by Jayne Cravens
via coyotecommunications.com & coyoteboard.com (same web site)
Your nonprofit, NGO or community group posts to Facebook reach a very particular demographic. Your posts to BlueSky or Mastodon reach a very different demographic than Facebook. Your posts to Instagram reach a very specific audience different from all the others. You are on these different platforms because you need to reach these different audiences.
While there are a lot of other social media platforms out there, there is an online community I think most nonprofits need to be leveraging that, instead, they are largely ignoring.
It's Reddit.
As of July 2019, Reddit
ranked as the No. 5 most visited website in the USA and No. 13 in
the world.
Reddit is a community of communities, and its communities
are called subreddits. A subreddit can have a focus on a
geographic area, a book, a celebrity, a particular time in
history, a specific hobby, people studying urban planning, women
over 50 - anything.
Statistics suggest that 74% of Reddit users are male. Users tend
to be significantly younger than other online communities like
Facebook with less than 1% of users being 65 or over.
If you want to reach a younger demographic regarding your volunteering opportunities, your awareness messages, your data that shows your value to the community and more, you need to build posts to Reddit into your marketing strategy, no matter what your nonprofit's size or focus.
In addition, posting to Reddit, and always using your
organization's name in your post and a link to your web site with
relevant information, will improve your web sites SEO (Search
Engine Optimization) - in other words, increasing the number of
people that can find your web site and will visit it. And
apparently artificial intelligence is regularly scraping Reddit
and using what it steals... er, reads... to generate answers for
various AI bots, so that's another good reason for your nonprofit
to be posting to Reddit.
Creating a Reddit ID that uses your nonprofit or NGO's name
protects your brand name - the name of your nonprofit or NGO. Create a Reddit account
with your organization’s preferred username. By "claiming" a user
name, no one else can use that name.
Some companies stake their claim on Reddit by creating a user name with with their company name and then never actually use Reddit - all they wanted was to ensure no one else could user their company name as a user name.
Any staff person who is going to post on Reddit about your nonprofit - text from press releases, event announcements, profiles of volunteers, etc. - should do so from the main Reddit account, the one that is your nonprofit's name (or a version of such). This makes the information official - as in, it is officially coming from your organization, no question. When a staff member posts to Reddit with an official announcement about or for your program, using your main Reddit user account, that staff person should end the message in a way that you will always know who wrote it, such as:
/jc
(that is what I would use for a message I posted if I used such
an account)
If a staff person has a Reddit ID of their own, one that they use
for their own activities, not just to promote your organization,
it may not be appropriate for that person to use that profile to
post about your nonprofit. For instance, if that person uses their
own personal Reddit handle to participate in NSFW (not safe for
work) groups, even if those groups are private, or uses their
personal Reddit handle to participate in political chats. Talk
with staff that will be using Reddit in any way to promote your
organization and decide together if it would be appropriate for
them to ever use their personal account to promote their work or
volunteering with your organization (same with Facebook,
actually).
Any person can create more than one Reddit ID - many people have
one Reddit ID for their public activities (online participation
related to their work, to their volunteering, to what they are
studying, etc.) and a different one for activities they would like
to not be readily associated with them online (either because they
just don't feel like it's anyone's business that they write Harry
Potter fanfiction or because they want to be freely critical of an
employer or perhaps they are engaged something they want to keep
private for whatever reason).
And note: you need to be thinking about this regarding Facebook
as well. Facebook requires that a person manage a Facebook page
from a human-based Facebook account. Unlike Reddit, Facebook does
NOT allow people to create more than one personal profile on
Facebook, meaning that if Joe Schmoe manages a Facebook page for
your nonprofit, Joe Schmoe has to use his own personal account -
and you cannot control nor dictate to Joe Schmoe what he can and
cannot post to his own, personal, private account, beyond
something that would violate your company's confidentiality and
employee handbook rules. I bring this up for nonprofits who balk
at using Reddit, who think it presents a greater harm to their
nonprofit's reputation than Facebook - it clearly does NOT.
Examples of nonprofit users on Reddit:
UServeUtah, which both claimed that user
name and, if you look at their profile, you will see a variety of
places they post to.
WestTualityHabitat,
for a Habitat for Humanity affiliate serving Western Washington
County, Oregon. Through January 2026, I managed this account. Note
that I posted mostly in the subreddits focused on the communities
where this affiliate served, to recruit volunteers, brag about
volunteers, and to announce events. Reddit was instrumental in
reaching new, younger volunteers and event participants.
KnowbilityInc,
Knowbility is a nonprofit that advocates for the Internet and
online tools to be fully accessible for people with disabilities.
This nonprofit uses Reddit to promote its training events and
volunteering events, targeting those that care about assistive
technology, inclusion, usability, accessibiilty, etc.
RatWaySanctuary,
an animal welfare nonprofit based in Portland, Oregon and focused
on rats as pets.
