General | BIPOC | LGBTQIA+ | Disability | Plus Size | Age Postitive

1. Pixabay: A huge database of public domain images

2. New Old Stock: Vintage photos from the public archives

3. Unsplash: 10 new high-quality photos released every 10 days. Released under the CC0 license.

4. Foodie's Feed: High-res food images. Free to use without attribution; however, the may not be resold.

5. Death to the Stock Photo: Free images for commercial use. Delivered monthly to your inbox. You do not have the right to claim these photos as your own.

6. Magdeleine: One free high-res photo every day (and access to a full repository of images). Use the handy filter to find images that are either public domain or require attribution.

7. Public Domain Archive: All images are completely free for personal or commercial use, no link or attribution required. I personally use this for my latest startup Due for some of the amazing whitepaper images that we're putting together for the big launch.

8. Good Free Photos: Public domain images taken by the owner of the site. Offers some good location-based images.

9. Free Range Stock: Free high-res images, registration required. It is suggested you link back to the site and give credit to the photographer, but it isn't required. You cannot resell, distribute, or claim ownership of the images.

10. Pickup Image: 
Searchable database of public domain images.

11. Photogen: Free for personal or commercial use, but not suitable for resale or redistribution.

12. Gratisography: Free collection of amazing images taken by photographer Ryan McGuire. All photos provided under CC0.

13. Skitterphoto: License-free photos, free to use under CC0.

14. Life of Pix: High-quality, public domain images with no copyright restrictions.

15. Pexels: Searchable database of CC0 images.

16. Morgue File: A huge repository of free photos. You're free to use the images for personal or commercial purposes, but you cannot claim ownership of them.

17. SplitShire: Free photos with no copyright restrictions.

18. 1 Million Free Pictures: Free amateur public domain images. What they sometimes lack in quality they make up for in quantity.

19. pdpics: Public domain images taken by their in-house team of photographers.

20. RadComms Press & Resource Lists: Resource list from the Radical Communicators team

21. EDUimages: free library of photos celebrating students—and the educators who teach them—in seven schools across the United States.

BIPOC specific

22. Tonl: TONL seeks to transform the idea of stock photography by displaying images of diverse people and their stories around the world. Our voices and visibility matter. Photography and storytelling can help humanize and hopefully diminish the stereotypes and prejudice against black and brown people, especially. We wanted to challenge the stale, homogenous look of traditional stock photography by showcasing the many ethnic backgrounds of every day people.

23. Nappy: nappy was launched to provide beautiful, high-res photos of black and brown people to startups, brands, agencies, and everyone else. Nappy makes it easy for companies to be purposeful about representation in their designs, presentations, and advertisements.

24. Jopwell: The Jopwell Collection is an album of more than 100 free-to-download stock photos featuring leaders in the Jopwell community – social entrepreneurs, editors, techies, financial analysts, recruiters, marketers, student leaders, and even an Olympian – at work.

25. CreateHerStock: Authentic stock photography featuring melanated women

26. UK Black Tech: highlights black tech workforce

27. Picnoi: Diverse multiracial representation ranging from portrait shots to product interaction

28. poc stock: Discovery beautiful images of people of color.

29. getty nosotros collection

30. last fotos project: Las Fotos Project’s mission is to elevate the voices of teenage girls and gender-expansive youth from communities of color through photography and mentoring, empowering them to channel their creativity for the benefit of themselves, their community, and future careers.

31. Diverse and Inclusive Stock Photography & Illustration

LGBTQIA+ specific

32. Queer in Tech: Free flickr collection of queer individuals in the tech industry

33. Vice Gender Spectrum Collection: The Gender Spectrum Collection is a stock photo library featuring images of trans and non-binary models that go beyond the clichés. This collection aims to help media better represent members of these communities as people not necessarily defined by their gender identities—people with careers, relationships, talents, passions, and home lives.

34: Disabled & Here #LGBTQ+: This stock library is a disability-led effort to provide free and inclusive images from our own perspective, with photos and illustrations celebrating disabled Black, Indigenous, people of color (BIPOC).

