"Swag," to content creators, is probably most often thought of as that fun stuff you bring back from conventions. But swag - aka promotional products - can also be a powerful tool for non profit organizations! Non profits can use the power of swag to gain visibility, boost engagement with their donors, and show support for their fundraising efforts, while amplifying their charity's mission.

Swag also lets a non profit's supporters help advertise the cause - branded merchandise like T-shirts, tote bags, pens, bracelets, drinkware, and more are highly visible ways of showing support. Let's go over the benefits of swag for non profits, and get you started with some design tips, so your charity merchandise can be the best that it can be!

The Benefits of Swag for Non Profits

There are plenty of benefits for non profits where promotional items are concerned, from building awareness of a cause to rewarding donors - let's look at what this swag can do! 

Increase Awareness

Branded non profit merchandise is an excellent way to spread the word about your cause! Every time a supporter wears a branded T-shirt, gets their charity logo mug refilled at the coffee shop, or uses a tote bag with your branding, they become a walking advertisement for your mission. Wearing or using charity merchandise can also create opportunities for people to ask questions about the charity to the shirt-wearer, for instance, which can help get more people involved.

Boost Donor Engagement

Offering fun swag to your supporters strengthens the connection between non profits and their advocates. Whether you’re handing out custom stickers or eco-friendly bags, these items serve as both a reminder of your cause, and also your appreciation to those who support your charity efforts and fundraisers. Swag is basically a warm thank you in the form of a promotional item!

Raise Funds

Promotional products can become a solid revenue stream for non profit organizations. Custom merchandise can be sold through an online store like Fourthwall, where you can easily customize a wide range of charity merch items with your designs and sell them via print on demand; or at events, where you can host a booth offering swag items. This approach gets you double the fun from your swag, as it's now helping with both charity awareness and fundraising!

Strengthen Your Supporter Community

Swag items help to create a real sense of community among your supporters! Wearing a branded hat or charity logo T-shirt helps people relate to others supporting the same non profit cause, and creates a positive sense of teamwork and camaraderie among those representing and supporting your non profit organization.

Foster Brand Loyalty

Branded items like notebooks or water bottles - items that most people use regularly - are so great to send out as promotional non profit merchandise, because they keep your charity and cause top of mind. This consistent use of swag helps foster long term loyalty among your charity participants and donors!

8 Great Types of Nonprofit Swag

1. T-shirts

T-shirts are such a popular swag choice - you really can do no wrong choosing a T-shirt as one or more of your charity's promotional items! T-shirts are appealing to most people, and also offer lots of space for custom designs, which can include your non profit's logo, slogan, mission statement, or any number of related graphics, for instance for a specific fundraising event or charity goal. In addition to selling T-shirts, which you can do at IRL (in real life) events, via your charity website, or an ecommerce online store like Fourthwall, you can also gift them to your charity volunteers, or as a thank you to donators!

2. Stickers and Buttons

Looking for some less expensive, yet very effective, ways to engage your audience? May we turn your attention to stickers and buttons! These are affordable swag items that let your volunteers, donors, and supporters proudly display your logo, charity campaign hashtags, or other relevant messages; buttons and stickers (and also magnets!) are so small and portable, they can also be easily handed out at events for instant visibility.

3. Water Bottles

Custom reusable water bottles, especially those that are eco friendly, are another popular and endlessly reusable option for non profit swag and fundraising. Customize these user-friendly "portable ads" with your charity logo, fun designs, and other messaging to provide high visibility for your brand when your supporters carry them to work, the gym, or other events.

4. Custom Mugs

Whether filled with coffee or tea, custom mugs are another highly useful item that your supporters will use on the regular. Mugs keep your non profit's name and logo in front of donors and volunteers, and are also considered a collectible item by many. Add a memorable, colorful design that aligns with your charity brand; you could even do a series of mugs so people will want to collect them all. Offering a mug as a gift for specific donation amounts is also a great strategy!

5. Notebooks and Pens

Both practical and functional, notebooks and pens are great fundraising swag items, with the notebooks offering another great "canvas" to create your charity designs on; with such a big space available, notebooks can be perfect for inspirational quotes or messaging that reflect your charity's mission. And pens are great handouts that can include logos, slogans, or small catchy quotes that, again, support your non profit organization's brand.

6. Hats and Beanies

Add some style to your non profit swag lineup with hats and beanies! These are fun accessories that can easily draw attention to your non profit fundraising in a unique way. Create custom hat designs that are both trendy and aligned with your mission; hats work especially well at outdoor events like fundraising walks or rallies, especially during colder weather.

7. Tote Bags

Tote bags are a versatile swag item that's used everyday, making them perfect to bring extra awareness to non profit organizations. They offer a large, square canvas that's perfect for logos and custom designs like the ones you can create via print on demand on Fourthwall, and they're durable, which means they'll be around for quite a while to help promote your cause! Use custom colors, slogans, and artwork to better tie your tote bag designs to your non profit organization.

8. Eco Friendly Products

Eco friendly promotional products are always a hit, but especially so for environmentally-conscious non profits. Any eco friendly swag that's brandable works well here; reusable straws with cases, bamboo utensils, upcycled bracelets, and recycled tote bags are all ideal. These swag items align with the values of sustainability and social responsibility, which resonate with many supporters; customizing them with your non profit's logo supports your cause in a meaningful way.

Tips for Designing Eye Catching Charity Swag! 

Keep It Simple

Your charity cause is important, so your attention to detail should be, too. Create designs that are clean, balanced, and appealing, and that clearly communicate your cause, whether you're using a simple, uncluttered logo, a powerful slogan, or a fun colorful image.

Reflect Your Mission

The font and color choices of your merchandise designs should also coordinate with your non profit's visual identity. For instance, an environmental charity might use nature-inspired graphics like leaves in green tones, while a city-based youth organization might use a bold graffiti font.

Use CTAs

Encourage further engagement by including CTAs (calls to action) in at least some of your designs. These can direct your supporters to your charity's website, social media accounts, fundraising events, or to a campaign hashtag that will take them to a website for more info. This keeps the conversations going about your non profit and its goals!  

Focus on Quality

While it's tempting to try and save money (especially as a charity organization!) it's better to make sure that your promotional items are high quality and durable, because these pieces of merch will then last longer, providing more visibility for your non profit. Supporters are more likely to use swag items if they're well made!

Start Creating Your Charity Swag with Fourthwall!

Get designing your charity's custom merchandise on Fourthwall! Fourthwall is a user-friendly platform that allows you to design and sell high quality, custom swag with ease, from your own equally customized ecommerce online store; all you have to do is choose your products and upload your designs, and Fourthwall takes care of the rest!

Whether you choose T-shirts or drinkware, tote bags or hats, Fourthwall is the perfect choice for non profits looking to create beautifully customized promotional products that will help get your supporters excited about your charity efforts. You can accept donations, sell website memberships, send video thank you notes, and link up your charity merch with YouTube Shopping and TikTok Shop, too - with Fourthwall, you have so many options! Get started on Fourthwall today to start designing your nonprofit swag, and really take your charity fundraising to the next level!