QR Codes are reshaping how brands connect with customers across all industries. These pixelated squares open up endless possibilities, from sharing loyalty programs that win the hearts of customers to launching campaigns that inspire audiences to take action. It’s no wonder they’re popping up everywhere—the potential of QR Codes knows no bounds!
Our nonprofit customers are discovering extraordinary ways to use Bitly Codes to amplify their marketing outreach and achieve their goals. These powerful stories highlight just how the Bitly Connections Platform enables them to share their mission, connect with the right audience, and make a meaningful impact in their communities.
Here, we spotlight some of our nonprofit customers and showcase how they leverage QR Codes for events, fundraising, and campaign tracking to champion their missions. We hope these examples inspire other nonprofit organizations to discover new ways to connect, engage, and make a difference.
Event promotion and registration
Hosting events enables nonprofits to build relationships with those who may be future donors, program participants, or impactful community partners. As any seasoned event organizer knows, it’s the little details that ensure your audience feels valued—from the moment they register to the event’s closing moments. Let’s dig into how these nonprofits used Bitly QR Codes to promote events, simplify event registration, and spark participation through flyers, posters, and digital channels.
NHS Brooklyn: Streamlining webinar access
Neighboring Housing Services (NHS) Brooklyn is a not-for-profit housing counseling agency that helps Brooklyn residents purchase, maintain, and keep their homes. They offer homebuyer and financial education, along with a range of counseling and tenant support services.
They host up to 10 to 15 webinars each month and rely on Bitly for promotional efforts. By printing QR Codes on flyers and distributing them at events and on their office windows, NHS Brooklyn makes it easy for people to scan and instantly access the webinar details. It’s a simple, convenient way to keep their community informed and excited about upcoming events.
They also share Bitly Links on social media and via email. NHS Brooklyn is a shining example of how nonprofits can leverage the entire Bitly Connections Platform across multiple channels—email, social media, and even physical print materials—to maximize in-person and online interactions.
Lighthouse Relief: Making event bookings instant and accessible
Lighthouse Relief is a nonprofit organization supporting vulnerable refugees and asylum seekers living in Athens, Greece, and in temporary accommodation centers across Attica. With a mission to fill gaps in humanitarian protection, they offer psychosocial support and integration services to individuals facing homelessness, food insecurity, and social exclusion. They utilize QR Codes to promote fundraising and awareness-raising events, enabling quick and easy access to event pages or ticket booking.
The Cycle Effect: Engaging donors through mailers
The Cycle Effect is a Colorado-based nonprofit that empowers young women through mountain biking, helping them build bright futures and stronger communities. They provide opportunities for female-identifying and non-binary individuals to participate in programs that promote better physical and mental health, boost self-esteem, and support overall wellness.
They’ve embraced QR Codes for event materials and direct mailers to donors, tracking engagement every step of the way. They’ve fully embraced using QR Codes not only for outreach but also for the powerful analytics—number of scans, locations, and even devices used—they provide!
Kultur Mercado: Building community through easy event sign-ups
Kultur Mercado, located in Los Angeles, California, is a grassroots arts and culture organization focused on community outreach and education. Through their events and programs, they unite people from diverse backgrounds, creating opportunities for communities to thrive through meaningful conversations, collaboration, and mutual respect.
They use QR Codes for every event they host, putting them on flyers to maximize exposure and impact and make it easy for people to register with a simple scan. What stands out is how effectively Kultur Mercado uses QR Codes to encourage attendees to register for their events, support their initiatives, and, most importantly, connect with the community members who need these events the most.
Fundraising and donation campaigns
Nonprofits rely on the generosity of donors and partners who believe in their cause, making it essential to streamline the donation and fundraising process. Thankfully, Bitly QR Codes can help facilitate this! Below, we’ll explore how QR Codes simplify the donation process and make it easier for supporters to contribute during campaigns and events.
Teapot Gardens: Winning grants with real-time campaign tracking
Teapot Gardens is a non-profit based in Los Angeles, California. They describe themselves as “a paradise garden,” cultivating a love for the outdoors to inspire creativity, promote healing, and foster cultural exchange among families of all ages deprived of parks in their neighborhood.
