Building a Nonprofit Intranet with SharePoint (Part 1)

Why Nonprofits Should Leverage SharePoint’s Intranet Capabilities

Nonprofits often operate with distributed teams, volunteers, and multiple departments that require seamless communication and resource sharing. SharePoint’s intranet capabilities provide a structured way to:

• Centralize information
• Streamline workflows
• Maintain brand and communication consistency across the organization
  
  

This blog explores how SharePoint can be used to build a powerful nonprofit intranet, using a real-world example: the Two Six Project. This initiative aimed to create a collaborative digital space for a nonprofit’s various programs, each with unique needs for document storage, communication, and role-based access. The solution included a SharePoint hub site with connected program-specific sites, automated forms feeding into SharePoint lists, and integrated analytics via Power BI. The result was a scalable, secure, and user-friendly intranet that empowered staff, students, and administrators alike.

SharePoint Hub Sites: Connecting Departments and Initiatives

SharePoint Hub Sites allow nonprofits to connect multiple related SharePoint sites under a single umbrella, promoting discoverability and unified experiences.

Key Benefits of Hub Sites:

• Unified Navigation: Provides a common navigation structure across all associated sites.
• Search and Discovery: Users can search across all connected sites for relevant documents, announcements, and events.
• Consistent Branding: Ensures uniform branding, layouts, and permissions across associated sites.
• Cross-Site Content Aggregation: Displays news, activities, and updates from different sites in a centralized view.

Two Six Project Example:
In the Two Six Project, a nonprofit needed a centralized hub for multiple educational programs. Each program received its own SharePoint site, connected under a single hub site. This allowed for unified navigation, consistent branding, and easy access to program-specific resources like waiver forms, curriculum documents, and announcements.

Site Pages and Nested Pages: Organizing Content Effectively

SharePoint lets you build rich, structured content within each site to ensure intuitive navigation and access to important information.

Key Features of Pages & Nested Pages:

• Rich Content Pages: Embed videos, documents, images, and news to create interactive internal communication.
• Nested Pages: Organize information in a hierarchical manner for intuitive browsing (e.g., a main ‘Volunteer Resources’ page with subpages for ‘Training Materials,’ ‘Policies,’ and ‘FAQs’).
• Permissions Management: Control who can edit or view specific pages, ensuring that only relevant staff have access to sensitive information.

Two Six Project Example:
The Two Six Project used SharePoint pages to organize content for both public-facing and admin-only audiences. For example, each program site included a visitor-facing page with forms and calendars, while admins had access to a private portal with restricted news and document libraries. This structure ensured that sensitive content was only visible to authorized users, while still maintaining a clean and intuitive experience for students and guests.

Conclusion: What You’ve Learned So Far

In this first part of our SharePoint intranet series, you learned how nonprofits can:

• Use Hub Sites to unify navigation and branding across departments
• Leverage Pages and Nested Pages to organize internal content clearly and securely

These features are foundational for building a connected, efficient intranet environment that supports collaboration and information-sharing at scale.

What’s Next in Part 2?

In Part 2, we’ll dive into:

• Communication Sites for organization-wide announcements
• Lists & Libraries to manage internal workflows
• Power Platform Integrations for automation and customization

Interested in Learning More? Check out the links below 

• Create a hub site in SharePoint
• Add pages to a SharePoint site
• Nested navigation in SharePoint Online
• SharePoint permissions overview