When it comes to creating your nonprofit’s brand assets, you’ll need to define plenty of different factors, some of which include your organization’s official colors, slogan, and fonts. One of the most vital elements you’ll need to put thought behind is your nonprofit logo.

Your nonprofit’s logo represents your organization’s mission and appears across different brand creatives, including everything from your website and social media to fundraising solicitation letters and employees’ business cards.

Your logo is deeply connected to your nonprofit at every turn, so it’s crucial that you take the time to create one that accurately reflects your cause and will be immediately recognizable to supporters.

If you need some inspiration for your design, you’ve come to the right place! Based on our experience with nonprofit graphic design, we’ve pulled together some of the best logos out there, broken down into the following categories:

At Kwala, we specialize in nonprofit graphic design. We regularly work on brand creatives, including nonprofit logos, which allows us to understand the elements that comprise an effective design. We’re excited to share some of our favorite ones across the sector, helping to spark your team’s inspiration!

Feel free to explore the individual sections that align with your nonprofit to see how similar organizations convey their missions, or explore every section to see how designs align and vary across different fields.

With that, let’s jump in!

Let Kwala create your next nonprofit logo.

What makes a good nonprofit logo design?

Before creating a nonprofit logo or looking at examples, it’s vital that you understand the individual elements that come together to form a cohesive, captivating design.

To design a memorable nonprofit logo, you need to revisit your brand guidelines, choose the right color palette, stick to readable fonts, and make sure any symbols you include represent your mission.

Let’s break down some of the individual components of effective nonprofit logo design, so you’ll be able to pinpoint them in the different examples we share later on.

Nonprofit Logo Design Element 1) Mission-Centric

Your logo should embody your organization’s mission as much as possible. Review your mission and vision statements and reflect on how you can illustrate them in your design.

What symbols, images, or words are commonly associated with your cause? Being able to encapsulate your cause using a few elements will result in a clear visual representation of your nonprofit’s work.

Nonprofit Logo Design Element 2) An Effective Color Palette

Colors play a vital role in communicating your nonprofit’s message. While there are a few things you’ll want to keep in mind regarding color, you’ll primarily want to remember that different colors evoke different emotions in people.

Here’s a quick overview of some of the most popularly used colors in nonprofit logos:

  • Red can create a sense of urgency, energy, love, violence, or aggression. You often see these with disaster relief, lifesaving, health, and anti-violence organizations.
  • Green is often associated with the Earth and growth, which is why you see it primarily used with environmental-focused organizations.
  • Blue conveys a sense of safety, professionalism, power, calmness, and dependability. You often see it associated with water and peace organizations.
  • Yellow is a warm color often used to represent youth, energy, and feelings of happiness. Use it sparingly as it can be overpowering. Instead, use it to highlight important elements in your nonprofit logo.
  • Black gives off the allure of sophistication, authority, and seriousness. You’ll recognize this color in logos for nonprofits that want to convey widespread action, such as the World Wildlife Fund or WildAid.

The colors you include in your nonprofit logo can impact the way people perceive your nonprofit, so choose them carefully!

What’s more, you’ll want to stick to around 2-3 colors. This will help to keep your design simple and not visually overstimulating. Plus, it’ll cut down on printing costs and easily carry your logo’s depth across different marketing materials — whether you use it on t-shirts, postcards, or decals.

Nonprofit Logo Design Element 3) Readable Fonts

If you’re planning on using text in your nonprofit logo design, the font you use plays a major role in the message you convey. By changing the font, you can completely alter the mood you elicit in supporters.

There are four types of fonts you should be aware of, including:

  • Serif fonts: As a traditional and sophisticated font, a serif logo font will help communicate timelessness and legacy.
  • Sans serif fonts: Easy to read and modern, a sans serif font will help create a minimalistic design. These fonts are a go-to for their crisp readability.
  • Cursive fonts: Often more formal, cursive fonts can convey elegance. Be wary when using this type of font since it can cause legibility issues when you resize your nonprofit logo.
  • Script fonts: These look more like real handwriting and calligraphic lettering. Depending on the exact font you use, they can either be more formal and elegant or informal and playful.

