For non-profits
Reign for non-profits. Non-profit donor + volunteer community.
Non-profits use Mailchimp + a Wix site + Slack for volunteers + DonorBox for donations - 4 tools, no single identity, donor + volunteer engagement scattered.
Reign + BuddyNext + GiveWP for a non-profit community: donor profiles, volunteer signup, impact stories and a recurring donation flow. BuddyNext installs free; donations run through GiveWP.
Donor and volunteer profiles plus event signups, free to install. Donations still come from a donation plugin. You buy the Reign theme; BuddyNext and Eventonomy are ours and install free.
- BuddyNext community engine
- Eventonomy events
Three highlights for non-profits.
- 01
Donor profiles show contribution history + impact achieved.
- 02
Volunteer signup with shift matching.
- 03
Impact stories: beneficiaries (with consent) post outcomes.
What the site looks like on day one.
You launch with a supporter community, donation handling, volunteer coordination and an events calendar. Donors have accounts, volunteers sign up for shifts through events, and the community is where supporters talk to each other rather than only receiving newsletters. For a nonprofit the shift is from broadcasting to supporters to giving them somewhere to be.
What a member actually does.
A supporter donates, receives a receipt, and joins the community if there is a reason to. Volunteers engage most, because shift sign-ups and coordination give them a practical reason to log in weekly. Over a year the community becomes where the committed supporters live, and they are the ones who give again and bring others.
How this usually makes money.
Donations are the revenue, handled by a donation plugin with recurring giving, which matters far more than one-off gifts for planning. Membership tiers suit organisations with paying members. Events and fundraisers sell tickets through a commerce plugin. Reducing platform fees on donations is often the clearest financial argument for self-hosting.
The mistake to avoid.
Chasing one-off campaigns instead of recurring giving. A monthly donor is worth several times a one-time gift and makes planning possible. Set recurring as the default option on the donation form and lead with it rather than treating it as an afterthought.
Non-profit-specific questions.
GiveWP integration?
Yes. GiveWP handles the donations and Reign styles every donor surface inside the BuddyNext community.
Can we take recurring donations?
Yes, through a donation plugin with Stripe, including monthly giving and donor accounts so supporters manage their own. Recurring giving is worth prioritising over one-off campaigns, because predictable income changes what an organisation can plan.
How do volunteers sign up for shifts?
Through event listings with RSVPs and capacity limits, which covers most volunteer coordination without a specialist tool. Volunteers see what is needed, sign up, and get reminders, and coordinators stop running it from a spreadsheet.
Is this cheaper than a donation platform?
Usually, because platform fees on every donation add up quickly, and here you pay Stripe's fee plus hosting. The trade is that you run the site. For an organisation with any technical capacity the saving is normally significant and recurring.
Can volunteers manage their own shifts?
Yes, through event RSVPs with capacity limits, so they sign up and swap without a coordinator running a spreadsheet. It is usually the first thing volunteers notice and appreciate.
How do we show donors their impact?
Members-only updates and reports, which is a large part of why recurring donors keep giving. A donor who hears nothing between appeals is a donor who lapses.
Buy the theme. Add the plugins free.
BuddyNext and Eventonomy cost nothing to install, and each has its own Pro plan for later. Running the third-party stack instead? The BuddyPress Community Bundle kit is the packaged route. Or have the Wbcom team install either one for $699 flat.