A week ago I wrote on businesses that use Pinterest as a great social media and SEO marketing tool for their products and services, citing several great examples. However, you don't need to be a for-profit organization to take advantage of the promotional services that Pinterest provides. There are more than a few non-profits that are jumping onto the social media site to spread the message about their organizations, inspiring others while bringing well-needed attention to their causes. And the attention is definitely coming, if you can take recent articles by Mashable and The Huffington Post on non-profits' Pinterest boards as evidence.

If yours is a non-profit organization that is looking for another great way to engage with the world and spread information about its cause, then you should seriously consider adding Pinterest to your social media and SEO marketing campaign. Below are some excellent examples of non-profits that are successfully doing just that.

Amnesty International USA
The U.S. branch of the worldwide human rights organization has twelve boards on its Pinterest account. Its boards are diverse in their topics; they range from Fair Trade to Music & Film, from Human Rights Reading List to T-Shirts & Clothes. Other boards like Act and Images Speak Louder than Words feature several intense and emotionally-provoking images that are certain to attract a great deal of attention…and they already have, bringing 1924 followers to the account. See what the buzz about the Amnesty International USA Pinterest account is here.

Happy Tails
This non-profit is dedicated to rescuing homeless and abused animals from the Sacramento, CA area, where it is based. The rescue group provides shelter, nurture, medical care and more to their rescued animals before placing them in safe home environments. The 14 boards that Happy Tails has on its Pinterest account could not be more conducive to aiding the adoption of their animals: several feature absolutely adorable pictures of the cats and dogs that they have rescued. Take a look at the Happy Tails Pinterest account here.

National Wildlife Federation
This organization that is dedicated to protecting wildlife and spreading knowledge and awareness of environmentalism has done an extraordinary job at taking full advantage of the Pinterest platform. Its 14 boards all feature myriads of gorgeous, colorful pictures of animals, under topics like Keeping the Wild Alive, Nature Photography, and Fascinating Wildlife. There is no better way to engage Pinterest users with their cause than by providing such stunning images. Check out the National Wildlife Federation Pinterest account here.

The list of non-profits that use Pinterest continues to grow every day. As you can see in the above examples, Pinterest is an excellent way for non-profits to successfully promote their causes by harnessing the power of the visual imagery. It's worth taking the time to consider how your non-profit can best use Pinterest to promote its own cause.