They used QR Codes and short links as part of their campaign for a participatory budgeting grant to create a public tea garden. Leveraging Bitly helped them not only track engagement and QR Code scans but also adjust their strategy in real-time, keeping them on top of what was working—and what wasn’t.
Bitly Analytics also gave them visibility into campaign engagement, and thanks to this insight, they won a $386K grant by a landslide! Here at Bitly, we love hearing how our tools empower organizations like Teapot Gardens to refine their strategies for impactful community projects, driving positive change where it’s needed most.
Lighthouse Relief: Directing donors to support effortlessly
Beyond Lighthouse Relief’s use of QR Codes for events, they also leverage them during fundraising campaigns. This approach allows them to direct their supporters to the donation page with a scan, giving donors instant access and streamlining the donation process. This not only makes giving easier but also boosts page engagement.
Story Tapestries: Enabling instant contributions at events
Story Tapestries, based in Poolesville, MD, harnesses collaboration and the arts in all forms to create and deliver custom-designed programs that address pressing community issues for millions of people of all ages and abilities. They use QR Codes at fundraising events to make it easy for donors to contribute, further supporting their organization’s work.
They’ve also added QR Codes and short links to one-pagers shared with potential funders and program partners as a quick and easy call to action. It’s truly inspiring to see how organizations like Story Tapestries continually find creative and impactful ways to connect with prospective donors and partners, helping them continue their mission!
Refire Culinary: Simplifying applications for aspiring students
Refire Culinary, located in Tallahassee, Florida, is a training program for individuals with felony convictions. Designed by culinary professionals—including chefs and culinary educators—the curriculum equips graduates with the skills, certifications, and job support needed in the hospitality industry as they reenter society.
They’re using the Bitly Connections Platform to create QR Codes and short links for donations and fundraisers. Donors and partners can easily scan codes or click short links to contribute to fundraising efforts on-site.
Kultur Mercado: Making on-the-spot donations effortless
As mentioned above, Kultur Mercado effectively uses QR Codes for events, extending their use of our platform to share donation pages during tabling and hosting events. It’s much easier to ask for contributions when attendees feel inspired by a cause that resonates with them.
By generating QR Codes, they provide quick access to the donation page, allowing donors to contribute instantly. In doing so, Kultur Mercado has made donating simpler and more efficient for their event attendees.
Campaign tracking and analytics
Bitly Analytics empowers nonprofits to understand the impact of their campaigns by monitoring scans and clicks. Let’s look closer at how our nonprofit customers have used this rich data to enhance their marketing outreach and optimize their campaigns for even greater success.
Ariva: Gaining insights through program engagement tracking
Ariva is a 20-year-old nonprofit located in the South Bronx of New York City. Their mission is to create economic justice, financial inclusion, and equity for all residents, empowering them to build financially abundant lives.
They generate QR Codes for their digital and print program materials—including brochures, posters, PDFs, and postcards—and track program engagement based on the number of QR Code scans. Using Bitly helps them see if their materials are striking a chord with their audience and provides insight into which materials get the most engagement.
Teapot Gardens: Real-time insights for community support
When Teapot Gardens used Bitly for their door-to-door campaign to raise funds for a participatory grant, they relied on our platform to provide visibility into their campaign’s progress. They perfectly summed it up when they said, “Without [Bitly] we would have no way of knowing how we were doing!” This insight underscores the value of tracking campaigns, empowering organizations to adjust strategies or make small refinements when something isn’t working.
Mission Bit: Monitoring engagement to drive impact
Mission Bit, a nonprofit based in San Francisco, inspires youth of color by teaching computer science to teens. They’re making the most of QR Codes in their mailing campaigns and utilizing short links for their email campaigns. Plus, with access to Bitly Analytics, they can track what’s working, gauge how their message is received, identify where donors are coming from, and understand who’s engaging with their content.
Refire Culinary: Simplifying applications for aspiring students
Refire Culinary is using the Bitly Connections Platform to make it as simple as possible for students to apply to their programs. Using QR Codes and short links, they can direct interested students straight to their online application page from any digital or physical promotional materials.