If an existing typeface doesn’t suit your nonprofit’s brand, you might opt to design your own font. This will help to create a custom logo that stays unique over time. While more time-intensive to create and harder to pull off, you can create a distinctive logo for your brand.

Overall, a memorable font can help distinguish your nonprofit from others and create a nonprofit logo design that will resonate with your audience.

Nonprofit Logo Design Element 4) Simplicity

With so many elements that need to be included in your design, it can be challenging to create a nonprofit logo that’s not overloaded. However, a simple design is key to creating a visually-pleasing logo that sticks out to prospects.

Sit down with your design team and determine what colors, symbols, and words are most meaningful to your mission. Subtract unneeded elements until your graphic design represents your work in its simplest form.

The goal should be to keep it as minimal as possible while still conveying your message. This means avoiding intricate details and using plenty of whitespace so that your design looks clean.

Ultimately, the end result will be a simplistic nonprofit logo that’s more memorable than an overloaded design.

Nonprofit Logo Design Element 5) Memorable and Timeless

When outlining your logo, aim for a classic design that will pass the test of time. While you want to create a fresh and contemporary look for your nonprofit, avoid design trends and instead aim for longevity.

Will it still be an effective design 10, 20, or even 50 years down the line?

The last thing you want is to have to completely redesign your logo from scratch later on. This will waste resources and negatively impact your brand awareness when long-time supporters no longer recognize your nonprofit logo.

Final thoughts: There are a lot of elements that go into creating a timeless and memorable nonprofit logo. If graphic design isn’t your strong suit, rely on a professional design service to capture all of these elements. The experts here at Kwala specialize in graphic design and know what it takes to create the perfect logo that accurately represents your cause. Reach out to our team to get started on your project!

Best Nonprofit Logos for Animal Rights and Environmental Conservation

Animal and environmental rights organizations have some of the most iconic nonprofit logos out there. While some morph animals and other symbols into their designs, others stick to simplistic designs and color combinations.

In these nonprofit logos, you’ll notice a lot of symbols and colors correlated with animals and nature, such as green and blue. Whether they go for a more playful look or a classic and sophisticated look, each organization communicates its cause using carefully picked typography and graphics.

African Wildlife Foundation

The African Wildlife Foundation's nonprofit logo features a bold design with orange elephants.

American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA)

ASPCA's nonprofit logo features bold typography with their organization's acronym.

Atlanta Humane Society

This nonprofit logo from Atlanta Humane society sticks to simple typography and a heart symbol.

Charity: Water

Charity: Water's nonprofit logo features a graphic that depicts a jug of water above their organization's name.

Environmental Defense Fund

This nonprofit logo from the Environmental Defense Fund relies on typography and features an array of green and blue colors.

Friends of the Fells

This nonprofit logo from Friends of the Fells includes earthy tones and a graphic of a tree, representing their mission of environmental conservation.

Greenpeace

Greenpeace's nonprofit logo is simplistic with the organization's name in a fun font and a bright green color.

National Park Service

The National Park Service's nonprofit logo design features beautiful imagery of a landscape on an arrowhead shape.

Natural Resources Defense Council

The Natural Resources Defense Council designed their nonprofit logo to include their acronym above a graphic of a polar bear.

Ocean Conservancy

Ocean Conservancy's nonprofit logo features a graphic with several ocean creatures in two calming shades of blue.

The Humane Society Of The United States

The Humane Society designed their nonprofit logo to include different animals in the shape of the United States.

The Nature Conservancy

The Nature Conservancy's logo includes its name in a professional font next to a a symbol of leaves.

TreePeople

This nonprofit logo from TreePeople includes the organization's name in a bold font alongside a graphic of leaves.

Wildlife Conservation Society

The Wildlife Conservation Society includes a W in an array of blue and green colors in its nonprofit logo.

World Wildlife Fund

As one of the most iconic nonprofit logos, The World Wildlife Fund's design features a black and white panda above the organization's acronym.

Best Nonprofit Logos for Arts and Cultural Organizations

Designs for arts, culture, and humanity organizations are typically more fun, bright, and visually stimulating. These organizations aren’t quite as serious as healthcare or human rights organizations, which is why they typically feature more artistic and playful designs.

