WordPress For Nonprofits Best Themes, Plugins, and other tools

In this article we'll discuss ways nonprofits can make the most value from WordPress. In this article, we'll discuss the reasons WordPress is the best website platform for nonprofits. We'll also take a look at the best themes for nonprofits as well as show how you can use plugins that can add additional functions that will make your non-profit succeed.

Let's start!

What exactly is a non-profit?

As per Wikipedia an organization that is a nonprofit is:

"An organisation that's committed to advancing a specific social cause or advocating for a shared point of view" in addition to "uses its surplus of the profits to achieve the ultimate goal, rather than dispersing its earnings to the organization's members, shareholders, or members."

Therefore, instead of earning an income for shareholders, a nonprofit puts any profits to fund its operations that could include raising awareness or money for a reason.

Nonprofits include small community groups all the way to global campaigning organizations. They are also a part of international campaigning organizations. National Council of Nonprofits reports that over 35% of them focus on "human services" including groups who assist with the legal process, housing work, and other issues. 17% focus on education and 13% in health.

The goals of nonprofits will vary between organizations: some exist to provide services, some are to increase awareness and others to support communities.

We'll look at reasons WordPress can be the ideal platform for non-profit organizations..

Why should you use WordPress as a website for Non-Profit Organizations?

Advantages of WordPress for NonProfits

Let's review of some particular benefits of WordPress for nonprofits in more detail.

1. WordPress is a free software

In the event that you're in some budget, there are premium themes and plugins which can make your website better-performing or even save time. In this article, I'll discuss the most effective free themes and plugins for nonprofits later in this post to help you determine if it's worth spending money.

2. WordPress is Open Source

WordPress uses a model for software development that is known as open source. The code is open to anyone who could download it or copy it, and then modify it. There's no restriction in the event that you do not use it for anything illegal.

It means that nobody will be able to take the source code of your website at any time in the future. Also, it signifies that WordPress will not change: you will not be forced to move to another platform.

3. WordPress Has a Huge and Active community of Developers and Users

Myths About WordPress for Non-Profit Organizations

WordPress is just a Blogging Platform

WordPress is Insecure

WordPress isn't professional

Some people believe that WordPress isn't for people who need a professional-looking website. It's probably due to three reasons:

• It's free.
• It was initially conceived as a blogging platform which is used today by numerous enthusiasts.

Self-hosted WordPress gives you the flexibility that you require to build professional, modern websites, and will often work better than WordPress.com.

It is necessary to hire a Developer to Have A WordPress Site

It's a myth that still persists. The truth is you don't need to hire a developer to create an effective WordPress website for your non-profit organization.

We'll go over some of the top themes and extensions for nonprofits later in this post, and you'll be happy to learn the majority of them are completely free. That doesn't mean they're any more effective.

Non-profits that use WordPress

WordPress is being utilized by plenty of nonprofits. Here are just a few of them.

Jane Goodall Institute Jane Goodall Institute

The Jane Goodall Institute is committed to conservation and environmental protection, carrying on the work of Jane Goodall with chimpanzees.

Their WordPress website includes:

• A full-width banner on the homepage that immediately demonstrates exactly what the institute does.
• A static home page with details about the institute as well as links to more information.
• Sign up for newsletters is available on our home page as well as in other areas.
• Press section, including press releases and a press pack.
• A map interactive that showcases the projects of the institute.
• A page-based structure that includes stories and sections.
• Membership, donation and subscription pages.
• Clear call to action buttons all over the site.
• A fun chimpanzee-based 404 page.

Team Rubicon

Team Rubicon is a global organization that provides humanitarian aid following the aftermath of disasters and supports veterans.

Their WordPress site includes:

• A blog.
• Donations.
• Case studies.
• Sign up for our newsletter.

Alliance of Independent Authors

The Alliance of Independent Authors is a non-profit organization that supports and advocating for independent authors. The organization uses a customized WordPress theme for its own website, as well as encourages members to utilize WordPress for their sites.

Their WordPress website includes:

• A member-contributed blog.
• A members' area offering discounts and other services.
• Signup, subscription and joining alternatives.
• Directories for members.

CURE International

CURE International is an Christian nonprofit that provides medical treatment for children living in developing countries. Their WordPress site contains:

• A static homepage featuring calls to action, and ample white blank space.
• A news section that uses articles to provide updates about its work.
• Templates for custom pages to display hospital information and individual children's story.
• Embedded video.
• An area for members with login access.

The Big Give

The Big Give is a fundraiser for the community as well as charitable organizations. It was designed to function as an online platform for fundraising by charities as well as make it simpler for individuals to give.

The WordPress website includes: WordPress website contains:

• Registration for charity.
• A section for membership of charitable organizations.
• Searching for a campaign.
• Donations.