They also track engagement with job links to assess student interest, enabling them to see exactly how many students are clicking on the application. Plus, by using short links, they’ve streamlined the application process, reducing the steps in what can sometimes be a lengthy experience.
Community outreach and engagement
Our nonprofit customers use Bitly QR Codes to engage the public, gather feedback, and drive community action. This type of offline-to-online outreach allows nonprofits to expand their reach and better understand how effective their methods are. Let’s look at how these organizations use the Bitly Connections Platform to make a difference.
Story Tapestries: Boosting event engagement through bookmarks
Story Tapestries understands that building connections with the right people—no matter whether donors or partners—takes effort. To support this, they printed QR Codes on bookmarks to hand out at events, making it easy for people to learn about their mission. They also placed QR Codes on signage to encourage attendees to participate in post-program surveys.
These QR Codes are helping Story Tapestries reach more people and gather feedback from those who’ve participated in their programs, which is fantastic for improving their programs for future participants.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Chattanooga: Recruiting mentors
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Chattanooga, Tennessee, has a 67-year history of helping children reach their full potential. Through mentoring youth programs, they support kids in building their futures and strengthening the communities around them—their mission is to ignite the power and promise of youth.
A key part of their work involves matching adolescents with trained volunteer mentors who guide them on their growth journey. Since this is entirely volunteer-based, they’re continually looking for ways to recruit mentors for the teens they serve. That’s why they recently launched a campaign to recruit 100 new volunteers.
To launch their mentor recruitment campaign in a true QR Code fashion, they’ve strategically printed Bitly Codes on yard signs and distributed them around town. This made it easy for those interested to scan and access information about becoming a mentor. QR Codes allowed them to see where potential volunteers were coming from, helping them to pinpoint the areas of the city that attracted the most interest.
Stand with Trans: Tracking engagement for inclusive program reach
Stand with Trans is a nonprofit organization that offers essential resources, support, and community-building programs to empower transgender youth and their families. Their mission is to create safe, inclusive spaces where trans youth can thrive, find their voice, and embrace their true selves.
With the help of Bitly QR Codes, they’re enhancing their outreach and tracking scan engagement, enabling them to measure the impact of their efforts and stay organized as they run multiple programs throughout the year.
These QR Codes drive traffic to their events and keep participants informed about the exciting programs they offer. This showcases how organizations can leverage QR Codes to connect with their communities and keep everyone up to date, fostering a sense of engagement and involvement.
Ariva: Simplifying volunteer recruitment
As a nonprofit dedicated to empowering New York City residents, Ariva found another useful way to use QR Codes to recruit volunteer tax preparers for their income tax program. By including QR Codes on their marketing materials, interested volunteers can easily scan and access the online interest form. They shared, “The use of Bitly simplifies and improves the efficiency of our recruitment efforts!”—and we’re grateful to play a part in their important work!
Create a meaningful impact for your nonprofit organization with Bitly
These nonprofits demonstrate how organizations can make a tangible difference with the right tools by their side. Whether you’re an organization like Teapot Gardens, launching campaigns to build an open tea garden, or Refire Culinary, simplifying application processes for individuals deserving a second chance, Bitly equips nonprofits with tools to drive positive change.
With Bitly Codes, you have the ultimate ally to enhance your marketing efforts. Launch campaigns with customizable QR Codes tailored to your organization’s colors and logo to boost recognition. Update link destinations without reprinting materials, and track scan engagement to gain valuable insights into your campaigns.
It’s inspiring to see our nonprofits use Bitly to connect with the right individuals who can help expand their organization, dig into the data, and analyze campaign effectiveness. We are honored to partner with these nonprofits to help further their mission. Thank you for sharing your stories about the impactful work you do!
Ready to make a bigger impact at your nonprofit organization? Sign in to your Bitly account and start creating custom QR Codes today!
Explore other nonprofit organizations that use the Bitly Connections Platform to amplify their marketing efforts and meet their unique organizational needs.
Spotlight on Inclusion is Bitly’s initiative to support nonprofits focused on equity, inclusion, and social justice. Through this program, we’ve supported with 250 organizations making a positive impact in their communities by offering them premium plans at no cost. The Bitly Connections Platform provides the tools these nonprofits need to amplify their work and achieve their mission-driven goals.