DISABILITY specific

35. Disabled & Here: Disability led stock collection featuring disabled bipoc

35. Disability In: Disability inclusive stock photography to the public.

Plus Size specific

36. Can We All Go

Age Positive specific

37. Centre for Ageing Better

rootid is currently seeking applicants for a Part-time/Contract, Production Designer (Web & Print). 

Want to use your combined skills as a production and graphic designer to serve movements for social justice, community impact and positive change? rootid is seeking someone with web and print production design experience and help in the execution of our communications strategy services to nonprofit partners. If you’re detail oriented and you don’t mind getting into the minutia of production, aligning grids, file management and versioning, etc., then we would love to hear from you. Come join our team of designers, developers and educators — who are also activists, authors, beer-makers, outdoor enthusiasts and musicians — and become a part of our mission driven company.

Since 2011, our team has partnered with over 300 nonprofit & social impact organizations through direct agency services & community education partnerships. In 2020, we set an ambitious goal to serve 150 organizations in just one year and were able to surpass our expectations. We plan to continue to grow this impact in the coming years as well. To achieve this goal, rootid is expanding our team, agency services and education products to serve more nonprofits in a variety of ways.

Skills & Experience

You are: 

• someone who challenges entrenched power dynamics and respects all voices
• someone who believes that brand and communications strategy are tools for social change 
• a person who upholds the Design Justice Network Principles
• someone who thrives on community engagement projects and programs
• someone who wants to deeply contribute locally, nationally and globally to help towards the development of the next generation of educators, activists, changemakers, social entrepreneurs and technologists 

What You Will Do

• Build out design assets across print, web and social media using InDesign, Illustrator, Figma and Canva based on creative briefs, styleguides and provided art direction.
• Work with our design team to produce website and print deliverables on time and on budget.

Requirements

• Interest and involvement in progressive social change work
• 2+ years of experience working with nonprofits or on a nonprofit team (transferable agency, freelance or corporate experience ok too).
• A drive to continuously improve your craft through learning, sharing and absorbing feedback.
• Knowledge of figma and web production practices (we work with a component library)
• Ability to use styleguides and a master design to inform design template buildout
• Knowledge of indd, illustrator, print production and packaging print ready assets
• Ability to produce assets for social media (with adobe cc or canva)
• Desire to collaborate with our team of designers, developers, strategists via slack, asana, zoom, email, as well as complete assigned tasks independently and punctually. 
• Basic graphic design skills.
• Detail oriented 
• Multi-lingual and/or knowledge of how to lay different languages out across materials is a plus (English, Spanish & Chinese most often, other languages are great as well.)

Benefits

• Part-time, Remote work only (We are a remote team.)
• Hourly rate $25 - $35, depending on experience
• ~10 hours/week of work
• This is a contract position only and is not eligible for employee benefits.

Join us and become a part of social impact through brand transformation and communications capacity building as we work to convene people, ideas & resources, to build agency & communications capacity within the nonprofit sector— collaboratively envisioning the change we want to see.

Instructions for Applying:

Send your application to design(at)rootid.com using the subject line: “Application: Part-time Production Designer, FULL NAME” and let us know a little about you. Only applications with cover letters and project and/or event collateral, print and website design samples will be reviewed.

rootid is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes everyone to our team. We strongly encourage black, indigenous, people of color, LGBTQIA++, women, gender non-conforming and non-binary, individuals with disabilities, veterans and parents to apply. rootid will also consider qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with the requirements of San Francisco's Fair Chance Ordinance.

If you need reasonable accommodation at any point in the application or interview process, please let us know.

How do you make visual language decisions and why?

Current trends vs. universal constants need to be considered, as well as cultural contexts, ie. what may seem 'standard' in the US or for English speakers, maybe be very different elsewhere. If we are in a more pastel phase vs. electric colors vs. more earth tones. There was a period where everything in the tech world was blue and round to follow facebook -- to feel friendly and trustworthy. But that is not always the case, so that particular trend soon begins to feel "played out."

Here is a list of what different colors are often times associated with (in western culture) to help you choose your next color palette.

