Why Fonts Matter Typography Tips for Nonprofit Websites

Typography is quiet power.

It’s how your words arrive before anyone reads them. For nonprofits, choosing the right fonts is not just an aesthetic decision—it’s a strategic one. The right typeface builds trust. The wrong one erodes it.

Here’s how to choose fonts for your nonprofit website that feel honest, clear, and quietly confident.

1. Choose Fonts That Reflect Your Voice

Are you bold and urgent? Calm and thoughtful? Traditional or contemporary?

Your typeface should align with your tone:

• Humanist sans-serifs (like Source Sans or Inter) feel warm and modern
• Elegant serifs (like Merriweather or Lora) evoke stability and tradition
• Rounded fonts (like Nunito) feel friendly and informal

Choose fonts that speak before your words do.

2. Limit Yourself to Two Typefaces

Too many fonts create confusion and visual noise. Most nonprofits thrive with one typeface for headlines, and one for body text.

Our advice:

• Pair a bold sans-serif with a subtle serif
• Or use variations of a single typeface (e.g., Inter Light, Medium, Bold)

Simplicity builds trust. It also loads faster.

3. Ensure Excellent Readability

Design shouldn’t be decorative at the cost of legibility. Keep your text clear, open, and inviting.

Use:

• Font sizes of 16px or larger for body copy
• Line heights around 1.5–1.8
• Adequate contrast (4.5:1 or better)

Avoid:

• Light grey text on white
• All caps body copy
• Decorative fonts in long paragraphs

The best typography disappears—because it works.

4. Use Typography to Create Hierarchy

A well-designed site uses type to guide the eye.

Tips:

• Headings should be noticeably larger than body text
• Use consistent spacing above and below text blocks
• Use weight (bold, semi-bold) to distinguish—not color alone

Your typography should tell a visual story, even without images.

5. Consider Accessibility and Load Speed

Fonts that look beautiful in Figma can slow your site down—or make it less accessible.

Choose:

• Google Fonts or locally hosted open-source fonts
• Fonts with strong diacritic and multilingual support
• System-safe backups (e.g., Arial, Georgia) as fallbacks

Use font-display: swap to prevent invisible text while fonts load.

6. Stay Consistent Across Channels

Your web fonts should match—or harmonize with—your brand fonts used in PDFs, emails, and print.

This builds:

• Recognition
• Trust
• A feeling of visual fluency

Typography is branding at its most intimate.

Final Thoughts

Fonts carry weight. Not just visually—but emotionally. For mission-driven teams, good typography creates a sense of clarity, care, and credibility.

At Loopdash, we help nonprofits choose type systems that balance performance with personality—quietly elevating every message they share.

If you need a second set of eyes, or want help refining your type hierarchy, we’re here.