Choose a fundraising image that makes the appeal immediately understandable, shows animals and people with dignity, and remains clear and accessible on the screen where supporters will see it. Use authentic program photos when they are safe and appropriate; when they are not, choose a licensed, realistic alternative that does not misrepresent your work.
How to choose an image that supports the appeal
Start with the story the image needs to tell. A supporter should be able to connect the subject to the appeal without first having to work out what the image shows. Best Friends Animal Society advises choosing vivid imagery and reconsidering a concept if its story is not immediately clear. That is the organization’s guidance for its animal-welfare work, not proof of a universal fundraising formula. Best Friends’ digital fundraising playbook explains its approach.
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Compare candidate images against these questions:
- Relevance: Does it show an animal, person, place, or activity genuinely connected to the appeal?
- Clarity: Can you recognize the central subject when the image is reduced to an email preview or viewed on a phone?
- Dignity and agency: Does the image present people as full human beings, not merely as symbols of hardship? Does it depict animals in a way that is accurate and respectful?
- Safety and privacy: Could identifying the person, location, or circumstances put someone at risk? Is permission in place?
- Rights and authenticity: Do you have permission to use the image, and could its presentation give donors a false impression of your program?
- Accessibility: What information or function does the image convey, and what should its text alternative say?
Choose a tone that fits the story
Best Friends describes its own preference for vivid, hopeful animal imagery, often showing an animal in a positive interaction with a person. It says it avoids negative imagery because it believes guilt and fear can overwhelm supporters. That is an organizational approach, not a settled rule for every cause or audience. For ethical representation more broadly, GlobalGiving’s community standards encourage a shift “away from pity, and towards empathy.” Avoid sensationalizing hardship or making a person or animal seem like a prop for an emotional appeal.
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Should a nonprofit use professional, phone, stock, or AI images?
The right source depends on what the campaign needs, whether real subjects can safely be shown, and what rights you can secure. Charity Digital outlines professional photography, phone photography, stock, and generative AI as practical options in its guide to images in charity marketing.
#1 Best Overall
- Fast for better pictures and Full HD video. Full HD (1920x1080) video support may vary based upon host device, file attributes, and other factors
- Great choice for compact to mid-range point-and-shoot cameras
- From 32GB to 256GB(1) to store tons of pictures and even more Full HD video(2). (1)1GB=1,000,000,000 bytes Actual user storage less
- Exceptional video recording performance with UHS Speed Class 1 (U1)(5) and Class 10 rating for Full HD video (1080p)(2). (5)UHS Speed Class 1 (U1) designates a performance option to support real time video recording with UHS enabled host devices
- Quick transfer speeds up to 100MB/s. Up to 100MB/s[64GB-256GB; 90MB/s for 32GB] read speed; write speed lower Based on internal testing; performance may be lower depending on host device, usage conditions, and other factors 1MB=1,000,000 bytes
| Source | When it can work | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Commissioned photography | When you need authentic images connected to your program or a reusable photo library. | Plan who and where will be photographed; brief the photographer on the organization’s brand and intended tone; obtain appropriate written consent; and agree on usage scope and copyright ownership in the contract. |
| Phone photography | For quick, suitable content when a professional shoot is not practical. | Make sure the image is clear at its intended size. Avoid digital zoom, which Charity Digital says reduces resolution. Consider consent, privacy, and whether the image accurately represents the program. |
| Licensed stock | When privacy or safety prevents showing service users, or when you need a suitable image that your organization cannot create itself. | Check the specific license, permitted uses, and any required credit. Select realistic imagery that does not imply a depicted person, animal, or scene is part of your actual program if it is not. |
| Generative AI | When it helps fill a genuine creative gap and a non-documentary image is appropriate. | Review the result for accuracy and inclusivity. Do not present generated imagery in a way that misleads donors about real people, animals, programs, or outcomes. Practitioner guidance does not establish that AI imagery improves fundraising results. |
Images found online are not automatically free to use. Confirm the photographer’s or provider’s terms before publication, and secure consent from identifiable people as appropriate. This is practical guidance, not jurisdiction-specific legal advice. Charity Digital names iStock, Getty Images, Shutterstock, Unsplash, and Pexels as examples of image libraries; this does not establish their current prices or license terms.
How many images should a fundraising email or page use?
There is no established universal optimum across causes, channels, and audiences. A 2026 practitioner article recommends one strong image in an email, two to three on a landing page, and one supporting image on a donation form. Treat those counts as a practical starting point, not experimentally proven quantities. Doing Good Digital’s article offers that recommendation.