Red: Excitement, energy, passion, love, desire, speed, strength, power, heat, aggression, danger, fire, blood, war, violence, all things intense and passionate, sincerity, happiness (Only in Japan) -- when using red, it is important to consider that it also means "stop," so probably best not to use it for a button you really want people to click.

Pink symbolizes love and romance, caring, tenderness, acceptance and calm. Keep in mind, as much as this is finally starting to change, pink is not always the most "gender neutral" color to use.

Beige and ivory symbolize unification. Ivory symbolizes quiet and pleasantness. Beige symbolizes calm and simplicity. These are both great colors to use as a neutral tone in your palette. Or if you think a white background is too sterile, these are nice colors to use to warm things up more subtlely. 

Yellow signifies joy, happiness, betrayal, optimism, idealism, imagination, hope, sunshine, summer, gold, philosophy, dishonesty, cowardice, jealousy, covetousness, deceit, illness, hazard and friendship. Uh, yeah, it can mean a lot of things, so be careful how you use it and what shade you are using. The negative words tend to be associated when the yellow is a cooler tone, the cheerier when it is warmer and closer to orange.

Dark Blue: Symbolizes integrity, knowledge, power, and seriousness. This can also feel cold, sterile and removed, so use it carefully. Colleges and universities use dark blue a lot, but often pair it with gold or teal or a warmer shade of blue.

Blue: Peace, tranquility, cold, calm, stability, harmony, unity, trust, truth, confidence, conservatism, security, cleanliness, order, loyalty, sky, water, technology, depression, appetite suppressant. Blue is use A LOT because it can stand alone really well and mean a lot of different things. Think Facebook, Samsung, GE, Ford, Intel, HP, GAP, even the UN.

Turquoise symbolizes calm. Teal symbolizes sophistication. Aquamarine symbolizes water. Lighter turquoise has a feminine appeal. The more minty shades feel the most tranquil and are often used for meditation type companies.

Purple: Royalty, nobility, spirituality, ceremony, mysterious, transformation, wisdom, enlightenment, cruelty, honor, arrogance, mourning, temperance.

Lavender symbolizes femininity, grace and elegance. Again, this is not always the most "gender neutral" color to use...and can often come across more youthful than you may want.

Orange: Energy, balance, enthusiasm, warmth, vibrant, expansive, flamboyant, demanding of attention. This is a great "Call to Action" color, which is why you will so often see it used for donate buttons on websites.

Green: Nature, environment, healthy, good luck, renewal, youth, spring, generosity, fertility, jealousy, service, inexperience, envy, misfortune, vigor. Please note that darker and more "Autumn" shades are more environmental feeling, bright grass greens are more "Spring" and the fluorescents get into the envy and misfortune end of the specturm. There is a reason the Matrix movies use fluorescent green.

Brown: Earth, stability, hearth, home, outdoors, reliability, comfort, endurance, simplicity, and comfort. Brown is a great and warmer alternative to black. You don't see it used that much on websites or branding, but it works.

Gray: Security, reliability, intelligence, staid, modesty, dignity, maturity, solid, conservative, practical, old age, sadness, boring. Silver symbolizes calm. This is another good neutral color that can warm up a palette that feels stark while still allowing a lot of open, empty space.

White: Reverence, purity, birth, simplicity, cleanliness, peace, humility, precision, innocence, youth, winter, snow, good, sterility, marriage (Western cultures), death (Eastern cultures), cold, clinical.

Black: Power, sexuality, sophistication, formality, elegance, wealth, mystery, fear, evil, unhappiness, depth, style, sadness, remorse, anger, anonymity, underground, good technical color, mourning, death (Western cultures), austerity, detachment. 

Here are 2 more articles for more about the science symbolism of colors:

Color Symbolism and Culture

Why is Facebook Blue

Need help getting creative? Mood boards are an effective way to discuss ideas, share insights, and clarify communication. They help visually explain a feeling and, in turn, develop a more authentic and successful brand. 

Even nonprofits with established identities need to reevaluate from time to time in order to stay relevant. In many cases, a brand refresh may be necessary.

What is a Brand Refresh?

Simply put, a brand refresh is a makeover. The goal is to enhance your organization’s image, while staying recognizable—but how do we go about that?

