What is a nonprofit one-pager?

A single page, usually a PDF, that tells a donor or funder what your organisation does, who it serves, three results in numbers, and how to give. Donors ask for it before a meeting, board members forward it, and funders attach it to a file. It is a summary of facts you already have, not a new report.

What should a one-pager for donors include?

Six blocks: your mission in one line; three big numbers (who, how many, what changed); your programs, one line each; one real photo or clean type; how to give, with the exact link or address; and a named contact with your logo. One page, nothing else.

How long should a nonprofit one-pager be?

One page. If it runs to two, it is a report, not a one-pager, and the donor who asked for one page will read neither. Cut programs to one line each and keep the numbers to three.

Can I use last year's numbers?

Yes, if you say which year. Write “2025” next to each number and “as reported, unaudited” at the bottom if your figures are not audited. A dated number is trusted; an undated one is questioned.

Guide · 16 October 2026

Nonprofit one-pager example for donors: the 6 blocks, with a full sample

A donor asked for a one-pager. Here is what goes on it, block by block, a full example you can copy the shape of, and the three mistakes that get it ignored.

The short answer

A nonprofit one-pager is one page with six blocks: your mission in one line, three big numbers, your programs one line each, one photo, how to give, and a named contact. Donors read the numbers first, the mission second, and the programs only if the first two held them. Everything on it comes from facts you already have; the work is choosing and cutting, not writing more.

The six blocks, in the order a donor reads them

1. The mission, in one line

Not the mission statement from your bylaws. One plain sentence a stranger understands: who you help, what changes. Write it as a sentence about them, not about you.

“Kids in Riverbend grow the food. Their families eat it.”

2. Three numbers

Who you served, how many, and what changed, each with its year. Three is the limit: the eye reads three, skims five, and ignores eight. Round only if the real figure is awkward, and say “about”. If you have no outcome number yet, use an output number (meals served, sessions run) and label it honestly.

“312 students in garden club, 2025 · 2,400 lb of produce grown and given away · 40 families with a weekly harvest box”

3. Programs, one line each

Two to four programs. Each line: the name in bold, then who, how often, where. A donor is matching your programs to what they want to fund; the line has to let them do that in a second.

“After-school garden club: 3 schools, twice a week, ages 8 to 12.”

4. One photo, or none

One real photo of the work, with permission from anyone in it. No stock people. If you have no usable photo, use colour and type and leave the space; a stock photo tells a donor you had nothing to show.

5. How to give

The exact link to your donation page, the cheque address, and the legal name and tax ID a donor needs for a gift or a grant. Say what a common gift buys if you can do so honestly (“$40 is one family's harvest box for a month”).

6. Contact and logo

One named person, their direct email and phone, your website, your logo and colours. This is the block that gets your one-pager forwarded with the right name attached.

A full example

The whole sample one-pager, for Riverbend Youth Garden, is on the sample page and as a PDF. It is labelled as a sample: the organisation, the numbers and the quote are invented. Read it for the shape, then put your own facts in the same six slots.

Five rules that keep it good

One page. Print it; if it spills, cut a program line, not a number.
Every number has a year. “312 students (2025)”, not “300+ students”.
Say what is audited and what is not. One line at the bottom: “Figures as reported by the organisation, unaudited.” Donors trust the line more than the number.
No quotes you cannot source. A real quote with a first name and permission, or no quote.
The donation link works on a phone. Half of donors open the PDF on one. Test the link before you send.

Three mistakes that get a one-pager ignored

Two pages of history. When you were founded is the last line, not the first.
Eight numbers. A wall of statistics reads as noise. Three, big, with years.
No ask. A one-pager without “how to give” is a brochure. Put the link and the address on the page.

If you have the facts but not the page

That is the whole service: you fill in one form with your mission, programs, numbers and how to give, and we design the one-pager from exactly that, as a PDF and an editable file, in 1 day. Nothing is invented and missing facts come back as questions, not guesses. $59, or $99 with a 4-page impact report in 2 days.

Get the free sample and the 10-line checklist

The full sample one-pager as PDF, plus the checklist of what a donor one-pager needs. Free. A few short emails, then we stop.

Questions

What is a nonprofit one-pager?: A single page, usually a PDF, that tells a donor or funder what your organisation does, who it serves, three results in numbers, and how to give. Donors ask for it before a meeting, board members forward it, and funders attach it to a file. It is a summary of facts you already have, not a new report.
What should a one-pager for donors include?: Six blocks: your mission in one line; three big numbers (who, how many, what changed); your programs, one line each; one real photo or clean type; how to give, with the exact link or address; and a named contact with your logo. One page, nothing else.
How long should a nonprofit one-pager be?: One page. If it runs to two, it is a report, not a one-pager, and the donor who asked for one page will read neither. Cut programs to one line each and keep the numbers to three.
Can I use last year's numbers?: Yes, if you say which year. Write “2025” next to each number and “as reported, unaudited” at the bottom if your figures are not audited. A dated number is trusted; an undated one is questioned.
Do you make the one-pager for us?: Yes. You fill in one form with your mission, programs, numbers and how to give, and we design the page from exactly that, as a PDF and an editable file, in 1 day. Nothing is invented; missing facts come back as questions. $59, or $99 with a 4-page impact report.

Get my one-pager $59, back in 1 day