These nonprofit logos typically incorporate artful typography, and you’ll notice they come in an array of fonts and colors. Between strategic usage of whitespace and bold colors, these examples are a bit more creative and abstract than the average nonprofit logo.

Artspace

Artspace's nonprofit logo design is minimalistic with its name and a green streak.

Brooklyn Academy of Music

The Brooklyn Academy of Music includes its acronym in white lettering on a black backround.

Chicago Symphony Orchestra

The Chicago Symphony Orchestra's nonprofit logo includes a graphic with a bass clef.

Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis

The Contemporary Art Museum created its nonprofit logo design to display its acronym on a black square background.

Georgia Aquarium

Georgia Aquarium's nonprofit logo design includes a G symbol that's morphed with a fish tail.

Girls Write Now

Girls Write Now features its name in stylistic orange typography.

Global Peace Film Festival

Global Peace Film Festival's nonprofit logo is its name in bold lettering with a rainbow gradient.

High Museum of Art

In its nonprofit logo, High Museum of Art Atlanta includes the word 'high' in capital lettering in front of a red block background.

Memphis Zoo

Memphis Zoo's nonprofit logo design includes a graphic of the entrance to the zoo.

Minnesota Zoo

Minnesota Zoo included a graphic of a tiger above its name and slogan in its nonprofit logo design.

National Railway Museum

National Railway Museum designed its nonprofit logo to include an image of railroad tracks.

National Wildlife Federation

In this nonprofit logo, National Wildlife Federation uses a circular design with an image of a raccoon in a forest.

New York City Ballet

New York City Ballet's nonprofit logo design is simplistic and only includes its name in large gray and black letters.

New York Philharmonic

New York Philharmonic's nonprofit logo features the organization's nickname in capital white letters within a black square.

Nonhuman Rights Project

This nonprofit logo for the Nonhuman Rights Project includes graphics of a animals and the organization's name in gray and red letters.

Public Broadcasting Service (PBS)

As one of the best nonprofit logos, Public Broadcasting Service includes its acronym in a bold and large navy font.

P.S. Arts

P.S. Arts created an artistic nonprofit logo design with funky letters.

The Freedom Theatre

The Freedom Theatre's nonprofit logo design showcases the well-known mask symbol commonly associated with theaters.

Best Nonprofit Logos for School and Educational Groups

Schools and academic groups seek to educate and inspire young audiences. That’s why these nonprofit logos combine unique shapes and bright, youthful colors to capture their target audience’s attention.

Many of these organizations took the opportunity to express their creativity in their designs. Notice how these logos exemplify the need to consider your brand’s audience in any of your marketing assets.

In particular, Pencils of Promise put a unique twist on its nonprofit logo design by formatting its name in the shape of a pencil with yellow and gray colors to match.

Barefoot College International

Barefoot College International's nonprofit logo design includes a footprint and an array of vibrant colors.

Connecticut Education Association

The Connecticut Education Association's nonprofit logo features symbols resembling people above the organization's acronym.

The Educators’ Institute for Human Rights

The Educators' Institute for Human Rights includes skinny, tall letters with their acronym alongside an image of fingerprints and a world map.

MentorWorks

MentorWorks's nonprofit logo highlights its core purpose of education with a graphic of a graduation cap.

Pencils of Promise

As one of the best nonprofit logos, Pencils of Promise includes its name in yellow lettering in the shape of a pencil.

Room to Read

Room to Read's nonprofit logo includes symbols of books.

Salt Lake School of Theology

This nonprofit logo for the Salt Lake City School of Theology includes one color, an eye-catching symbol, and the school's name.

Save the Children

Save the Children includes a silhouette of an image in red above the organization's name in its nonprofit logo.

Stand for Children

Stand for Children's nonprofit logo is in blue and includes an image of a child raising its hand.

Teach For America

Teach for America's simplistic nonprofit logo design includes its name and only uses red, white, and blue colors.

The Mentoring Project

In this nonprofit logo, the Mentoring Project includes its name and slogan.