Steps for a Brand Refresh:

1. Review your core values. Go back to the beginning. Remember all of those questions you sat down and asked yourself the first time around? It’s time to revisit them to see where your answers now differ.

   Example question: What makes your organization unique?
   
   Preview Our New Project Questionnaire

2. Conduct stakeholder interviews. As a general rule, it’s good to do these once a year, as a tool to gauge the effectiveness of your mission, outreach, and short/long-term goals. Getting feedback from stakeholders (internal staff, your board of directors, community members, etc.) will help you determine which aspects of your brand need addressed.

   Example question: Using a few keywords, how do you want people to see your brand?

   
   
   Preview Full Stakeholder Template

3. Redefine your target audiences and personas. Determining your target audience was tough the first time around. Thankfully, you should have a better idea of who is most receptive to your message now. If you haven’t already, it’s time to start grouping common characteristics to create personas—or profiles of imaginary people.

   Consider what they want from you and what you want from them in return. How can you guide them from being unaware of your organization to a loyal brand advocate? Keep fleshing them out.

   Develop content that will interest them at various stages in their journeys.

   
   
   Preview Our Persona Spreadsheet

4. Update your visual language. Mood boards are an effective way to discuss ideas, share insights, and clarify communication. They help visually explain a feeling and, in turn, develop a more authentic and successful brand. They’re where your brand refresh will be most evident, especially if your organization adopts a new logo.

   

5. Tweak your messaging. Great content is critical to achieving higher conversion rates and engaging user experiences. Based on your profiles’ points of view, consider what tone of organizational “voice” would best reach, engage, and compel community members and donors.

   
   Preview Full Style Guide

6. Audit your marketing materials. You’re almost there! It’s time to look at your print materials, event collateral, social media channels, newsletter templates, website, etc. Are they achieving measurable results? Do they need to be updated to reflect any of the aforementioned steps?
7. Update your assets. Your assets are your brand messengers. As such, it’s important to maintain cohesive marketing materials in print and online. Doing so will lead to more donations and more volunteer signups, so be sure to keep them up-to-date.

   
   Read ACLU of Northern California Case Study

Our takeaway:

For a successful brand refresh, you’ll need a look at where you came from, where you are now, and where you want to go from here. The adjustments will take work, but the end results should be well worth it!

Are you ready for a brand refresh of your own? Check out one of our recent brand updates, or shoot us a message!

If you're still putting out annual reports the old fashioned way—pulling stacks of statistics, rounding up designers, blowing your budget on print copies, etc.—this post might be an eye-opener for you. Not only are annual report websites generally less expensive, they're also easy to fill with impactful media, easy to deliver, and easy to track. Plus, they're much more conscientious of the planet.

Letting your web team produce a professional site for this year's accomplishments could be a great step into the future for your non-profit—but don't take our word for it. Check out these reports from businesses and organizations who've already adopted the process to impressive results:

GRID Alternatives

gridalternatives.org/annual-report-15
GRID Alternatives' adopted an online annual report format a few years ago and now simply updates the stats, graphics and stories each year with new information...saving time and money. Their annual report is styled in a familiar, almost print-like layout.

Echoing Green

echoinggreen.org/2014
Echoing Green's 2014 report used floating side navigation to make it easy for visitors to jump to the information they were most interested in.

Shopify

shopify.com/2013
Shopify's 2013 report summarized their news with an interactive timeline.

Google Ventures

gv.com/2014/#portfolio-impact
GV (Google Ventures) incorporated videos in the impact section of their 2014 report.

Charity Water

charitywater.org/annual-report/14/#team
Charity Water reinforced the human element (their team) in their 2014 color block and photo layout.

MailChimp 

mailchimp.com/2015/#visit-from-a-mariachi-band
MailChimp's 2015 report linked stories to social posts, i.e. When referring to a mariachi band that played the Star Wars theme in their office, they linked to a video on Instagram.

MailChimp Again...

mailchimp.com/2012/
MailChimp's 2012 report featured an interactive element that allowed visitors to browse user statistics by demographic.

Lemon.ly

lemonly.com/2016report
Lemonly encouraged visitors to interact with their 2016 report, using a circular beam of "light" to reveal facts.

