Are you looking to streamline your donation process, engage more effectively with your supporters, or simply make your website more user-friendly?
There are plugins out there that can help. Many of these plugins are designed with nonprofits in mind, offering features that cater specifically to your unique needs.
Since 2017, I’ve run my own animal welfare NGO and we’ve used quite a few plugins to help raise funds. Plus, as a WordPress expert, I’ve had the privilege of working with various nonprofits and charitable organizations, helping them maximize their online presence.
In that time, I’ve tried and tested countless WordPress plugins to find the absolute best tools for organizations like yours and mine. So this list is based on my own experience after extensively using these plugins.
In this post, we’ll explore only the top WordPress plugins that can take your nonprofit or charity website to the next level.
I’ve picked 3 tools that aren’t just for established organizations – they’re perfect for anyone looking to make a difference, whether you’re running a global NGO or raising funds for a local cause close to your heart.
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How I Test and Review WordPress Donation Plugins
I want to help you find tools that will make your nonprofit’s website better and easier to run.
So I take plugin recommendations seriously, knowing that non-profits value every dollar and minute. That said, I make sure the plugins I suggest are really good for nonprofits in real life, not just on paper.
Here’s my general testing process:
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Does it work well and is it easy to use? I try out all the features to make sure they work right and are easy for beginners. The plugin has to help with things nonprofits need, like taking donations or managing volunteers. I’ve found that if a plugin isn’t intuitive, you won’t use it – so simplicity is always a top priority for me!
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How does it affect your website? I use speed-testing tools to check if the plugin slows down your site or makes it hard to use on phones. If a plugin slows down your site, you’ll lose donations, so speed checks are non-negotiable. I also make sure it works well with other plugins and WordPress themes nonprofits often use.
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Is it safe and does it have good help? I look at how secure the plugin is and how often it’s updated. I always recommend choosing plugins that have been updated in the last few months, as this proves the developers still maintain them. I also check if they have good customer support in case you need help.
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Is it worth the money? If the plugin costs money, I make sure it’s worth it for nonprofits who don’t have big budgets. For free plugins, I check if they’ll still be good to use in the long run.
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What do other nonprofits think? I ask other nonprofits and clients what they think about the plugin. I also use the plugin on real websites for a while to see how it works over time.
Now let’s dive into the WordPress donation plugins that can help you change the world.
Reviewing the Best Donation Plugins for WordPress
1. The Top Donation Plugin Without Platform Fees: WP Charitable
Charitable is a fantastic WordPress donation plugin that simplifies the process of accepting online donations for nonprofits and charities. What I love most about it is how it streamlines the entire donation process, from setting up campaigns to managing donors.
And the best part is that they never charge you any platform fees. You can use the free version for free! The only charges you may incur are from your payment gateway. There’s a premium plugin available too that gives you access to advanced fundraising features. You pay for the plugin and you can start raising funds that are 100% yours to keep.
I also love how easy it is to create multiple campaigns. For one of my clients, a local animal shelter, we set up Charitable so that they could run fundraisers for different rescue cases.
You can choose premade designs inside the template library. They’re neatly categorized by popular causes so you can find what you’re looking for easily. You can also start from scratch using simple columns.
To give you a glimpse at how good these templates are, check out this template that comes with a progress bar, goal, number of days left, and a strong call-to-action ‘Donate Now’ button.
You just have to change the content and images and you’re ready to publish your fundraiser.
That’s easy to do as Charitable comes with a visual drag and drop builder. You can add new elements by dragging and dropping them where you want them to appear.
If you click on any text in the campaign, you can edit it and change it to match your cause.
It’s also simple to configure the settings of your campaigns, so you never have to touch any code.
You can add suggested donation amounts or allow your donors to enter their own.
While this is a premium feature, I’ve found recurring donations to be invaluable for organizations looking to establish a steady income stream. Charitable makes it as easy as clicking a button to enable recurring donation options.
You set it up once and then Charitable takes care of the rest making sure your donation comes in on time every time. I always recommend setting up recurring donations to secure a stable income for the future, which is key for long-term planning. Plus, you can activate Charitable’s ‘Donor Covered Fees’ feature so you don’t lose any portion of the donation to payment processor fees, either.
