How to find and use the best Hashtags for Nonprofits
Gain more exposure on Social Media by finding and using the best hashtags for your nonprofit.

What is a hashtag?
A hashtag is a short link preceded by the pound sign (#). You’ve seen them all over social media and you might find them ugly to use in your posts, but hashtags actually help organize posts on social media.
You know what else? Hashtags can also help you gain more exposure.
Do you want to know how to get more followers on Instagram? Create meaningful content, engage in meaningful conversations and use the right hashtags to gain visibility.
Do you want to know how to get more followers on LinkedIn? Create meaningful content, engage in meaningful conversations and use the right hashtags to gain visibility. Yeah, it’s basically the same.
Proof that hashtags work
We could add nice screenshots of posts with and without the right hashtags, but since it’s so simple to execute, you might as well just try it and see for yourself.
Here are the steps to take:
- Make a list of relevant hashtags like we’re showing in this post below;
- Select the best hashtags based on the number of views, be sure to also add less competitive hashtags to your mix;
- Use them in your next post. On Instagram, you can add about 10 or 20 hashtags (Instagram has a maximum of 30 hashtags you can use), but don’t overdo it on Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn. About 3 hashtags per post should be sufficient on these platforms;
- Keep track of hashtag mixes that work best for you.

What are trending hashtags?
First of all, you need to know that there are basically two types of hashtags:
- Trending hashtags like #MeToo, which have a high amount of views for a short period of time.
- Evergreen hashtags with pretty much a stable amount of views over time. Using #Nonprofits will give you about the same exposure any time you use it (unless it goes trending).
When conducting your hashtag research. Be aware that some hashtags might be very seasonal.
How to find the best hashtags for your niche
To find the best hashtags for your niche, you can use Digital Marketing Tools. For the Instagram Hashtag research, we’ve used Displaypurposes.com and for our Twitter hashtag research, we’ve used RiteTag.com. Our niche is:
Nonprofits and Social Impact.
What are the best hashtags for nonprofits on Instagram
Here’s a list for your inspiration. To get the best out of your Instagram Marketing, it’s best to use a mix of hashtags with a lot of exposure and a few hashtags which are less competitive. Also, keep in mind that doing your hashtag research for Instagram is great to find out if you’re missing out, but you should always keep track of hashtags that work best for you.
Hashtag | Popularity on Instagram |
#philanthropy | 60% |
#causes | 53% |
#socialgood | 57% |
#dogood | 62% |
#fundraising | 63% |
#nonprofit | 65% |
#volunteer | 68% |
#activism | 59% |
#givingback | 64% |
#donate | 68% |
#givingtuesday | 58% |
#nonprofitorganization | 50% |
#volunteering | 63% |
#charity | 72% |
#giving | 64% |
#charityevents | 58% |
#humanitarian | 59% |
#giveback | 66% |
#fundraiser | 66% |
#change | 76% |
#water | 84% |
#ocean | 82% |
#trees | 82% |
#forest | 79% |
#woods | 74% |
#wilderness | 70% |
#wild | 77% |
#hunger | 65% |
#humanrights | 64% |
#civilrights | 58% |
#justice | 68% |
#equality | 72% |
#humanity | 67% |
#equalrights | 64% |
#gayrights | 65% |
#animalrights | 64% |
#animalliberation | 57% |
#animalcruelty | 59% |
#veganism | 69% |
#friendsnotfood | 59% |
#govegan | 71% |
#animalabuse | 56% |
#crueltyfree | 72% |
#earthlings | 57% |
#veganuniverse | 43% |
#veganlifestyle | 65% |
#animalwelfare | 56% |
#vegansofinstagram | 68% |
#teenvegan | 44% |
#veganlife | 69% |
#animallover | 71% |
#vegancommunity | 60% |
#animalactivist | 52% |
#animalrescue | 61% |
What are the best hashtags for nonprofits on Twitter
Like we’ve mentioned. Don’t overdo it with hashtags on Twitter. Use approximately three hashtags per post. Mix it up with hashtags that have a large number of views and less competitive hashtags.
Hashtag | Unique tweets per hour | Retweets per hour | Hashtag exposure per hour |
#nonprofit | 21 | 33 | 26704 |
#nonprofitorganization | 0 | 4 | 0 |
#fundraising | 21 | 17 | 65662 |
#charity | 50 | 46 | 48408 |
#care | 12 | 9 | 30088 |
#community | 38 | 45 | 129592 |
#donation | 4 | 8 | 14592 |
#support | 33 | 34 | 18296 |
#children | 46 | 25 | 151538 |
#socialenterprise | 0 | 4 | 0 |
#socent | 0 | 12 | 0 |
#change | 50 | 38 | 119829 |
#philantrophy | 4 | 0 | 1800 |
#volunteer | 17 | 4 | 17712 |
#givingtuesday | 8 | 9 | 18129 |
#giving | 8 | 0 | 212825 |
#water | 75 | 83 | 189975 |
#plastic | 8 | 21 | 1229 |
#plasticbags | 4 | 0 | 129 |
#plasticpollution | 12 | 5 | 8854 |
#waste | 12 | 9 | 133312 |
#ocean | 38 | 70 | 97467 |
#hunger | 4 | 8 | 3358 |
#humanrights | 42 | 79 | 315442 |
#civilrights | 4 | 0 | 2212 |
#womansmarch | 4 | 8 | 14033 |
#justice | 71 | 50 | 214317 |
#socialjustice | 21 | 8 | 168742 |
#law | 42 | 70 | 189871 |
#hope | 21 | 146 | 32050 |
#peace | 92 | 70 | 57738 |
#equality | 17 | 12 | 61921 |
#gender | 17 | 25 | 59796 |
#genderequality | 12 | 17 | 2005125 |
#feminism | 21 | 25 | 2004679 |
#diversity | 38 | 12 | 176525 |
#society | 25 | 29 | 607379 |
#humanity | 17 | 12 | 204754 |
#heart | 50 | 50 | 300238 |
#humans | 8 | 4 | 42583 |
#vegan | 121 | 112 | 956446 |
#animalrights | 8 | 21 | 25512 |
#govegan | 4 | 42 | 3146 |
#wildlife | 25 | 54 | 40196 |
#respect | 71 | 75 | 191208 |
#rescue | 21 | 37 | 7583 |
#shelter | 12 | 5 | 12650 |
#adoptdontshop | 38 | 79 | 157446 |
Always be learning
These 4 simple steps will set you in the right direction. It’s up to you to keep track of what works for you and what doesn’t.
Remember that the success of your Social Media marketing hinges on your entire approach:
- How relevant are your followers?
- How relevant and beautiful are your creatives?
- How often do you engage with your followers?
- How often do you post on Instagram or Twitter?
Using the best hashtags can validate that you’re on track with all the points mentioned above, but that you just needed that extra boost. Let’s hope that’s the case for you too ;).
You have a story to tell. We want to help.
Let’s create memorable content and reach tens of thousands of people.