Flama 

2016.flama.is/
Flama laid out their 2016 report as a click-through slideshow.

One.org 

one.org/annualreport/
One's bold use of color and typography combined with compelling photography and language really makes their annual report shine.

Our Takeaway...

Styles may vary, but all successful annual report websites have two things in common: professional presentation and convenience. Sounds like a win, win!
Need help with your next Annual Report? Drop us a line!

We're back with our 2017 favorite examples (in alphabetical order) of what a great non-profit website looks like and what makes it stand out.
Our hope is that by emulating these exemplary non-profits, you'll soon be able to provide an even greater user experience for your own site visitors—generating all the support you need!

acumen.org: Acumen’s color palette is energetic and modern. Their use of angled boxes gives a flare of visual interest, further making them seem like a forward-thinking, innovative and compelling organization. Acumen also does of a good job of showing both the qualitative and quantitative nature of their impact through engaging story-telling and simple, yet bold infographics. Their incredibly strong and authentic photography is the final piece that really sets this website apart.

amnesty.org: Amnesty International's website combines news site-like feel with clear nonprofit impact. Their home page uses large, compelling photography with an action-oriented visual language. Their newsfeed allows visitors to filter by topic, region/country, and resource type. Combined with directive and clear iconography, this website takes bold and engaging to a new level.

care.org: Care’s website does a great job of showing visitors the various ways they can take action, get involved and share content. Their site illustrates a campaign focused, impactful layout through the use of engaging infographics with clear calls to action. Care’s bold use of iconography and mapping, takes their visual language to the next level.
 

charitywater.org: Charity Water's website is well-organized and illustrates ‘hope’ in its truest form. Clear water, happy faces and bright photography are used in perfect balance with simple iconography, impact numbers and well composed calls to action. Lastly, their color palette and typography are both welcoming and approachable and once navigated to, their donate page is simple and unintimidating, making it easy for visitors to support their work.

farmland.org: The American Farmland Trust uses a vibrant, earth-tone focused color palette that feels warm, engaging and modern. They display information in some unique ways such as their navigation dropdown taking the form of a full-page color overlay, their challenge statement is displayed through interactive statements paired with colorful infographics and impact numbers paired with compelling photography. Their internal pages display layers of information on a single page through clear hierarchies and language.

feedingamerica.org: Feeding America's use of bold colors, large photography and unobtrusive text overlays is simple, direct and to-the-point. Their content strategy is excellent—they know their audience(s)— headlines like, “No one can thrive on an empty stomach,” are extremely compelling and give site visitors an engaging introduction to the importance of their work.

gatesfoundation.org: The Gates Foundation website stands out with an extremely clear and well organized site navigation. Though they utilize a more minimalist approach with a mobile-focused, pop-out menu, site visitors are able to quickly and easily expand sub-menus to see the full depth and breadth of this organization. Their typography is also an excellent example of classic and modern, serif and sans-serif well combined for a sophisticated legibility.

girleffect.org: Girl Effect's about page guides you through a carefully crafted narrative. They clearly and directly explain why they exist, what the issue is that they solve and the impact statistics that support their work. Girl Effect’s writing is engaging and easily digestible, inspiring site visitors with their energy, optimism and ambition.

globalfundforwomen.org: Global Fund for Women combines striking visuals with bold color and modern typography, creating an engaging and sophisticated home page. Their ‘grant-making’ ‘voice’ and ‘join’ triad illustrates an ideal content strategy and information architecture—guiding site visitors from understanding their work to a clear call to action. Internally, in addition to traditional monetary gifts, the Global Fund for Women's donate page encourages support in a variety of forms, i.e. cause marketing, corporate matching, etc.

