Getting the most out of Canva

Creating professional and engaging materials can be a challenge for many patient groups, especially when faced with limited budgets, time constraints, and a lack of design expertise. While patient groups understand the importance of increasing engagement and expanding outreach, producing high-quality visuals often seems out of reach.

Canva offers a simple and accessible solution. This user-friendly design tool enables patient groups to create polished, consistent, and impactful materials without needing advanced graphic design skills. Whether it’s raising awareness, promoting events, or building community connections, Canva empowers patient groups to communicate effectively and strengthen their visibility—all while being cost-effective.

What makes Canva even more valuable is its free Pro version available to eligible non-profit organisations, making it an ideal resource for patient groups with tight budgets. However, many patient groups are either unaware of Canva’s full potential or don’t know how to maximise its features.

This guide will provide patient groups with practical tips and strategies to unlock Canva’s full capabilities. By mastering its tools, patient groups will be able to amplify their message, broaden their reach, and better support their communities in a professional and efficient manner. Enroll now to see what you can achieve with Canva!

With thanks to:

Amelie Sim, a final-year psychology undergraduate student at the University of York, who volunteered with Beacon during 2025 and wrote this guide!

Hello, my name is Amelie and I’m a final year psychology undergraduate student at the University of York. I am so excited to volunteer for Beacon and hope to bring a positive impact to the amazing patient groups.

View full bio

Beacon is a charity that really inspires me and I love how person-centred it is. It showcases how human connection is at the heart of everything and I am so glad to be a part of this cause. In my spare time, I enjoy trying new matcha recipes, collecting cute stickers for journalling, and being out in nature!

With thanks to the Funders of The Empowerment Programme 2025

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Resource type

Course



Skill level

Beginner



Duration

1 hour



Last updated

March 2025



Resource type

Course



Skill level

Beginner



Duration

1 hour



Last updated

March 2025

What will you learn in this course?

Who uses Canva

Tips on using Canva

The benefits of using Canva as a patient group

How your patient group can use Canva

How to create content using Canva

Who is this course for?

This guide is designed for rare disease patient groups who have limited budgets and little to no design experience. The guide is tailored to help patient groups create consistent visual content using Canva, even if they lack graphic design skills, to improve their organisation’s outreach and engagement with professional-looking materials for events, campaigns, and social media.