How to Make Accessible and Inclusive Marketing Materials

Effective marketing is about making sure everyone can see, understand, and engage with your message. Yet accessibility and inclusion are too often overlooked. From typeface choices to cultural assumptions, seemingly small decisions can unintentionally exclude people and have a large impact on your reputation.

Accessibility should be embedded from the start, not treated as a chore. It’s a social responsibility—and in many regions, a legal requirement. By prioritizing inclusive practices, nonprofits can attract new, diverse, and disabled audiences while modeling equity in action.

Here is how you can make your nonprofit’s digital marketing plan resonate with diverse audiences and ensure no one is left out.

1. Start With Inclusive Language and Representation

Words shape perceptions, and the way your nonprofit communicates sends a message about who belongs in your community. When it comes to accessibility, how you phrase and present information matters just as much as what you say.

• Avoid jargon and acronyms. Sector-specific language can be alienating. For example, saying “Our DEI initiative supports BIPOC communities” without explanation assumes everyone knows the acronyms. Instead, define them: “Our diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiative supports Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities.” Clear language ensures no one feels excluded from the conversation.
• Use inclusive, respectful language. Gender-neutral terms and culturally respectful phrasing broaden your audience. For example, instead of “chairman,” use “chairperson.” These small shifts improve dignity and reduce stigma.

• Represent diversity visually. Visuals are powerful signals of inclusion. A nonprofit food bank, for example, might show a mix of volunteers across ages and abilities. An arts nonprofit could feature diverse cultural traditions in its promotional images. Representation in photos and illustrations communicates that your cause welcomes everyone.

• Focus on empowerment. Cause-based messaging can sometimes slip into portraying people as victims. Instead, emphasize strength and agency. For example, highlight how a literacy program equips students with skills for lifelong success, rather than focusing only on what they lack. As Fifty & Fifty’s branding guide explains, strong storytelling should inspire respect as much as empathy.

2. Design With Accessibility in Mind

Accessibility in design isn’t just a nice-to-have—it’s essential. Globally, one billion people have some form of disability or impairment. Beyond being the right thing to do, accessibility is increasingly a legal requirement, making it critical for organizations to prioritize inclusive practices from the start.

So what does accessible design look like in practice? Here are a few key areas to focus on:

• Prioritize color contrast. Low contrast can make text unreadable for people with vision impairments. Aim for high-contrast pairings like black on white or dark blue on pale yellow. Free tools like WebAIM’s contrast checker can help you test designs quickly.

• Choose readable fonts. Readable typography is a cornerstone of accessibility. Sans-serif fonts like Arial, Helvetica, or Verdana work well for digital content. Avoid all caps, decorative typefaces, or small sizes that make text harder to process.

• Structure content clearly. Breaking content into headings, short paragraphs, and bullet points supports readers with cognitive differences and improves scanning for everyone. A well-structured document is also easier for screen readers to interpret correctly.

• Add alt text and descriptive links. Alt text ensures that users relying on screen readers can still understand your visuals. Let’s say you have a stock image of a student raising her hand in a classroom. Instead of writing “image,” describe it: “A student raising her hand in a classroom.” Similarly, replace vague links like “click here” with descriptive text like “Explore our upcoming events.”

Remember, inclusive nonprofit marketing design benefits everyone, not just people with disabilities. For example, captions may be intended for people who are hard of hearing, but they also help anyone watching a video in a noisy place. Keyboard navigation is essential for people with mobility impairments, yet it also helps power users and anyone who prefers shortcuts over a mouse. Everybody wins with inclusive design!

3. Make Digital Media Inclusive

Digital channels are often where nonprofits connect most frequently with their communities. Building inclusivity into these platforms ensures your message resonates widely. Keep these best practices in mind:

• Use alt text on posts. Adding descriptions to images on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn helps ensure people using screen readers get the full experience.
• Use emojis wisely. Too many emojis can overwhelm or confuse assistive technology. Limit use, and provide context when needed (e.g., “Join us for 🌱 Earth Day celebrations” instead of dropping emojis without text).
• Design emails for accessibility. Inclusive email marketing ensures your message reaches everyone. That means using high-contrast text for readability, adding alt text to images for screen readers, writing in plain, jargon-free language, and making email designs mobile-friendly. Beyond compliance, inclusivity shows respect for your audience’s diverse needs and builds stronger connections. When your emails are accessible, they’re not just easier to read—they’re more effective in inspiring action.

Inclusive digital media is ultimately about trust—it shows your audience that you value every member of your community. By weaving accessibility into your social posts and emails, you signal that participation isn’t limited to a select few. The result is a stronger, more connected supporter base that feels welcomed and empowered to engage.

4. Test and Improve Your Materials Over Time

Accessibility is not a one-and-done task—it requires iteration and feedback. Treat accessibility checks as a standard part of your content creation and publishing process. When inclusivity becomes routine, you’ll expand your reach, strengthen engagement, and inspire more people to take action. Get started by:

• Using accessibility checkers. Free tools like WAVE and Google Lighthouse can quickly flag common issues in your website or PDFs. These tools don’t replace human review but provide an easy starting point.

• Inviting diverse feedback. A nonprofit arts center, for example, might invite people with low vision or mobility challenges to test its event posters and brochures. Feedback from lived experiences reveals barriers that design checklists can’t catch.

• Gathering audience input. Include questions about accessibility in surveys or post-event evaluations. Asking if the material was clear and easy to engage with opens the door to valuable insights.

• Staying current with standards. Accessibility best practices like Web Content Accessibility Guidelines evolve over time. Kanopi’s guide on nonprofit website maiintenance suggests “tak[ing] a continuous improvement approach to maintaining your nonprofit site” so your practices evolve with industry standards. 

Accessibility in marketing shows that your nonprofit values and respects every member of its community. Simple choices in language, imagery, and layout can determine who feels included and inspired to engage. By making emails, flyers, and campaigns accessible, you break down barriers, foster equity, and expand your impact.

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