Images on your site send powerful signals about your values. They can either reinforce tired stereotypesâor show a more inclusive, hopeful world. Thatâs why itâs worth putting real thought into the equity and diversity of your website images.
Choosing the images can be time consuming. Letâs be honest: images are hard! But start with whatâs real. Use photos of your own community whenever you can (with permission, of course). Authentic images carry trust. If your photos donât yet reflect the diversity youâd like to highlight, fill the gap with stock images. Thereâs more âfree and low-cost optionsâ than ever before.
As you choose or review your website photos, run through a quick gut-check:
- Are people shown with dignity? Avoid images that dwell on suffering or poverty. Show people with strengths, relationships, and lives beyond the challenges they face.
- Do you have consent? The obvious: never post pictures publicly without permission.
- Do your images reflect varied identities? Feature people from different income levels, cultural backgrounds, gender identities, and family structures.
- Are you avoiding stereotypes? Challenge defaults. Show Black lawyers serving white clients, male preschool teachers, or Latina engineers.
- Can blob-people illustrations help? In some contexts, ârace-neutral, or even completely gender-neutral illustrationsâ can communicate ideas without leaning on stereotypes. Custom âblob peopleâ illustrations are quick and surprisingly affordable to produce.

Blob knows their rightsâand isnât afraid to bring them to court! A study by the Financial Distress Research Project found these illustrations helped people grasp financial and legal concepts more clearly.
- Are you using AI in an ethical way? AI images can feel like an easy win, but AI-generated illustrations are built without consent from past human illustrators. And itâs really hard to create non-sterotypical and realistic looking photos of diverse people (because the tools donât have many non-sterotypical photos to work with). So consider: does using AI for images of people really align with your organizational values?
- Have you included alt-text? Donât forget accessibility! Every image should include alt-text that âdescribes the photo clearlyâ. Inclusive images paired with thoughtful alt-text make your site more usable for visitors with screen readersâand show that inclusion matters at every level.
Remember: no single image has to carry the full weight of representation. What matters is the overall impression your nonprofit website leaves with visitors.
An inclusive visual strategy wonât just make your nonprofit website more welcomingâit will help visitors see your mission as relevant to them, their families, and their communities.
Dive Deeper
Photography for nonprofits: ethics, sourcing, and impact | Trajectory Web Design
Very useful guidance on dignity, consent, and avoiding exploitative imagery, with bonus tips on hiring a photographer and other considerations. This article probably sourced a fair amount of its info from the OG report from Bond which is a good even deeper âdeeper diveâ if you want the fuller research behind many of todayâs best-practice guides.
Artificial representation: pitfalls at the intersection of AI and DEI | Big Duck
An opinionated look at why nonprofits should steer clear of AI-generated people images. Strong equity and trust arguments plus concrete alternatives (illustration, icons, real community photos) from a well known nonprofit branding firm.
Do âblob peopleâ make complex info easier? | The Financial Distress Research Project
For those who are up to reading a research paper, this one provides a fairly readable overview of how genderless and raceless âblob peopleâ illustrations improved the readability of financial literacy information.