Other standout features include:
- Peer-to-peer fundraising
- Crowdfunding
- Donor covered fees
- Donation management
- Email integrations
- Donor comments
- Anonymous donations
You can connect to payment gateways like Stripe, PayPal, Braintree, Mollie, Authorize.net, and so many more.
Need to accept donations in different currencies? Charitable has you covered there too. So you can reach a global audience to support your cause.
Once a donation is made, receipts are automatically generated and sent to the donor. This saves so much time. Donors get immediate confirmation of their contribution, which builds trust.
You also get built-in analytics that shows you how your campaigns are performing. Plus, it includes a donation database to view, track, and export your donation data.
In my experience, Charitable strikes a great balance between simplicity and functionality. It’s been my go-to recommendation for nonprofits just starting out with online donations, as well as for more established organizations looking for a user-friendly solution.
Why I Recommend WP Charitable: This plugin is perfect for nonprofits because it helps you avoid paying additional platform fees. That said, you can donate more of those funds directly to your good cause.
Get started with WP Charitable »
2. The Best All-Purpose Form Builder with Donation Capabilities: WPForms
WPForms is the best WordPress form builder out there! I’ve set up complex forms in minutes, which is a huge time-saver. Even clients with limited tech skills find it easy to use.
WPForms comes with a variety of pre-built templates. I’ve used the donation form template for smaller nonprofits, and it works great as a simple solution for accepting donations. In fact, I always start with a WPForms template because you don’t have to build the required fields from scratch.
Learn how to use WPForms with step-by-step tutorials »
The plugin integrates with payment gateways like Stripe, PayPal, Square, and Authorize.Net. So you can accept donations securely.
The process is simple, with no coding involved. So it’s pretty straightforward to create order forms or donation forms that process payments directly.
Now there’s a feature I love about WPForms and that’s smart conditional logic. This feature has been a game-changer for many of my nonprofit clients. For example, I created a form where donors can sponsor a meal. If the donor chooses 1 meal, we gave them the option to add a collar for a dog at just 50 cents.
This helped boost the average donation received by just prompting supporters with add-ons.
One thing to keep in mind when using forms on your site is the endless spam that can come from spam bots and hackers. WPForms comes with built-in spam protection. You can also add country and keyword filters as well as CAPTCHA protection.
Once a donor makes a contribution, you can display a thank you message, or redirect them to a URL.
You can also send automatic emails with the donation receipt.
All forms created with WPForms are mobile-friendly out of the box, which is crucial for reaching donors and volunteers on all devices.
I always test my forms on my own phone before making them live, just to make sure all the buttons are easy to click. That said, WPForms has performed perfectly, every time.
WPForms also gives you access to built-in analytics and a donor list that you can manage right inside your WordPress dashboard.
See our Full WPForms Review »
The main downside I’ve encountered is that while WPForms is great for general form needs, it doesn’t have the specialized nonprofit features that dedicated plugins like Charitable offer. For instance, it lacks built-in campaign management or donor walls.
Overall, I’ve found WPForms to be an excellent all-purpose form solution. For nonprofits with diverse form needs beyond just donations – like volunteer applications, event registrations, or contact forms – it’s a solid choice.
However, for organizations focusing primarily on fundraising, I often recommend using it together with a dedicated donation plugin for the best results.
Why I Recommend WPForms: This form builder is incredibly versatile and user-friendly, so you can create donation forms without having to write a single line of code. During testing, its payment integrations made it easy to process both one-time and recurring donations, so this is a flexible solution that’ll suit all kinds of charitable organizations.
3. The Best Simple Stripe Payment Solution For WordPress Donations: WP Simple Pay
WP Simple Pay is the best donation solution if you want a simple way to accept donations on your site. One of the things I love most about WP Simple Pay is how quick and easy it is to set up. I’ve had it up and running on sites in less than 10 minutes. The setup wizard walks you through connecting your Stripe account, which is really user-friendly.
WP Simple Pay is built specifically for Stripe, which I’ve found to be a reliable payment processor. Since it uses Stripe, the plugin is PCI-compliant. It doesn’t store sensitive card data on your website, which is a big plus for security.
Since WP Simple Pay keeps sensitive data off your server, I always recommend it for organizations who are worried about managing complex security rules.
I’ve used WP Simple Pay to make straightforward donation forms for nonprofits, and the process is intuitive. You can easily set up one-time or recurring payment options using ready-made templates.
