:

Salesforce Nonprofit Success Pack (NPSP) is a donor management platform built on top of Salesforce. With the Salesforce Power-Up, you can link Salesforce records like Contacts, Leads, and Opportunities directly to Trello cards. This allows you to see important donor data right in Trello and keeps your team in sync.

Donor management software like Bloomerang, DonorPerfect, and Little Green Light help nonprofits track donations, manage donor relationships, and streamline fundraising. Many of these tools offer Zapier integrations, which allow you to automatically create Trello cards from new donations, add donor information to cards, and more.

Other useful integrations for nonprofits include:

• Eventbrite for event management
• Constant Contact for email marketing
• QuickBooks for accounting
• Google Workspace for productivity

By connecting Trello with the other core tools powering your nonprofit, you can create a centralized hub for managing projects, tracking progress, and collaborating with your team. These nonprofit software integrations help you spend less time juggling tools and more time focused on your mission.

Trello vs. Other Nonprofit Tools

While Trello is a powerful tool for nonprofit project management, there are other options available that may better suit your organization's needs. Here's a comparison of Trello and some popular alternatives:

Asana: Asana offers a more robust feature set than Trello, including task dependencies, timelines, and advanced reporting. It also has a dedicated nonprofit pricing plan. However, Asana can be more complex to use and may require more training for your team.

Monday.com: Monday.com is a highly customizable platform that allows you to create workflows tailored to your nonprofit's processes. It offers a wide range of integrations and automation options. However, it can be more expensive than Trello, especially for larger teams.

ClickUp: ClickUp is an all-in-one productivity tool that combines project management, document collaboration, and communication features. It offers a free plan for nonprofits with limited features, as well as discounted paid plans. ClickUp can be overwhelming for some users due to its extensive feature set.

When choosing between Trello and other nonprofit project management tools, consider factors such as ease of use, feature requirements, integrations, and budget. Trello's simplicity and affordability make it a solid choice for many nonprofits, but exploring Trello alternatives can help you find the best fit for your organization.

Implementation Guide & Best Practices

To get started with Trello for your nonprofit organization, follow these steps:

1. Sign up for a free Trello account at trello.com.

2. Apply for Atlassian's Community License to receive a 75% discount on Trello's paid plans. This allows you to access advanced features and power-ups at an affordable price.

3. Create your first Trello board for a specific project or initiative, such as "Spring Fundraiser" or "Volunteer Management."

4. Add lists to your board to represent different stages or categories of work, like "To Do," "In Progress," and "Completed."

5. Create cards within each list to represent specific tasks or items. Use the description, members, labels, checklists, and attachment fields to add relevant details and assign responsibilities.

6. Explore and enable power-ups that can enhance your nonprofit's workflow, such as Blue Cat Reports for generating insightful analytics, Forms by Blue Cat for collecting data through custom forms, or integrations with tools like Google Drive, Slack, and Mailchimp.

7. Develop a consistent process for using Trello across your organization. Create guidelines for naming conventions, labeling, and archiving to ensure everyone is on the same page.

To make the most of Trello for your nonprofit, consider these best practices:

• Use templates to standardize your boards and lists for common projects or processes, such as event planning or content creation.
• Leverage automations to streamline repetitive tasks and save time.
• Regularly review and update your boards to keep them organized and ensure nothing falls through the cracks.
• Encourage collaboration by inviting team members, volunteers, and stakeholders to relevant boards and cards.
• Integrate Trello with other tools your nonprofit uses to create a seamless workflow.

By following this implementation guide and best practices, your nonprofit can effectively leverage Trello to manage projects, coordinate volunteers, plan events, track donations, and create compelling content. Start optimizing your organization's workflow with Trello today!

Conclusion & Next Steps

Trello has been used successfully by many nonprofit organizations to streamline their operations and work more efficiently. Here are a few examples of how Trello has made a real impact for NGOs:

The Red Cross used Trello to coordinate volunteer efforts during the California wildfires. They created boards to track available volunteers, assign tasks, and share updates in real-time. This allowed them to quickly mobilize and effectively respond to the disaster.

Trello is a great tool for nonprofits to streamline their operations and improve productivity. From volunteer management to event planning, fundraising to content creation, Trello offers a versatile platform to organize tasks and collaborate effectively.

If you're affiliated with a nonprofit and interested in getting started with Trello, be sure to apply for Atlassian's Community License. This allows eligible organizations to access Trello and other Atlassian products at a 75% discount, making it an affordable solution for nonprofits on a budget.

Once you've set up your Trello nonprofit account, explore the various Power-Ups available to enhance your experience. Reports by Blue Cat and Forms by Blue Cat are particularly useful for generating insights, gathering data, and automating workflows.

Don't wait any longer to optimize your nonprofit's processes with Trello. Apply for the Atlassian Community License today and start leveraging the power of this innovative project management tool. Visit the Trello website to begin your nonprofit discount application and take the first step towards more efficient and effective operations.