WordPress is an excellent option for a non-profit organization. It is free and easy to learn. Perfect for someone who doesn’t have a lot of time to dedicate to maintaining a website. That said, it is important to have a site that is optimized for your needs, and that can be done easily with plugins. Of course, there are the basic plugins every site owner should be own, and Torque has a hefty list for beginners.
However, there are some geared specifically at those starting a non-profit. These will make collecting donations, managing money, and showing support easy. Download any of these and focus on the work instead of maintaining a website.
Participant’s Database
Keeping track of your supporters is important so you can let people when you are having events and be able to show investors how many donators you have. Participant’s Database does just that. Create customizable lists so people can sign up right on your website, and receive an automatic thank you message.
If you have volunteers gathering sign-ups away from the computer, you can upload CSV files and add them to your database as well.
Show Support Ribbons
If people can’t donate, ask them to simply show their support wth Show Support Ribbons. Create a custom virtual ribbon, banner, or badge people can display on their website. You can make it as custom or generic as you like. It’s a great way to get some free advertisement from people who like your organization.
The image is displayed in CSS and all you have to do is copy and paste the code to display, which makes it easy to add and delete as necessary.
Seamless Donation
Now comes the fun part, making money. Donations are incredibly important for any non-profit, and Seamless Donation makes the process easy. Allow users to donate directly on your site, and even set up automatic recurring donations if they want. Behind the scenes, the app tracks all of the donations coming in.
The money is taken through Website Payments Standard. The services is free but will take 2-3 percent of the donation.
Give
Give is a robust plugin that allows for easy and fast donating. It provides a goal tracking form, zero commission charges, and customizable emails. The free plugin also comes with various add-ons like Give Receipt Attachment, which allows the user to send thank you emails and donation receipts immediately.
You can customize the plugin to fit the needs of your company and start accepting donations soon.
Donation Thermometer
Work toward your goal with a visual representation of your donations. Watch your thermometer fill up with each new donation and supporter. You can customize everything from the size and shape of the thermometer to the color.
Users can even leave positive messages under the thermometer. It’s a fun way to see how far you’ve come.
All of these plugins are easy to use and will bring your site to the next level. The ability to collect and manage donations all from your WordPress dashboard is incredibly beneficial to managing a successful non-profit.
Update 6/24/2016: Post has been updated to reflect the fact that Give Receipt Attachment is an add-on to Give plugin.
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