The New Teacher Project

The New Teacher Project includes includes its acronym, slogan, and a blue symbol in its nonprofit logo design.

Best Nonprofit Logos for Human Rights Organizations

Humanitarian groups devote their time to bettering people’s lives and society as a whole. Because these groups tend to operate on an international scale, they primarily use limited text and recognizable icons in their nonprofit logos to avoid creating overloaded designs. They focus on simplicity to communicate their missions.

By combining universal symbols with carefully chosen colors, these designs communicate togetherness, growth, and societal progress.

American Heart Association

American Heart Association has one of the best nonprofit logos and includes a red heart with a torch inside in its design.

American Red Cross

American Red Cross includes the universal medical symbol in its nonprofit logo design.

Americares

Americares' nonprofit logo design features its name in a playful font.

Anti-Defamation League (ADL)

In its nonprofit logo design, Anti-Defamation League includes its acronym in large, blue lettering above its slogan.

Breaking Ground

Breaking Ground's nonprofit logo features the organization's name in eye-catching yellow and green typography.

Feeding America

Feeding America's name is in orange and green letters morphed with a graphic that symbolizes wheat in its nonprofit logo.

Goodwill

Goodwill's nonprofit logo features its name below a graphic of a smiling face.

Habitat for Humanity

Habitat for Humanity has one of the best nonprofit logos with a symbol of people in a house.

Human Rights Campaign

In this nonprofit logo, the Human Rights Campaign draws attention to its name with large, skinny letters next to an equal sign.

One Drop Foundation

One Drop's nonprofit logo uses ocean blues and has the number one and water droplet alongside the organization's name.

(Red)

This nonprofit logo from RED features the organization's name in bold red lettering.

Salvation Army

The Salvation Army's nonprofit logo features the organization's name typed diagonally on a red shield.

UNICEF

UNICEF has one of the best nonprofit logos and includes an image of a globe and olive branches.

United Way

United Way's rectangular nonprofit logo draws attention to its name and has a graphic with a large hand holding a person.

Volunteers of America

Volunteers' of America's nonprofit logo includes the American flag in the shape of a V.

Water for People

Water for People's nonprofit logo highlights its mission with a graphic of people in the shape of water droplets.

Best Nonprofit Logos for Medical and Healthcare Organizations

Medical and healthcare organizations need to strike a balance of professionalism and comfort, inspiring those in need to reach out. You’ll notice that some of these nonprofit logos embrace a bright playful side while still communicating their core purpose of providing care.

Many of these logos use symbols and comforting colors that create a more artistic design. Paired with clear fonts, the icons and colors help to communicate openness and comfort without diminishing the organization’s expertise.

American Medical Association

The American Medical Association's nonprofit logo features the organization's acronym and full name in large letters.

Breast Cancer Research Foundation

This nonprofit logo includes the Breast Cancer Research Foundation's name alongside the well-known breast cancer ribbon.

Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals

This nonprofit logo from the Children's Miracle Network Hospitals has a graphic of a lightbulb next to the organization's name in a bubbly red font.

Doctors Without Borders

The Doctors Without Borders' nonprofit logo includes the organization's name in French and English.

Infusion Nurses Society

Infusion Nurses Society only includes its acronym in large, bold letters in its nonprofit logo.

International Association of Rehabilitation Professionals

The International Association of Rehabilitation Professionals only features its acronym and full name in its nonprofit logo.

Medic Mobile

Medic Mobile's nonprofit logo is a square design with its name and a symbol representing its services.

Mental Health America

Mental Health America's nonprofit logo has the organization's name, acronym, and a graphic of a bell.

Mothers2Mothers

Mothers2Mothers designed their nonprofit logo to include a symbol of a family in a circular design.

Seattle Children’s Hospital

Seattle Children's Hospital includes a graphic that depicts a parent and baby whale, primarily representing its location and bringing a child-like aspect to the design.

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

In this well-known nonprofit logo, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital displays an image of a small child above its name and slogan.

Stand Up To Cancer

Stand Up To Cancer's includes an assortment of arrows in its nonprofit logo.

World Health Organization

The World Health Organization includes a few graphics in its nonprofit logo, including a globe and olive branches.