You can customize the forms to match your site’s branding.
For example, you can adjust colors, add custom fields, and even use custom CSS if needed.
If you want to run special campaigns for specific time periods, WP Simple Pay lets you do this by scheduling the time and date.
This is great for flash promotions, sales, and special campaigns such as Christmas. You can schedule these to run during periods when you know giving is higher.
If you want to offer recurring donations, the subscription management feature is really good. Donors can manage their own subscriptions, which reduces admin work for you.
I find that giving donors the power to manage their own subscriptions drastically cuts down on the number of emails I have to answer every month.
Why I Recommend WP Simple Pay: This plugin is ideal for nonprofits who need a quick and straightforward way to accept Stripe payments. It’s built with simplicity in mind, making it the perfect choice for smaller organizations or those new to online donations.
You’ll find that WP Simple Pay’s direct integration with Stripe means you don’t need a separate form builder license just to accept money on your site.
Learn How to Use WP Simple Pay »
Get started with WP Simple Pay »
What Is the Best WordPress Plugin for Nonprofits?
Every website or business has unique needs, so the best plugin for your nonprofit organization will vary based on your specific goals. Despite this, I generally suggest Charitable as the best option for nonprofit donation management.
This plugin is my top choice because it helps you avoid paying additional platform fees. I always tell my clients that this makes a massive difference over a year of fundraising.
If you need alternatives for specific use cases, consider these options:
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If you want to create advanced donation forms, WPForms is perfect. It offers an intuitive drag-and-drop builder, so you can create all kinds of forms with ease. You can also use WPForms to create other, miscellaneous forms, such as volunteer application forms.
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For a straightforward and secure payment processing plugin, WP Simple Pay is ideal. It integrates with Stripe without the complexity of a full eCommerce solution. This makes it ideal for smaller organizations or those just starting with online donations. If you do install WP Simple Pay, then I recommend setting up recurring donations straight away, as it’s the best way to ensure predictable support.
FAQs on WordPress Donation Plugins
Setting up an online donation system can raise a lot of questions, especially when you’re trying to figure out which plugin is right for your cause.
To help you out, here’s answers to all the most common questions I get from people setting up donation features on their WordPress sites.
Which plugin is best for accepting donations?
If your primary focus is donations, Charitable is likely your best bet. It’s built specifically for nonprofits and offers features like campaign management and donor walls.
I always suggest using a dedicated donation plugin because those features are key to running a professional fundraising effort.
What’s the main difference between Charitable, WPForms, and WP Simple Pay?
The biggest difference is their purpose. Charitable is focused on nonprofit donations, while WPForms is a versatile form builder that can handle donations among other things.
Meanwhile, WP Simple Pay is focused on simple payment processing, primarily through Stripe.
Are there any free donation plugins for WordPress?
Yes, several donation plugins offer free versions with basic features. Charitable, Give, and PayPal Donations all have free versions.
However, keep in mind that premium features often require paid upgrades. While free versions are great for starting out, you’ll usually need the paid version to unlock recurring donations, which are vital for a steady income.
Which plugin is best for recurring donations?
I’ve found Charitable to be particularly effective. They offer robust recurring donation features that are easy to set up and the rest is automated. Donors get their own accounts that they can log into to manage, adjust, or cancel their recurring donations.
I find that giving donors control over their subscriptions saves me from having to handle cancellations manually.
Can I use these plugins together?
Absolutely! I’ve often used WPForms alongside Charitable or WP Simple Pay on the same site. For example, you might use Charitable for donations and WPForms for volunteer sign-ups.
Using different plugins for different jobs ensures each task is handled by the best tool available, and these plugins work together just fine.
Can I use WPForms for donations?
Yes, WPForms can be used for donations. It has a donation form template and can integrate with payment gateways. However, it lacks some nonprofit-specific features that Charitable offers.
That’s all. If you haven’t set up your website yet, check out our complete step-by-step tutorial: How to Create a Website from Scratch Using WordPress.
Next, you’ll also want to read:
- How to Create a Donation Form in WordPress (With Secure Payments)
- 7+ Best WordPress Membership Plugins
- 6 Best WordPress Support Agencies
I’ve handpicked these guides to help you set up your donation form, add membership options, and get WordPress support if you need it.