Rank #2
- Great choice for compact to mid-range point-and-shoot cameras
- Quick transfer speeds up to 150MB/s (Up to 150MB/s read speed engineered with proprietary technology to reach speeds beyond UHS-I 104MB/s, requires compatible devices capable of reaching such speeds. Based on internal testing; performance may be lower depending on host device, interface, usage conditions and other factors. 1MB=1,000,000 bytes.)
- Up to 256GB to store tons of pictures (1GB=1,000,000,000 bytes. Actual user storage less.)
- Exceptional video recording performance with UHS Speed Class 1 (U1) Class 10 rating for Full HD video (1080p) (UHS Speed Class 1 (U1) designates a performance option designed to support real time video recording with UHS enabled host devices. See consumers speed page on SanDisk site. Full HD (1920x1080) video support may vary based upon host device, file attributes, and other factors. Visit the SanDisk Video Knowledge Base for more information.)
- Compatible with SanDisk SD UHS-I card reader (sold separately)
In practice, include an image when it adds useful context or helps a supporter understand the appeal. Check that the central subject remains clear at the size it will actually appear. Avoid adding images merely to fill space or repeating the same visual without a clear purpose.
What alt text should fundraising images have?
Write alternative text according to the image’s purpose and the information already present nearby. The W3C Web Accessibility Initiative says images need text alternatives that describe the information or function they represent. Its Images Tutorial, updated April 8, 2026, distinguishes informative, functional, and decorative images. Section508.gov also advises that alt text communicate the same information as the visual content and avoid unnecessary repetition; see Authoring Meaningful Alternative Text.
Rank #3
- Brand: Sandisk
- Informative photo: Briefly describe the relevant information the image adds. For example, if a photo shows a volunteer distributing food and the surrounding copy explains the program and location, describe the action and people without repeating the whole appeal.
- Linked or button image: Describe the image’s function or destination, rather than only its appearance.
- Decorative image: If it adds no necessary information, use an empty alternative,
alt="", so assistive technology can skip it. - Image containing text: Include the same words in the text alternative; avoid using an image of text when ordinary text will work.
Write only what is actually visible and useful in context. Alt text should not speculate about a person’s identity, circumstances, or feelings, and it should not duplicate adjacent text without a reason.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Do particular fundraising images increase donations?
A 2023 peer-reviewed article by Dikla Perez, Nira Munichor, and Gadi Buskila reports two controlled experiments and an analysis of field data. Its abstract says crowdfunding campaigns depicting recipients engaged in physical self-help received more contributions than depictions of non-physical self-help or no self-help; the proposed explanation is inspiration, and the effect weakened when the depicted behavior seemed inappropriate. The finding is bounded: the abstract alone does not establish how the result applies to a particular animal-welfare campaign or justify staging a scene. See the article in the Journal of Business Research.
Rank #4
- Save time with card offload speeds of up to 200MB/s powered by SanDisk QuickFlow Technology (Up to 200MB/s read speeds, engineered with proprietary technology to reach speeds beyond UHS-I 104MB/s, require compatible devices capable of reaching such speeds. Based on internal testing; performance may be lower depending upon host device, interface, usage conditions and other factors. 1MB=1,000,000 bytes. X = 150KB/sec. SanDisk QuickFlow Technology is only available for 64GB, 128GB, 256GB, 512GB and 1TB capacities. 1GB=1,000,000,000 bytes. 1TB=1,000,000,000,000 bytes. Actual user storage less.)
- Pair with the SanDisk Professional PRO-READER SD and microSD to achieve maximum speeds (sold separately)
- Shot speeds up to 90MB/s (Write speed up to 90MB/s. Based on internal testing; performance may be lower depending upon host device. 1MB=1,000,000 bytes. X = 150KB/sec.)
- Perfect for shooting 4K UHD video and sequential burst mode photography (Full HD (1920x1080) and 4K UHD (3840 x 2160) video support may vary based upon host device, file attributes and other factors. See HD page on SanDisk site.)
- UHS Speed Class 3 (U3) and Video Speed Class 30 (V30) (UHS Speed Class 3 designates a performance option designed to support 4K UHD video recording with enabled UHS host devices. UHS Video Speed Class 30 (V30), sustained video capture rate of 30MB/s, designates a performance option designed to support real-time video recording with UHS enabled host devices. See the SD Association’s official website.)
GlobalGiving’s 2020 photography article reports figures about images and information retention, but does not identify the underlying study or method in its page text. Those figures are not a dependable current estimate of donation conversion for a particular campaign. No shared, current conversion benchmark across nonprofit causes, audiences, and channels is established by the sources cited here.
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