What Every Nonprofit Should Know Before Launching Online Training
- LMSPortals
- Apr 18
- 4 min read
Online training can be a powerful tool for nonprofits. It scales impact, builds capacity, and supports professional development without the logistical headaches of in-person sessions. But diving into it without a clear plan can waste time, money, and energy.
Here’s what every nonprofit should consider before launching online training.
1. Clarify the Goal
Start by asking: Why are we doing this? Are you trying to train volunteers, onboard staff, educate the public, or build skills among partners? A clear objective shapes everything—from platform choice to content design. Vague goals like "we want more people to know about our work" won't help you design effective training. Get specific.
2. Know Your Audience
Training only works if it connects with the people it's meant to help. Who are they? What do they already know? What challenges do they face? Are they tech-savvy? Busy? Under-resourced? Understanding your audience helps tailor the content, length, tone, and delivery.
For example, a training for part-time volunteers needs to be short, accessible on mobile, and easy to pick up and put down. A program for nonprofit professionals might support deeper, longer-form learning.
3. Content First, Tech Second
Many nonprofits start with platforms: "Should we use Moodle or Teachable or build our own LMS?" That’s the wrong question to lead with. First, map out what you want to teach. Build a basic curriculum outline. What are the key lessons? What outcomes do you want?
Once you know the content, then ask what tech best delivers it. For some, a series of well-produced videos with downloadable PDFs might be enough. Others may need interactive elements, quizzes, or discussion boards.
4. Budget Realistically
Online training isn’t free. Even if you use low-cost tools, there’s still time and labor. You may need:
Instructional design support
Video production
Platform licensing
Accessibility features
Translation or localization
Start with a budget that includes both development and maintenance. Too often, organizations launch a great course and then let it go stale. Build in funds for updates and ongoing support.
5. Invest in Good Design
Design isn't just about how it looks. It's about usability, flow, and experience. Poorly designed training—confusing navigation, clunky transitions, low-quality audio—will lose your audience fast. Invest in clear, consistent, user-friendly design. Use visuals, examples, and real-world scenarios.
If you can, pilot the training with a small group and collect feedback. Watch where people struggle. Fix it before scaling.
6. Make It Accessible
Accessibility isn’t optional. Make sure your training works for people with disabilities. That means captioned videos, screen-reader friendly documents, and keyboard navigation. It also means using clear language and offering different ways to engage with content.
Accessibility is also about equity. If your audience has limited internet access or old devices, your training needs to work in low-bandwidth situations or offer offline options.
7. Keep It Engaging
Online doesn’t have to mean boring. Break content into digestible chunks. Use stories, questions, visuals, and interactive elements. Let people practice what they learn. Keep lessons short and focused.
Think in terms of minutes, not hours. A 45-minute video is too long. Break it into three 15-minute segments or better yet, 5-minute pieces. Attention spans online are short.
8. Measure What Matters
How will you know if the training worked? Decide in advance how to measure success.
Possible metrics:
Completion rates
Quiz scores
Confidence or knowledge gains
Behavior change
Application of skills on the job
Collect both qualitative and quantitative feedback. Short surveys, interviews, or focus groups can help you understand what’s working and what needs fixing.
9. Plan for Support
Even self-paced online training needs human support. People will have questions. Links will break. Passwords will be lost. Have a plan for providing tech and content support. This can be as simple as a monitored email address or as robust as a discussion forum with facilitators.
Support also means making people feel welcome. Send a kickoff message. Follow up with reminders. Celebrate completions.
10. Pilot Before You Scale
Don’t roll out your training to the whole world on day one. Start small. Choose a test group that represents your audience. Watch how they interact. Listen to their feedback. Fix bugs, update confusing parts, and streamline.
This phase is crucial. It’s cheaper to fix problems before they hit thousands of users. And piloting builds internal buy-in because it shows you're thoughtful and responsive.
11. Think Long-Term
Online training isn’t a one-and-done project. Think about:
How often will content need updating?
Who owns it internally?
How will it fit into your broader programs?
Can you add to it later?
Build a system that can grow. Document your process. Train multiple staff in how to update or deliver it. Avoid building something only one person knows how to run.
12. Consider Partnerships
You don’t have to build everything alone. Partner with other organizations, universities, or training providers. Co-developing training can spread the workload and increase reach.
Just make sure roles, responsibilities, and branding are clear from the start.
Final Thought: Focus on Impact
Ultimately, training is a means to an end. Don’t get caught up in fancy features or shiny tools. Stay focused on your mission. What do you want people to do differently as a result of this training?
If you keep that question front and center, your online training will be far more effective—and worth the investment.
About LMS Portals
At LMS Portals, we provide our clients and partners with a mobile-responsive, SaaS-based, multi-tenant learning management system that allows you to launch a dedicated training environment (a portal) for each of your unique audiences.
The system includes built-in, SCORM-compliant rapid course development software that provides a drag and drop engine to enable most anyone to build engaging courses quickly and easily.
We also offer a complete library of ready-made courses, covering most every aspect of corporate training and employee development.
If you choose to, you can create Learning Paths to deliver courses in a logical progression and add structure to your training program. The system also supports Virtual Instructor-Led Training (VILT) and provides tools for social learning.
Together, these features make LMS Portals the ideal SaaS-based eLearning platform for our clients and our Reseller partners.
Contact us today to get started or visit our Partner Program pages
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