OakParamount,
The Paramount Theatre in Oakland, California is one of the finest
remaining examples of Art Deco design in the USA. It was declared
a National Historic Landmark in 1975.
GRFoodCoop,
Grand Rapids, Michigan, Food Cooperative.
FareShareMidlands,
"We rescue tonnes of surplus food from going to waste by
redirecting it to more than 80,000 people every week." In
Midlands, UK.
foodbankwatreg,
Leading a network of 61 organizations to provide essential food
for nearly 73,000 adults and children across Waterloo region (I
think it's the UK).
ReliefWebNews,
which until two years ago used their account exclusively to post
news to the humanitarian subreddit (such a shame they
stopped - it made it so easy to share their announcements to other
subreddits).
If your nonprofit, NGO or library uses Reddit to recruit
volunteers, publicize events, etc., or you know of others, please
contact
me via Reddit and let me know the organization's user name,
so I can share it on this page that you are reading now.
Find out if there are Reddit communities - subreddits - related to your location: your city (or cities), your county, and any nearby college or university. Then target those subreddits with messages about your events and volunteering opportunities (note that many have karma limits - you will first need to have a certain amount of karma before you can post). In the community I live in, for instance, there is a subreddit for each little city clustered here together and one for the university in one of those cities, but there is no subreddit for the entire county.
But BEFORE you post, make sure your message would be welcomed. Some geographically-focused subreddits are set up only to rant or complain or comment about what's happening in a community, and therefore your message, even though it's geographically-based where the subreddit is focused, would not be welcomed. Reading through past messages will let you know very quickly if your message would be welcomed.
When you post, make sure it is clear that you are posting about
something that is in that particular region or that is targeting
clients or attendees from that region - make it obvious that your
organization serves this region and that's why you are posting.
When I post on the subreddit for Omegatown (fictional) on behalf
of a nonprofit in Alphatown, which is right next door, I need to
make it Omegatown-focused. I often open with something like,
"residents of Omegatown are welcomed to the upcoming open house at
BLAHBLAH nonprofit" and then note something about how many
volunteers we've had from Omegatowm over the years. That makes the
post "on topic" even though the event is not happening in
Omegatown.
My rule was to never post more than once a week.
If you are a nonprofit focused only on a specific region, you
should probably keep your Reddit activity limited to subreddits
focused just on your geographic area. But if, say, you have a big
conference focused on child welfare advocates, you would want to
post to subreddits where child welfare advocates "hang out", such
as r/CASA. or r/socialwork.
If you are posting to a dozen subreddits at once, you are
spamming - there's no way there are a dozen subreddits that each
have an audience that really wants to hear your exact same
message. Reddit has bots that will automatically delete your
messages - and may even ban you as a user!
If you do, truly, think your message is appropriate to more than
three subreddits at once, then customize your message to EACH of
the subreddits as much as possible, so that it is not exactly the
same on every community.
Note that many communities prevent you from posting anything
unless you have also demonstrated that you are an active
participant in the community, such as commenting on other posts.
Your comments should be more than "Great information!" They should
be thoughtful and sincere. Please see the previous section on
building Reddit karma.
To subreddits for your region, if such is considered on-topic,
post:
Don't just post the title and a link to your web site: post
enough information (title, date, day, time, where, registration
required, parking info, limitations regarding participation, etc.)
that someone can decide if they want to click on that link for
more info.
This really shouldn't be much extra work for you at all - you are
posting the exact same content as what you are probably already
posting to Facebook and your web site.
Again: I have had TERRIFIC luck with Reddit to recruit a greater
diversity of volunteers. In one case an employee saw my post about
an upcoming volunteering event, posted it to the employee intranet
of a VERY large company we had been trying to entice to come
volunteer with us for a couple of years, and we ended up with our
first team of volunteers from that company! And three months
later, unsolicited, just as the fiscal year was ending, we got a
hefty donation from that same company.
To subject-based subreddits, like a subreddit about animal
shelters, it's fine to share something that hasn't work at your
own animal shelter, or something that worked quite well, but
remember that you are talking in public, and whatever you share is
public.
This is where Reddit is intimidating: participating in its
discussions. Reddit has a LOT of outspoken, self-assured users -
and most of them male. The Reddit user base has been described as
"offbeat, quirky, and anti-establishment," and that can give the
communities there are very edgy feel most nonprofit staff aren't
used to. Reddit members are known for being highly critical at
times, and like to challenge ideas and the status quo. It's
important to read many messages in a community and the rules for
that subreddit before you dare to post to it, so that you
know if you should participate and what exactly what is
appropriate to post. Once you’re familiar with reddiquette
(the values, culture, language, and norms of all of Reddit and
that subreddit) and have a good understanding of what an
individual subreddit is like, you should be ready to participate
in a discussion. But be ready for pushback, and know what to do if you are criticized online.
I think any regionally-focused nonprofit needs to be following
the subreddit, or subreddits, for that region. You don't have to
participate in any discussions, but you should know what people
are saying.
