Should Your Nonprofit Be on TikTok?
Short answer: Maybe. Only if the channel’s upside lines up with your audience, goals, and capacity. Here is a look at TikTok’s reach, engagement power, fundraising potential, and risks when trying to determine if your nonprofit should be utilizing it.
1. Audience Reach: Huge—But Skews Young
U.S. adoption. One-third of all U.S. adults use TikTok, but it jumps to 59 % among adults under 30 and 40 % for ages 30-49. Usage drops sharply after age 50 according to Pew Research Center.
Global scale. TikTok passed the 1 billion monthly-active-user mark in May 2024 and continues to climb (1.04 B worldwide; ~2.2 B monthly site visits).
If your core donors are under 50 or you’re looking to be intentional about building a pipeline of future supporters, TikTok may be fertile ground. If your major donor profile is primarily Boomers or older, the reach payoff will be smaller for you.
2. Engagement Rates are Best-in-Class
Median brand engagement on TikTok averages 2.6 % per follower—roughly 4× Instagram and far above Facebook or X/Twitter.
Nonprofits doubled their TikTok audiences in 2023, even as Twitter/X followers declined.
The algorithm still rewards well-crafted storytelling, as well as having substantially the most advanced algorithm, giving nonprofits disproportionate visibility compared with legacy channels.
3. Fundraising & Awareness: Early Wins, Growing Tools
TikTok’s annual #GivingSzn adds in-app donation stickers that link directly to 501(c)(3) partners for lower-friction conversions. Most people who give online don’t give through the app, but it’s still an easy lever to pull.
Tactics if You’re Going to Use TikTok:
Mission moments in 15 seconds. Quick, emotionally charged clips outperform polished highly PSAs, especially when it comes to young people. You can probably be more raw and unfiltered with the younger generations than you think on TikTok.
Behind-the-scenes access. Day-in-the-life staff videos humanize the mission and the people behind it.
Influencer partnerships. Nearly half of benchmarked nonprofits collaborate with creators; micro-influencers often deliver the best cost-per-view if you are going to go the route of TikTok.
4. Risks & Unknowns
Regulatory uncertainty. A bipartisan U.S. law (April 2024) requires ByteDance to sell TikTok by Jan 19, 2026—or face removal from app stores. Legal challenges may delay or overturn the deadline, but plan for a possible disruption.
Data privacy. Even without an outright ban, some corporate partners block the app on work devices, limiting employee-driven campaigns.
Fast-moving culture. Trends expire in days; dormant accounts quickly feel dated and hurt credibility. TikTok moves fast and hard-hitting, but can be inconsistent.
Need more insights on whether you should be on TikTok? Reach out to us to chat with one of our team members!
