5 min read · 416 Strategy
Most About pages are either too vague or too internal. Here's how to make yours build trust with donors, partners, and first-time visitors.
It starts with the founding story. It lists the leadership team. It restates the mission statement. It might include a photo of the staff at a retreat or a collage from a program site. None of this is wrong, but almost none of it is what a first-time visitor actually needs. The typical About page is written for the organization's own sense of identity rather than for the questions a donor or partner arrives with.
When someone lands on your About page, they're usually asking one of three questions: Can I trust this organization? Do these people know what they're doing? Is this the right fit for my giving or my partnership? Your About page should answer those questions directly and quickly. That means leading with credibility, not history. It means showing your values through specifics, not statements. And it means being clear about who you serve and what success looks like.
Include: a clear, human explanation of why the organization exists (not just the formal mission), a brief founding story only if it's genuinely compelling (one paragraph, not five), a few credibility signals (years of operation, key partnerships, a meaningful program outcome), and the leadership team with honest bios that show competence and character. Cut: lengthy organizational history that only insiders care about, jargon-heavy vision statements, stock photos of generic "community," and bios that list credentials without personality.
Donors and partners look for specific signals when evaluating an organization: real names and faces (not just a logo and a mission statement), evidence of real outcomes (a story or a specific number), transparency about how you're funded and accountable, and a sense that there are actual humans behind the work who believe in it. Your About page is where those signals either appear or don't. If a first-time visitor finishes your About page and still isn't sure if they trust you, the page needs work.
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