KIPP.org: KIPP’s website utilizes a vertically oriented, color block layout that offers succinct information about their work. Small animations are included to give a sense of light-hearted professionalism. Color overlays, tabbed interfaces and a variety of sliders are used to conserve space while allowing site visitors to smoothly peruse content more deeply.

namesforchange.org: Names for Change has a visually appealing, masonry layout with a unique and compelling interactivity—it truly makes you want to ‘play.’ Their color palette is vibrant, warm and accessible with clear contrast. The site’s simple language and modern typography gives a sense of innovative social change. Furthermore, Names for Change’s use of page overlays rather than click away pages allows users to quickly and effectively absorb information before returning to the main landing page.

nature.org: The Nature Conservancy’s home page is an excellent example of large, beautiful photography, sophisticated typography and a modern layout that is approachable, engaging and has an excellent page hierarchy. Their minimalist use of iconography, combined with a back and forth grid format, ads visual interest without over-crowding the white space. Finally, The Nature Conservancy hosts a carbon footprint calculator as a content offering to drive traffic that may not be as familiar with their work or website.

onedrop.org: One Drop’s website has a sophisticated modernity illustrated through its blue-centric yet warm color palette, action-oriented typography and compelling photography. The site makes good but sparing use of animations, clean and directive information architecture and bold infographics to help site visitors move smoothly throughout the site and engage more deeply.

oxfamamerica.org: Oxfam Foundation’s visual language has a youthful vibrancy all its own. Taking a different approach than similar organizations, their color palette is bright and endearing, using a chunky paper cut-out motif for iconography and typography.

pawschicago.org: Paws Chicago’s home page illustrates well-crafted, meaningful information sharing. Their header bolsters their impact numbers by tying them to navigation right off the bat. Rather than using a slideshow, they have a nice News & Features carousel that highlights import information directly below the first ‘fold’—giving it weight and allowing site visits to jump into what’s new. Continuing down the page, site visitors are given a clear understanding of Paws Chicago’s work is important, what they do and ample opportunities to engage, learn more and donate.

possiblehealth.org: The Possible Healthcare website is a very simple brochure. It does a very good job of staying extremely lean and making good use of 3rd party softwares rather than trying to have the website do its own heavy lifting (Classy for donations, BambooHR for job postings, and clever use of Medium for blog posts and the spreading of their work on a more international platform). A newsletter popup with a compelling photo and tagline captures visitors' attention on Possible Healthcare's site

wcs.org: The Wildlife Conservation Society’s home page is full of bright images of animals, yet still finds a way to give your eyes space to rest along the way. Their left-hand menu is stationary throughout and though it takes up slightly more real estate than a top, horizontal menu, its ‘stillness’ and color palette are welcoming and calm in contrast to the activity of the page content. Internal pages again have bold photography and modern typography with the navigation tucked away into a mobile menu.

By focusing on certain website elements (i.e. navigation, layout, forms, opt-ins, calls-to-action, content offerings, etc.), nonprofits like these have been able to generate swells of interest and support online. If you haven't already, you might consider giving some of their techniques a try!

Your organization's identity is tied to its logo. Well thought out design leaves a great first impression—compelling your community to engage more deeply. 

That's why we've dedicated ourselves to helping non-profits forge and refine their brands. We've touched on what makes a great logo in the past, but here's a quick refresher:

1. A great logo is easy to recognize, versatile, and memorable. The ABC's of logo design (shape, color, and typography) have clearly come into play.

2. A great logo is instructive, visually representing your brand's personality, values, and what it does in a single idea. If you're not sure about this part, consider reading up on The Twelve Brand Archetypes.

3. A great logo is distinct and demonstrates what your organization alone brings to the table.

4. A great logo is practical—easy to read and easy to reproduce for both print and web.

5. A great logo is both timeless and open to evolution. Businesses and organizations are organic in nature, changing and adapting as they grow and develop. Therefore, a logo that is created at 'founding' will not necessarily suit your needs in ten years.

We know it sounds daunting. That's why we've prepared a sampling of thirty clever and effective examples to inspire you. Take a few minutes to study them, click through to their sites and see what they're doing to cause such a stir. Who knows—in addition to learning from their examples, you may just find a new cause near and dear to your heart!

Logos and Fundraising

Brand identification is critical to success in every aspect of your mission. 

Online fundraising is also becoming a critical part of success for organizations. Over $1 billion (yes, with a "B") are donated each year online. Make sure your online strategy is working. Download our comprehensive guide to make sure you're not missing out. You'll be surprised how easy some of these recommendations are.