Web design for nonprofits and community organizations.
A small nonprofit website has three jobs: tell people what you do, make it easy to give, and make it easy to help. Everything else is a bonus. Most of the work is getting those three right and setting the site up so it keeps running after the volunteer who built it moves on.
The search that matters most is your own name.
People usually meet a nonprofit in person first, at an event, in the paper, or through a friend who volunteers. Then they search the name to check you out and maybe give. Beyond that come searches from people who need help, which name the service and the town, and from would-be volunteers looking for somewhere to spend a Saturday.
Searches like these:
- "volunteer opportunities santa rosa"
- "food pantry ukiah"
- "animal rescue sonoma county"
- "local charities to donate to"
- "youth programs petaluma"
- "nonprofits near me"
- "community events this weekend"
- "where to donate furniture santa rosa"
Make giving and helping easy from every page.
A Donate button belongs in the header of every page, and it should open a form on your own site. Tools like Zeffy, Givebutter, and Donorbox embed directly, handle recurring gifts, and send the receipt automatically. That receipt matters: the IRS expects a written acknowledgment for any single gift of $250 or more before the donor can deduct it.
Volunteer sign-up comes next, and it has to reach a person. A form that emails your volunteer coordinator, or a SignUpGenius sheet for specific shifts, turns a willing visitor into a scheduled helper. A general contact box shared by the whole board tends to sit unread.
Then the trust material donors and grantmakers look for: your mission in plain words, the programs you run, who sits on the board, your EIN, and recent annual reports or 990s. Your Candid profile should agree with all of it, since many funders check there first.
Last comes ownership. The domain gets registered in the organization's name, every login goes in a shared document the board can reach, and someone writes down who to call. We set it up that way from the start, and our promise covers handing over everything if you ever move on.
Tools built for small organizations.
These handle the money, the receipts, and the sign-up sheets. The website gives each one a home under your own name, so donors stay on your site from the first click to the thank-you.
- Zeffy
Donation forms, events, and memberships, free to the nonprofit, with donors asked for an optional tip.
- Givebutter
Donations, events, and peer-to-peer campaign pages, with a donor list built in.
- Donorbox
Recurring donation forms that embed neatly on your own pages.
- SignUpGenius
Volunteer shift sign-ups with reminders, in a format most people already know.
- Eventbrite
Tickets and RSVPs for galas, fundraisers, and community events.
- Candid
Your public nonprofit profile, where donors and grantmakers look up your 990s.
Choose the category people in need search for.
Non-profit organization describes your tax status, and few people type it. Someone who needs groceries searches for a food bank, and someone hoping to adopt a dog searches for an animal shelter. Pick the primary category for the service you provide, then add Non-profit organization or Charity as a secondary. Accurate hours matter a great deal for any service people visit in person, and the Google Business Profile management in the plan keeps them current.
Primary category
Choose the one that fits the work you want most
- → Food bank
- → Animal shelter
- → Community center
- → Social services organization
- → Youth organization
Secondary categories
Add only what you actually offer
- → Non-profit organization
- → Charity
- → Senior citizen center
Attributes and links
Set every one that is true of you
- → Wheelchair accessible entrance
- → Wheelchair accessible parking lot
- → LGBTQ+ friendly
- → Gender-neutral restroom
Google offers different attributes for different categories and revises the list from time to time, so your own profile shows which of these apply to you.
A deep bench of small organizations.
Both counties run on small nonprofits: food programs, animal rescues, arts groups, land trusts, and the fire-recovery and resilience groups that formed after 2017 and stayed. Many run on volunteers and a thin budget, with a website built years ago by someone who has since moved on.
Donors here give locally and often in person, at events in Santa Rosa, Petaluma, or Ukiah, at a booth at the county fair, or after a story in the local paper. The website is where those people go next. On the Mendocino coast and in the smaller inland towns, an organization may be the only one offering its service for an hour's drive, which makes being easy to find on a phone matter even more.
One plan, $200 a month.
The build is included, there is no setup fee, and the plan runs month to month. It covers hosting, maintenance, content updates, and your Google Business Profile. Donation and volunteer tools stay on the organization's own accounts.
Member logins, a donor database, or a volunteer portal built from scratch is custom software, and that sits under Enterprise, quoted per scope. About Enterprise
See what the plan covers →Nonprofits and Community Organizations: common questions
- Can the site take donations without big processing fees?
- Yes. Zeffy is free to the nonprofit and covers its costs through optional donor tips, while other tools take a small percentage of each gift. Each one embeds on your own pages, handles recurring giving, and sends the receipt for you. We help you choose based on how you raise money: a few large gifts, many small ones, or event tickets.
- Our board changes every year. Who controls the website?
- The organization does. The domain is registered in its name, every login is listed in a shared document the board can reach, and we stay the same point of contact as officers come and go. If you ever leave the plan, we hand over the complete site within seven business days.
- Do we need a separate website for a gala or a campaign?
- A page on your main site usually works better. It keeps donors on your domain, builds on the authority your main site already has, and stays useful as an archive once the event is over. A separate site splits your traffic, and its domain often keeps renewing long after everyone has forgotten it.
- What does a nonprofit website cost?
- The Website Plan covers it: $200 a month with the build included, no setup fee, and no minimum term. Organizations that need member logins or a custom database move to Enterprise, which is quoted per scope.
We also build for these trades.
- Massage and WellnessSession pages, prices in plain sight, and a Book button wired to the calendar you already keep.
- Salons and BarbershopsA page for every chair, each with its own booking link, plus the photos that sell the cut.
- Auto Body and Auto RepairPhoto estimates, plain answers about insurance, and the phone number in easy reach.
- Wineries and Tasting RoomsTasting reservations, club sign-ups, and a visit page that answers the dog question.
- Restaurants and CafesA current menu, an order button that skips the marketplace cut, and hours people can trust.
- Contractors and TradesYour license number, the towns you drive to, and photos of finished jobs, with a quote form that takes pictures.
Want to know how your organization shows up when donors search?
Send us your URL. We run it through Lighthouse, SEO scans, and a Google Business Profile check, then email you a plain-English report within 24 hours. No pitch attached.