Save African History

Save African History is a project that aims to preserve and digitally digitize African objects so that they do not lost to the history of Africa.

The website is gallery-based using a heavy use of images on the homepage and archive pages. Click through to one of the artifacts and you can find out details about the site and its past.

Some of the features on this site are:

• Unending scrolls in the archive pages.
• Designing custom layouts to individual artifacts.
• An image-based, visual design, but simple design.
• Information on image credits and their use.
• Newsletter signups are available on the footer.

The Interfaith Housing Alliance

The Interfaith Housing Alliance is a non-profit organization that offers affordable housing throughout Maryland and in south-central Pennsylvania.

The WordPress website includes: WordPress website contains:

• The home page is comprised mostly of excerpts from other pages on the website, with links to further information, as well as an update of news.
• A news section which uses posts for updates.
• The "donate" call to action button on every page in the site which takes visitors to an outside platform for collecting donations (this button will take you through some steps to follow before you can make a donation, which might be off-putting for potential donors).
• The section on resources contains information about other organizations that provide support.

Peoples Under Threat

Peoples under Threat is a single-page site developed for Minority Rights Group. The site is an interactive map created to offer an online version of the organization's annual "Peoples Under Threat" report.

The site provides an interactive map of countries with highlighted where groups are under threat. When you click on a country, a pop-up will appear filled with details about the groups that are under threat and the number of people affected.

The power of compassion in dying

Compassion in dying is a non-profit organization that assists people in preparing to die, physically as well as emotionally.

Their WordPress site includes:

• The internet is the future of living.
• The Resources section contains organized tips on how you can prepare for your dying.
• Donations through JustGiving.
• A well-organized guideline for planning end of life care with a custom-designed template.

WordPress Themes for Nonprofit Organizations

6 of the Best WordPress Themes for Nonprofits. Free WordPress Themes for Non-Profit Organizations

Free themes have an advantage of being completely free. However, it's likely to have fewer options than premium ones and have a less assistance. If your needs are basic or your budget is tight or you're just beginning it could be the right choice for you.

1. NGO Charity Lite

The charity Lite theme for NGO Charity Lite theme is designed for Non-Profit, Crowdfunding and Fundraising Organisations.

Features include:

• Customization options: background, colors, header, logo and menu.
• Full-width template , as also templates with a sidebar.
• Grid layout.

2. Foster Charity

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Features include:

• Customization: background, colors, header, logo, menu.
• Template options including template and grid arrangement.
• Upcoming events section.
• Sliders.
• Call to action buttons.

3. FinRelief

The FinRelief theme has been designed for charities and nonprofits. It has four widgets for the footer areas as well as a home page that can be customized.

Features include:

• Customization: background, header, logo, menu.
• Options for templates include full-width templates and right sidebar.
• Home page areas to highlight your work.

4. GivingPress Lite

The GivingPress Lite theme is the no-cost version of a premium theme. Therefore, if you decide to upgrade at some point in the future it is possible to upgrade without losing your time and effort.

The features include:

• Customization: background, header, logo, menu.
• Template options including full-width template or right sidebar. Two or even three columns.

5. VW Charity NGO

The VW Charity NGO theme was designed to showcase your non-profit's activities, fundraising or for blogging.

Features include:

• Customization: background, colors, header, logo, menu.
• E-commerce options.
• Template options including full-width template grid layout, left or right sidebar.
• Portfolio section.
• Testimonials section.

6. Benevolent

Features include:

• Click to call button on menu.
• Full-width slider.
• Banner with call to action button.
• Client section.
• Multiple layouts.

7 Best High-Quality WordPress Themes for Nonprofits

If you're looking for additional features, and usually a more intuitive user interface as well as better support You might want to invest in the most expensive WordPress theme.

You don't have to buy one that is specifically made for nonprofits Sometimes, a well-built general theme will meet your needs and have more flexibility. However, there are plenty of premium WordPress themes designed especially for non-profit organizations that you may be interested in:

1. Charity Foundation

The Charity Foundation theme is a theme from the vendor ThemeForest is specifically designed for non-profits.

The features include:

• Calendar of events.
• Donations made via Paypal.
• The 'cause' is a custom type of post.
• Donors' area has sign-in.
• Visual page builders.
• A slider.

2. Act

The Act theme, also on ThemeForest, is designed for nonprofits and includes an image slider as well as a visual page builders.

Features include:

• The Visual Composer page builder.
• A slider.
• Flexible colors and fonts (with Google fonts).
• The home page has a call to action button for donations.
• A library of icons.
• An events calendar.
• Scrolling with a parallax effect in the design.

3. Zeko

Zeko is among three charitable themes that comes from Anariel Design.