If you are a nonprofit theater, maybe the theatre subreddit is a place you want to at least read regularly, if not comment on what others are posting there.
If you are a historical society, you might want to check out the history and the history porn (has nothing to do with actual pornography) and ask history subreddits. Maybe in just reading those you might decide to host your own event on your own blog or web site or a Zoom call, an "Ask Us Anything" with local historians answering questions about local history.
If you want to learn more about inclusion and share your efforts to make your program more inclusive, there's an inclusion subreddit.
If you are a wildlife rehabilitator, there's a subreddit focused specifically on rehabilitating wildlife.
If you work at a museum, there's a museums subreddit worth checking every month.
If you are a shelter for people who have experienced domestic violence, or want to learn more about people experiencing such, there is a subreddit regarding domestic violence.
If you are involved with cooperatives (co-ops), collectives, communes, intentional communities, eco-vilages, etc., there's a cooperatives subreddit.
If you are affiliated with Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA), consider at least regularly reading the CASA subreddit (however, not that it's not an official program of CASA).
If you work at a Red Cross chapter, you should regularly read the Red Cross subreddit, and respond to people who are asking questions related to your geographic area (it's not formally affiliated with the Red Cross).
If you are a volunteer or paid staff person with Girl Scouts of the USA, there's a subreddit for that.
If you manage volunteer firefighters, you could read the subreddit regarding volunteer firefighters, to find information you might find useful and to share what your volunteers are doing.
If you are in Canada, good places to recruit volunteers or to talk about what your program's volunteers are doing is Volunteer Vancouver and Volunteer Toronto.
It's a great task for a reddit-savvy online volunteer to help you find the subreddits you should be posting to or reviewing. You can recruit for that among your current volunteers or post a request specifically to a volunteer matching web site.
By participating in discussions, you are learning what others in your field are facing, what they might be doing that you should do too, and what the perceptions of those interested in the subjects addressed by your nonprofit or NGO are thinking. You are also building your karma(a number indicating how much people like your posts and comments) and a posting history, both of which show other Redditors that you’re probably credible with good intentions. You’ll also get much-needed practice before you use Reddit on behalf of your organization.
While self-promotion on Reddit is not universally banned, MANY subreddits (like /r/Nonprofit) do not allow it. That means they don't allow you to post a link to your latest blog even if the subject matter is dead-on-topic. Always check the subreddit’s rules and message the moderators if there’s any doubt. Breaking a subreddit’s rules can get you banned from that subreddit.
If you think there is a cause or topic that is not already covered by an existing subreddit, and it's a cause or topic that relates directly and explicitly to the mission of your nonprofit or NGO, sure, create a subreddit for that topic. You will automatically be made the moderator of such. Be ready to reach out to other nonprofits, NGOs and others that you want to participate in this subreddit you have created, and welcome a diversity of voices about the topic - it should not just be about your program. Be open to inviting other people to help moderate, and have an answer for anyone who writes you and says they want to be a co-moderator - what will be your criteria for accepting someone to share moderation duties, and if you aren't willing to accept a co-moderator or moderators, what is your stated reason as to why? Also, have a plan for when your nonprofit no longer wants to be the moderator of the subreddit.
What about a subreddit that is only for the promotion of your program and its cause? It might be a good idea to create a subreddit with your name just to park the name, so that no one else can.
There is a subreddit for Doctors Without Borders, another for Red Cross, one for Peace Corps, one for the National Audubon Society, one for Girl Scouts of the USA and one for AmeriCorps, and none are formally affiliated with the official organizations, meaning those organizations have no way to moderate messages there. On the other hand, by NOT having official affiliation, the conversations and opinions shared on these subreddits are more free and much less self-promotional.
An example of an initiative that created its own subreddit is Seize the Good, which seems to have been abandoned several months ago.
The reality is that Reddit is about engagement - not just posting announcements and links, but also commenting, questioning and debating. If you are going to create a subreddit that doesn't allow that, you aren't going to get many followers.
Reddit has terrific information on creating a subreddit.
Do a search on Reddit at least once a month of the name of your nonprofit and the name of your executive director. You may find a very happy volunteer - or a disgruntled one. You may have a very happy client whose life you have touched - or someone who tried to use your services and is utterly frustrated. Note that most people use Reddit anonymously: their user name has nothing to do with their real name or identify. It's up to you to decide whether or not you will respond to a post about your organization or a staff member.
When you get up and speak in front of a group and make a
presentation about your program or the issue it addresses, you are
going to get questions or comments that feel critical and make you
uncomfortable. The same is true online, including Reddit. Here's specific advice on dealing with
online criticism. Remember: how a nonprofit
organization, government office or community initiative handles
online criticism and conflict speaks volumes about that
organization or initiative, for weeks, months, and maybe even
years to come. Becoming overly defensive or aggressive can make
your organization look bad - far worse than whatever someone said
about you. That said, you also have to remember your own personal
well-being, mental health and even safety in the face of online
criticism.
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