Best Nonprofit Logos for Religious Organizations

Faith-based organizations aim to create elegant logos that inspire their followers to come together. Many of these designs use conceptual designs, unique typography, and religious symbols to communicate their causes without being overwhelming.

While many nonprofits infuse playful colors into their logos, religious organizations tend to stick to modest colors. Bold designs can otherwise compromise the level of grace and humility that faith-based organizations must bring to their work.

Catholic Charities USA

Catholic Charities USA includes a cross in its nonprofit logo.

Catholic Relief Services

Catholic Relief Services emphasizes its acronym in bold blue letters in this nonprofit logo.

Fellowship Dallas

In this nonprofit logo design, Fellowship Dallas includes a unique drawing of a cross, symbolizing its mission.

Focus on the Family

Focus on the Family features an image that depicts a small child in its nonprofit logo.

Jewish Funders Network

Jewish Funders Network morphs its name into the Star of David in this nonprofit logo.

Ministry Watch

In this nonprofit logo, Ministry Watch includes an image of Jesus alongside its name and slogan.

Open Doors

Open Doors includes the Ichthys symbol in its nonprofit logo.

Redemption Church

Redemption Church's nonprofit logo infuses a C, R, and cross into one symbol.

Tim Tebow Foundation

This nonprofit logo from the Tim Tebow Foundation includes three symbols connected in an artistic style: a cross, EKG, and heart.

Young Life

Young Life's nonprofit logo design includes bold colors and a symbol of its acronym.

Best Nonprofit Logos for Youth Development and Protection Programs

Youth development organizations have some of the most recognizable nonprofit logos out there. Their timeless designs lean into symbolism, resulting in slightly obscure designs that stick in supporters’ minds as they decipher their meanings.

As a result of these captivating designs, you might already recognize some of these nonprofit logos, such as Girl Scouts or The YMCA.

4-H

4-H's nonprofit logo design includes a green four leaf clover with an H on each clover.

Big Brothers Big Sisters

Big Brothers Big Sisters includes the letters B and S infused into one large symbol in its nonprofit logo.

Boy Scouts

This nonprofit logo for the Boy Scouts of America includes an eagle and American shield in red, white, and blue.

Boys & Girls Club

Boys & Girls Club designed its nonprofit logo to have an image that depicts two hands holding.

Bronx Connect

Bronx Connect includes its name in large, gray font with a touch of its brand colors in its nonprofit logo design.

Children International

Children International's nonprofit logo includes its name in lowercase, bubbly lettering next to a circular graphic depicting a child.

Do Something

Do Something's nonprofit logo is a black rectangle with the organization's name in large white letters.

Every Child Oregon

Every Child Oregon's nonprofit logo features its name in cursive letters.

Girl Effect

Girl Effect's yellow nonprofit logo has a large G morphed with the universal female symbol.

Girl Scouts

Girl Scouts has one of the best nonprofit logos out there, with a green image representing girls above the organization's name in bubbly, black letters.

Harlem Children’s Zone

In this nonprofit logo, Harlem Children's Zone features bright colors and bubbly, fun letters.

The Trevor Project

The Trevor Project's nonprofit logo design includes its name with each word in a different font size.

Thorn

Thorn created a simplistic nonprofit logo design with its name in capital orange and a graphic of a thorn.

YMCA

As one of the best nonprofit logos, The YMCA highlights its name surrounding a large Y.

Wrapping Up

Nonprofit logos are one of your brand’s biggest assets, so it’s vital that you invest time into creating the perfect design. That’s why we curated this list: to inspire you on your logo design journey!

To create a nonprofit logo that truly encapsulates your cause, turn to the experts here at Kwala! Our team will take the time to make sure we have a deep understanding of your cause so we can design an eye-catching logo that will stick with supporters. Plus, we’re happy to work with you until we get the design exactly right!

Backed by our experts, you can create a timeless logo that will spread brand awareness for years to come. Get started with Kwala so you can jump into your nonprofit’s graphic design journey today!

If you want to dive further into the world of graphic design, check out these great resources:

Get started with Kwala and let us design your nonprofit logo.