Some of the features are:

• Donations are built into.
• WooCommerce integration for your online store.
• Subscriptions to newsletters.
• Community features.
• Panel-based homepage for the ease of customizing.
• Six page templates designed to be used by nonprofits and charities.
• Page Builder Support.
• Multiple widgets.

4. Neve Charity

Neve Charity theme Neve Charity theme has been specifically developed for charities. It integrates in conjunction with the Elementor Page Builder and is optimized for speed.

The features include:

• Footer and header that you can customize.
• Numerous layout options.
• A basic library for speeding the development of your website.
• Designed to work with WooCommerce.
• Drag and drop blog layout builder.

5. Maisha

Maisha is another theme from Anariel. It comes with icons for social media and an e-home page with a block design that you can customize to focus on the most important information.

The features include:

• Prominent social media icons.
• Panel-based home page for the ease of customizing.
• Donations are featured.
• WooCommerce integration.
• Subscribe to newsletters.
• Community features.
• Seven-page templates created for charities and nonprofits.
• Page builder assistance.
• Multiple widget areas.

6. Alone

The Alone theme is among ThemeForest's most popular charity themes. The theme has a striking design and a variety of content areas that can be customized.

The features include:

• 9 demo pages to help you quickly design your site.
• The drag and drop interface.
• Forms.
• Donations, including a donations pop-up box.
• Grid-based layout.
• Slider.
• Customizable colors, fonts and areas for widgets.

7. Hope

Hope is a non-profit and charity theme by ThemeIsle.

Features include:

• Customizable sliders.
• Flexible colors and fonts.
• Donations.
• Prebuilt demonstrations to speed up site creation.
• A drag-and-drop visual page builder.
• Calendar of events.

Essential Plugins for WordPress Non-Profit Sites

The NonProfitWP site offers an roundup of free themes and plugins designed specifically for non-profit organizations as well as tips for non-profits who use WordPress and can be a useful information source.

Below are a few essential plugins that every nonprofit WordPress site needs. The next step is reviewing plugins that provide features that are especially relevant to non-profit organizations.

SEO

Here are some tips for enhancing the SEO of your non-profit website:

• Utilize plugins to improve titles and descriptions for any content you include. The title is what Google displays as a clickable hyperlink when it displays a website in the results of a search. The description can be described as the words beneath, and should be designed to entice users to click on.

Backups

The UpdraftPlus software is available for download and allows you to create automatic backups as frequently as you'd like to. It's recommended to backup your site whenever you'll update the contents on your website. So, if you must restore your website from the backup you took, you won't lose your latest blog article.

Security

Performance

How to Create a Community on your Nonprofit WordPress Website

The addition of BuddyPress to Community Engagement

BuddyPress is a plugin that BuddyPress plugin lets you build a social media, where your users can communicate with one another, and also plan activities or raise funds.

It is possible to activate any module you need, meaning you have a level of flexibility and don't need to enable modules that you do not need.

Adding a Membership Plugin

A plugin like WP-Members can allow you to add various levels of membership on your website, which means it is possible to grant access additional resources for members who are who are on the higher level. It is possible to link membership with subscriptions or donations and provide individuals an incentive to become regular donors to your charity.

How to raise money for your WordPress Non-Profit Website

It is possible to use WooCommerce to create a WooCommerce store to market products or products created by the groups you work with, as well as add an extra revenue stream for your non-profit website.

A plugin such as Give allows you to accept donations on your site by connecting to the major payment gateways, making it simple to take contributions.

WordPress Multisite Site for NonProfits

WordPress Multisite lets you build an entire network with your WordPress installation. That means you are able to create as many sites as you want without needing to install WordPress numerous times. This saves storage space and also saves time on updates, as it only requires updating plugins and themes once.

WordPress CRM for Nonprofit Organizations

WordPress is an effective instrument for managing the needs of nonprofit organizations' donors, supporters, and members. A few examples of non-profit sites built on WordPress comprise member and supporter areas.

Community and CRM plugins that can be especially beneficial for non-profit organizations include:

• BuddyPress. Utilize BuddyPress to establish an online community and enable a social media-like interface for supporters and activists. BuddyPress allows users to add the groups, events and other also make private messages available so that you can monitor activity and establish networks.
• Zero BS CRM gives you a flexible CRM that you are able to build a custom system that will meet your specific needs. It was developed by experienced WordPress developers and frequently updated.
• NPressive is a WordPress CRM that was specifically created specifically for non-profit organizations. It helps you control member data, send out targeted communications and take payments.

The site of NonProfitWP offers ways to manage the management of CRM for nonprofits and offers a regular updated list of the most beneficial plugins available for non-profits.

Summary

WordPress is a fantastic tool for charities. It's completely free to download and use as well as it boasts an incredible community of users and developers as well as a variety of themes and plugins perfect for nonprofits. It's paying and free.

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• Help is available immediately from WordPress hosting experts 24/7.
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