All 15 ideas at a glance
Why Instagram works for charities
Instagram is where people check a charity before they call it, volunteer, or give. A person who heard about you from a friend will look at your grid to see whether the work is active, who runs it, and how you talk about the people you help. A steady feed of specifics answers those questions faster than a website does.
Reels reach people who don't follow you yet, and carousels keep the people who do reading. In the Rival IQ benchmark that Nonprofit Tech for Good cites, carousels had the highest engagement of the three formats they compared, ahead of single photos and Reels. Use that as a reason to give carousels a regular slot, not as a promise about any one post.
- Reel (vertical video): Reels suit the things you can film in a room, at a desk or on a shift. Instagram accepts uploads between 1.91:1 and 9:16 at a minimum of 720 pixels, so shoot vertical and keep the subject in the middle. Boosted Reels must be 90 seconds or less.
- Carousel (swipe post): Carousels carry explanations: jargon, what a gift covers, what you can accept, what a form asks. Use 4:5 at 1080 by 1350 pixels and the same ratio on every slide, because the first slide sets the ratio for the whole post.
- Story (same-day update): Stories suit same-day updates and time-limited asks, such as a volunteer call-out for tomorrow's sort or a phone line that closes early. They are quick to film on a phone, which matters when one person runs the account.
15 Instagram content ideas for charities
Explain what happens behind your service
These ideas answer the questions people are too unsure to ask your team. Each one can be filmed or written in an afternoon.
Reel, under 60 seconds
1. What happens after someone calls our [helpline]
Why it works: People who need a service often hold off because they don't know what the first contact involves. A walk through the first call or email, using the words your staff really use, answers the worry before it turns into a no. Film a staff member and a volunteer playing the parts, not a real caller.
Carousel, 6 to 8 slides
2. The words we use, translated
Why it works: Charities talk in terms like safeguarding, casework, outcomes and restricted funds. Donors, volunteers and first-time service users hear those words and stop reading. One term per slide, in plain words, is a post people save and send to a friend who is new to you.
Carousel, 4 slides
3. What your £[25] pays for, line by line
Why it works: Donors ask what their money does, and appeal copy often answers with a vague sentence. A line-by-line breakdown from your own costs makes the ask concrete. Every figure has to match your accounts or the appeal you are running, because social media fundraising must follow the Fundraising Regulator's code.
Carousel or single image with a list
4. Can we take it? What our [shop or donation bank] accepts right now
Why it works: Charity shops and donation banks turn away the wrong items at the door, and people only find out when they arrive. A short accept and decline list, updated each season, saves staff time and keeps the drop-off queue moving. List the items your team turns away most often, not the textbook ones.
Show the work people don't see
The front of your charity is the shop window or the event. These ideas show the back room, the admin and the asks that keep the work going.
Reel, 30 to 60 seconds
5. The shift nobody sees: a [Thursday] in our [shop or pantry] back room
Why it works: Donors and volunteers see the public side of your charity. Most of the work happens in the back room, where volunteers sort, price and check stock. A closed-day angle makes that room the story, and it shows the work without showing anyone you help.
Reel, or a Story for same-day asks
6. Ask for the help you need this week
Why it works: Staff can't clear a backlog alone, and a specific ask from people who already follow you fills the gap faster than a general thank-you. A named day, time and task gets a reply. 'We need volunteers' gets scrolled past.
Reel, filmed in one take
7. What's on my desk on funder report day
Why it works: Donors and volunteers have no picture of the admin that keeps a charity open: funder reports, consent forms, Gift Aid declarations, board papers. Five real objects on your desk show that work without showing a single person you help.
Carousel, one question per slide
8. Our referral form, question by question
Why it works: People who need help often don't know what they'll be asked for, and that uncertainty stops them starting. Showing the form with blank fields sets expectations. The slides also show what you need and what you don't, which is the consent question people care about most.
Thank people and show results
A thank-you works when it is specific, and proof works when the person in it has agreed to the exact use.
Reel with a text thank-you
9. We asked and you answered: thank you to everyone who gave over £[500] during the match
Why it works: A matched gift is the one time a donor can see their money doubled in public, so a thank-you that names the match and the total gives them a reason to share. Check the match terms before you post, since they set what you can say about the donors and the total.
Reel spotlight, 30 to 45 seconds
10. [Name] has been with us since [month]: this week, [their tasks]
Why it works: Volunteers are the people most likely to share your post with their own network. A spotlight on one person shows that the work takes many small roles, from gift wrapping to youth visits. Ask the volunteer to approve the caption before you post.
Carousel, two to four photos
11. Before and after: the [back room, shelf or garden]
Why it works: A room, shelf or garden can be shown before and after without identifying anyone, so there is no consent step. It proves that donations and volunteer hours change something you can see, which is the question donors ask most often.
Reel with the person's voice
12. [First name], [N] months in, in their own words
Why it works: Real stories from the people you support move people more than statistics do, but only when the person has agreed to the exact use. Check the consent form for where the story will appear, and quote what they said, not a caption that goes further than their words.
Answer questions and start conversations
These posts give your phone team and your trustees something to point people to, and they bring questions into the comments.
Reel, under 90 seconds
13. The [5] questions our team gets every week, answered
Why it works: Your team hears the same questions daily, and those are the things people search for. Answering them on video moves the conversation to your page and gives staff a link to send. Pick questions your policy answers cleanly so you aren't giving advice in a post.
Reel, a trustee on camera
14. Ask a trustee: [a question from our last board meeting]
Why it works: Trustees are the least seen people in a charity and the ones funders most want to trust. A trustee answering one question from a board meeting, in plain words, shows how decisions are made. Keep the answer to what the board has already agreed to say publicly.
Carousel, 4 slides
15. Three things people get wrong about [our service]
Why it works: Myths about a service spread through the community you serve, and your front desk corrects them one at a time. A carousel of the three most common myths does that job for the whole community, and people share it with the person who has the wrong idea.
Best practices for Instagram as a charity
How often to post
Start with three posts a week: one carousel, one Reel, and a Story on any day you have something live. Carousels had the highest engagement in the benchmark that Nonprofit Tech for Good cites, so give them a fixed slot. Post only what your team can film and check, because a steady three a week beats a burst of posts that stops in week two. Treat this as a starting point and adjust after a month of your own numbers.
Tools that help
- Instagram app: Post Reels in 9:16 and carousels in 4:5. Turn on the setting to upload at highest quality if your footage is shot in good light, since higher quality takes longer to upload.
- Sycamore: Add captions to a Reel after you film it, so people watching without sound can follow the helpline or volunteer ask.
- Shared spreadsheet: Keep a consent log with each person's name, what they agreed to, which posts use it, and when the agreement ends. Check it before you post anyone.
Do
- Check that the consent form names Instagram before you film anyone. If it doesn't, get a new signature or keep them out of frame.
- Post match totals and donor counts only after the match closes, and copy every money figure from your accounts or the appeal.
- Film the room, the form and the shelf before any person. Those posts need no consent step and often work best.
- Ask each volunteer to approve their own spotlight and the exact caption before it goes live.
- Update the helpline or shop hours in every post that mentions them, and delete the old ones.
Don't
- Don't post a service user's face, first name or room number without written consent that covers Instagram, even if you blur it.
- Don't use a photo of anyone who lacks capacity to consent. Ann Craft Trust's guidance is to leave their photo out.
- Don't boost a Reel with licensed music. Instagram's help page says boosted Reels can't use it.
- Don't write a 'your £X pays for Y' line you can't back up from your accounts or the appeal you are running.
- Don't post a donor's name or gift amount unless they agreed to that post.
More content ideas
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