Lead generation for nonprofits: where new donors and volunteers come from, how to judge a vendor, and the rules that differ for charities

Lead generation for nonprofits means finding new supporters: people who give, volunteer, sign up for a service or join a campaign. Most organisations call it donor or supporter acquisition. The leads come from three kinds of source. Your own channels, such as the website, events, free Google Ad Grants search ads and social media. Partners, such as peer to peer fundraisers, corporate partners and other charities you swap lists with. And paid acquisition, such as petition and pledge campaigns that collect sign ups for a fee, list rental and data cooperatives, and paid social ads. A supporter lead is only worth its cost if it turns into a second gift or a lasting volunteer, so judge every source on what happens after the first action. This page explains each source, how to judge a vendor, and the US and UK rules that differ for charities.

What a lead means for a nonprofit

Lead type	First action	What it should become
Prospective donor	An email sign up, a petition, a pledge	A first gift, then a monthly gift
First time donor	A single gift, often at an event or appeal	A second gift within a year
Volunteer	An interest form	A first shift, then regular shifts
Service user	An enquiry or referral	Help received, and a story told with consent
Corporate or major donor	A meeting	A partnership or a large gift

Each needs its own form, its own follow up and its own count. A nonprofit that adds them together into one "leads" number cannot tell which source works.

Source one: channels you own

• A page per programme and per way to help. Each with one clear action: give, volunteer, attend, refer.
• Google Ad Grants. Eligible charities can run search ads at no cost within the programme's limits. Our guide to the Google Ad Grant covers eligibility and the compliance rules.
• Events. Every attendee is a lead if you collect consent to stay in touch at registration.
• An email sign up worth having. Offer something useful, such as a report on the cause or a local volunteering calendar, rather than "join our newsletter".

Source two: partners

Peer to peer fundraising turns supporters into recruiters: each person running, walking or fundraising for you brings their own friends as first time donors. Corporate partners bring employees as volunteers and match gifts. Some charities exchange or rent donor lists for postal appeals, usually through a list broker, under terms that limit each use. Treat each partner as a source with its own cost and its own second gift rate.

Source three: paid acquisition

Paid supporter acquisition comes in a few forms:

• Petition and pledge sign ups. A vendor runs a petition or pledge on your cause and charges per new sign up who agrees to hear from you. Volume is quick; the share who later give varies widely by cause and follow up.
• Paid social ads. Lead forms and donation ads on Facebook and Instagram. Our page on Facebook ads for nonprofits and charities covers appeals, events and when an ad counts as a social issue ad.
• Data cooperatives and list rental. Mostly used for direct mail, where a cooperative models which households are likely to give to causes like yours.
• Agencies and fundraisers paid to recruit. Face to face, phone or digital teams that recruit donors for a fee.

How to judge a supporter acquisition vendor

• What did the person agree to? Ask for the exact form and consent wording, and confirm your organisation is named.
• Is the lead exclusive? A sign up shared with several charities on one page is worth less, and the person may not remember you.
• How fresh is it? Welcome a new supporter within a day or two of the sign up.
• What will you report? Leads, first gifts, second gifts and average gift by source, over at least twelve months.
• Is the vendor registered where it needs to be? See the state rules below.

The number that matters is the cost to acquire a supporter compared with what they give over time. A cheap sign up that never gives costs more than an expensive one who becomes a monthly donor.

The rules that are different for charities

US calls and texts. The FCC's TCPA rules, 47 CFR 64.1200 (eCFR, current to 19 October 2026), define "telephone solicitation" so that it does not include a call or message "By or on behalf of a tax-exempt nonprofit organization". So the national do not call registry does not bar a charity's own fundraising calls. Calls and texts made with an autodialer or a prerecorded voice to a mobile still need consent: for a tax-exempt nonprofit, the rule asks for "prior express consent" rather than the written consent required of businesses. A vendor calling for you should be able to show it.

US email. The CAN-SPAM Act, 15 U.S.C. 7702, defines a commercial email as one whose "primary purpose" is "the commercial advertisement or promotion of a commercial product or service". A plain donation appeal is not usually that. An email that sells merchandise, tickets or a sponsor's product can be. Include a postal address and an easy unsubscribe on every email anyway, because supporters expect it.

US state registration. Many states regulate fundraising, including the firms you pay. California's Attorney General, read on 21 October 2026, "regulates charities and fundraisers who solicit on their behalf", naming "commercial fundraisers, fundraising counsel, charitable fundraising platforms" among them, and sets registration fees for commercial fundraisers. Before a vendor raises money or recruits donors for you, check that you and it are registered in the states where it will solicit.

UK email and texts. The ICO's guidance on electronic mail marketing says the soft opt-in rule "does not apply to non-commercial promotions (eg charity fundraising or political campaigning)", so a UK charity needs specific consent to email or text fundraising messages to new supporters. The ICO notes that, after the Data (Use and Access) Act, this guidance "is under review and may be subject to change", so check the current page before you rely on it.

Questions about lead generation for nonprofits

What is the cheapest way for a nonprofit to get new donors?

Usually the channels it owns: a clear donation page, Google Ad Grants search ads for eligible charities, events with consent at registration, and peer to peer fundraising by existing supporters.

Is buying petition sign ups worth it?

It can be, when the sign ups are exclusive, consented to your organisation by name and welcomed quickly. Judge it on how many become donors within a year.

Do do not call rules apply to charities in the US?

The TCPA's definition of telephone solicitation excludes calls by or on behalf of a tax-exempt nonprofit. Autodialed or prerecorded calls and texts to mobiles still need prior express consent.

Does CAN-SPAM apply to nonprofit fundraising emails?

It covers emails whose primary purpose is commercial promotion. A pure donation appeal usually is not, but a message selling products or tickets can be. Follow the same unsubscribe and address practice regardless.

Do fundraising vendors have to register?

In many states, yes. California, for example, regulates commercial fundraisers and fundraising counsel through its Attorney General's registry. Check each state where the vendor will solicit.

Givers now ask an assistant where to give

Someone who wants to help refugees in their city, or to volunteer at weekends, can ask ChatGPT or Gemini which organisations to support and get three or four names with a sentence on each. Those names come from charity registers, news coverage, directories and programme pages that state what the organisation does and where. Being named there brings supporters no vendor can sell you. AI Knows Us asks those giving and volunteering questions for your cause and area and shows which organisations the assistants name.