What is a nonprofit one-pager?
A nonprofit one-pager (also called an impact one-pager or fundraising one-pager) is a single page that shows a donor, funder, volunteer or partner what the organization does, what changed because of it and how they can help. Development staff and board members hand it over at meetings and events, or send it ahead of an ask. Its job is a gift, a volunteer sign-up or a second conversation.
It is the short form of the case for support. Where an annual report looks back over a whole year for every stakeholder, the one-pager picks the three or four results one reader cares about and connects them to a specific way to help.
When to use a nonprofit one-pager, and when another format is better
Use it:
- As the leave-behind after a donor or sponsor meeting.
- For board members, who need something consistent to hand to their own contacts.
- At events, fairs and open days, on the table next to the sign-up sheet.
- With a year-end appeal or a corporate sponsorship request.
- As a summary attached to a grant application, where the funder allows attachments.
Use something else when:
| Situation | Better format |
|---|---|
| You are reporting the whole year to all stakeholders | An annual report |
| A funder has its own application form | The funder's form, with the one-pager as a summary if attachments are allowed |
| You are promoting one event | An event one-pager |
| You are asking your own board to approve a program | Project one-pager |
| You sell a service, training or tickets to earn income | Sales one-pager |
| You are a startup raising investment, not donations | Startup one-pager |
What to include in a nonprofit one-pager
| Block | What it says | Target length |
|---|---|---|
| Name and tag | The organization's name and the year or campaign ("2026 impact snapshot") | 3 to 5 words |
| Headline | The change you exist to make, as a plain statement | 12 words or fewer |
| What you do | Who you serve, where, and how | 20 to 30 words |
| Impact numbers | Results from a stated period: people served, units delivered, volunteers, what one gift provides | 3 or 4 figures |
| Where the money goes | Spending by program as a bar or pie that adds up to 100% | 3 to 5 categories |
| One story | One person or one day, concrete, used with permission | 40 to 60 words |
| Goals | What next year's funding will pay for | 3 bullets |
| Ways to help | Several levels: a monthly amount tied to an outcome, volunteering, hosting, sponsoring | 3 or 4 options |
| Call to action and legal details | The donation address in full, a named contact and the registration number | 1 line plus details |
Total: 250 to 400 words. Leave out the board list, the organization's history and administrative detail, and link to them.
Nonprofit one-pager example (free PDF)
Nonprofit impact one-pager example
Our sample is for Riverbend Food Bank, a fictional organization. The place, the figures and the story are invented. It opens with a headline that states the goal as a plain sentence, then one line on how the work is done. Four impact numbers follow, including what one dollar provides. A single bar shows where every dollar goes, in four shares. The lower half has one short story from the year, three goals for next year, a box with four ways to help and a donate band with the web address and the registration number. There is no blank version: use the example as your template.
What to copy
- The fourth number converts a gift into an outcome, so a donor can do the math for any amount.
- The spending bar adds up to 100% and puts programs first.
- Ways to help range from a monthly gift to volunteering, so no reader is left without an option.
Interactive nonprofit one-pager template
The template below is a web page, not a file: you edit it in the browser and share it as a link. The image shows four moments of the scroll.
Nonprofit campaign one-pager template
The sample, Fill the Table, is a campaign page for an invented food charity. It scrolls from a hero line to the need in the community, then photographs of the work, a section titled "Three ways your gift works" (a one-time donation, monthly giving, volunteering) and a donate button with a phone number for people who prefer to call. A "Give a meal" button stays in the header. It is built around one campaign with a goal, so it suits a seasonal appeal better than a year-round overview. The figures in the sample text are placeholders.
One limit to know: a Scrollytelling page does not process payments. The donate button links to the donation page you already use.
Worked example: the copy for an impact one-pager
The top of an impact one-pager for Open Door Tutoring, an adult literacy charity we invented. The place and all the figures are made up.
Name and tag
Open Door Tutoring · 2026 on one page
Headline
Every adult in Pine Hollow County can learn to read.
What we do
We pair adults who read below a sixth-grade level with a trained volunteer tutor for two hours a week, free, at nine library branches.
Impact numbers
312 learners in 2026 · 148 volunteer tutors · 7 in 10 learners moved up a reading level · $38 pays for one tutoring session
Call to action
Give $38 a month or become a tutor: opendoor.example/help · EIN 00-0000000
The third number is an outcome, not an activity, and the fourth turns the monthly gift into something a donor can picture.
7 nonprofit one-pager mistakes to check
- Counting activity, not change. "Held 40 workshops" is effort. "212 people found work within six months" is impact. Lead with outcomes and keep activity numbers as support.
- Numbers with no period. A count of meals or learners means little without "this year" or "since 2019". Give every figure its timeframe.
- No use of funds. Show the split by program as a simple bar that adds up to 100%, taken from your latest accounts.
- A story told without consent. Get written permission before you use a person's story or photo. Change names where needed, and say that you did.
- One giving level. A single large ask leaves most readers out. Offer a small monthly amount tied to an outcome, a one-time gift and a way to give time.
- Sector jargon. "Wraparound services" and "capacity building" are internal words. Write what happens to a person.
- Missing legal and contact details. Include the registration number (the EIN in the US, the charity number elsewhere), a named contact and the donation address in full. Institutional funders check them.
Printable or interactive: which one to send
Print the one-pager for meetings, events and mailings. Use a link for email appeals and social posts, where the reader is on a phone and one tap should reach the donation page. A link also lets you update a campaign total while the campaign is running, which a printed page cannot do.
Small organizations can do both at no cost: the free Scrollytelling plan publishes one page on a scrollytelling.ai address, with a small badge, and the printable impact one-pager above is a free PDF (plans).
Nonprofit one-pager FAQ
What is a nonprofit one-pager?
A single page that shows what a nonprofit does, the results it achieved in a stated period, where the money goes and how the reader can help. It is used with donors, funders, sponsors, volunteers and partners.
What should a nonprofit one-pager include?
The organization's name, a plain headline about the change you work for, one line on what you do, three or four impact numbers with a timeframe, the use of funds, one story, next year's goals, several ways to help, and the donation address with your registration number and a contact.
Is there a free nonprofit one-pager template?
Yes. The impact one-pager example on this page is a free PDF you can use as a model, and the interactive nonprofit template is free to edit in the browser. We do not offer a Word file.
What is the difference between a one-pager and a case for support?
A case for support is the full argument for funding an organization or a campaign, often several pages long. The one-pager is its summary: the need, the proof and the ask on a single page that a donor can read in a minute.
Can I use a one-pager in a grant application?
Only where the funder allows attachments or asks for a summary. Follow the funder's form first. A one-pager can work as a cover summary or as a leave-behind after a site visit. For institutional funders, lead with outcomes and budget before the personal story.
How long should a fundraising one-pager be?
One side of US Letter or A4, about 250 to 400 words, with one chart for the use of funds.
Draft your nonprofit one-pager
Describe your organization and your campaign in a sentence. The free one-pager maker writes and lays out a first version that you can edit, publish as a link or download as a PDF.
Open the free one-pager maker