Shopify For Nonprofits: Things You Need to Know

Looking for a reliable partner to help your nonprofit grow? Shopify has many other things to offer for nonprofits.

Shopify doesn’t just sell stuff for charities and nonprofits. It also enables these organizations to get one-time and regular donations through their online stores.

Starting and running a nonprofit can be a very rewarding way to start a small business, especially for someone who has big ideas and cares about making the world a better place. But aside from your dreams of helping society, there are a lot of complicated and time-consuming tasks involved.

Nonprofit Organization

A nonprofit organization differs from businesses that primarily aim to generate profits for themselves. Instead, it’s all about serving a social cause or benefiting the community. These organizations are given tax-exempt status by the government because of their mission.

Nonprofits don’t distribute their earnings to shareholders or individuals. Instead, they use the money they make to further their mission. To fund their activities, nonprofits rely on various sources like donations, grants, and the income generated from their programs and services.

Starting a nonprofit can be a bit of work, but it’s also incredibly fulfilling because it’s all about making the world a better place!

Benefits of Starting a Nonprofit

• Nonprofit corporations can receive federal and often state tax-exempt status, meaning they don’t have to pay certain taxes on their income.

• They can accept donations from individuals and organizations to fund their activities.

• Nonprofit corporations have a legal existence that can continue indefinitely, providing stability for their mission.

• Directors, officers, and members are generally protected from personal liability for the organization’s debts and liabilities.

• Nonprofits may be eligible for public and private grants, making it easier to secure funding.

• Donors can often deduct their contributions to the nonprofit from their income taxes.

• Nonprofit status can enhance an organization’s credibility and trustworthiness in the eyes of donors and the public.

• Nonprofits can receive discounts on bulk mail rates from the US Postal Service.

• They can appoint a professional registered agent to ensure legal documents are handled properly.

Drawbacks of Starting a Nonprofit

• Creating and maintaining a nonprofit involves filing fees and annual state fees, as well as potential costs for a registered agent.

• Nonprofit corporations must adhere to state statutes, file annual reports, maintain records, and meet certain compliance obligations.

• Nonprofit laws often dictate how the organization must be managed, including the need for a board of directors, meetings, and record-keeping.

• Tax-exempt nonprofits face limitations on their ability to engage in lobbying and political campaigning.

• Nonprofits must operate primarily for the public good and cannot benefit private individuals or shareholders.

• They must maintain detailed financial records and operate with a high level of financial transparency.

Do nonprofit owners get paid?

Nonprofit founders or leaders can receive payment, but it varies depending on how the nonprofit is structured. They may get a regular salary, a fixed allowance, or a percentage-based commission for their role. Additionally, they might be eligible for benefits like health insurance and retirement plans. Shopify is a Great Choice for Ethical E-commerce:

Why Shopify is a Better Choice for Ethical E-commerce?

Shopify is a preferred platform for charities and social enterprises seeking to raise funds and sell online due to several compelling reasons:

1. Favorable Pricing for Nonprofits: Shopify offers lower pricing plans specifically designed for nonprofits. There are two options: NPO Lite and NPO Full. NPO Lite is comparable in pricing to Shopify Lite or Shopify Basic but offers additional nonprofit-specific features. The NPO Full plan, while slightly more expensive than the standard Shopify plan, provides a broader range of features. Plus, both plans offer a 10 percent discount with annual billing.
2. Sustainability Commitment: Shopify demonstrates a strong commitment to sustainability. Their Sustainability Fund donates over $5 million annually to support emerging technologies that combat climate change. Shopify’s move to Google Cloud, powered by renewable energy, has made its platform carbon neutral.
3. Control and Customization: Shopify empowers users to have close control and customization over their online stores. With its intuitive interface, users can create, design, and manage their stores effectively, even without extensive experience. This is particularly advantageous for nonprofits aiming to manage their online presence without a dedicated digital team while keeping costs down.
4. Thriving Ecosystem: Shopify offers a vast ecosystem of innovative apps and agencies. These third-party resources provide expert advice and additional functionalities beyond the platform’s standard features. Many apps are either free or offer free trials, making it a low-risk entry point for budget-conscious nonprofits. Additionally, Shopify’s popularity means there’s a wealth of online support, advice, and community resources available.t plans.
   
   

Signing Up for Shopify’s Nonprofit Plans

To sign up for Shopify’s nonprofit plans, you should first contact their live support team. 

When you talk to them, remember that Shopify might want to check if your organization is a nonprofit. To prove this, you’ll need to show documents that confirm your nonprofit status in your country.

Once they confirm that you’re a nonprofit in your country, they can give you access to the nonprofit plan.

Now, let’s talk about the pricing plans:

Shopify NPO Lite Plan: This is a good choice for smaller nonprofits. It costs $29 per month and offers some special benefits:

1. Reduced Transaction Fees: With a Shopify plan, you can benefit from lower transaction fees, which are just 1% when using a third-party payment provider. In contrast, the Basic plan has a 2% transaction fee.
2. Competitive Credit Card Rates: Shopify plans offer better credit card processing rates when you use Shopify Payments instead of third-party payment gateways. This can result in cost savings.
3. Support for Charitable Donations: If you’re a registered charity in the United States or Canada, you can leverage Shopify Payments to accept donations directly through your online store.
4. Enhanced Staff Accounts: Shopify plans come with the advantage of unlimited staff accounts, providing more flexibility for team collaboration. This is an upgrade from the Basic plan, which offers only two staff accounts.
5. Real-time Carrier Shipping: The Advanced plan includes the feature of real-time carrier shipping, enabling accurate and up-to-the-minute shipping cost calculations for a smoother customer experience.

Shopify NPO Full Plan: This plan costs $99 per month and is great for nonprofits that need advanced features and flexibility. Here’s what it includes:

1. Zero Transaction Fees: Non-proprofits using third-party payment providers enjoy a 0% transaction fee, which is an improvement over the 1% fee on the Shopify plan and surpasses the Advanced Shopify plan feature.
2. Lower Shopify Payments Credit Card Rates: NPO Full boasts lower Shopify Payments credit card rates than the standard Shopify plan, aligning more closely with the Advanced Shopify rates.
3. Unlimited Staff Accounts: Just like NPO Lite, the NPO Full plan offers unlimited staff accounts for enhanced team collaboration, surpassing the Shopify plan’s limit of 5 staff accounts.
4. Real-time Carrier Shipping: NPO Full includes the Advanced Plan feature of real-time carrier shipping for precise and up-to-the-minute shipping cost calculations.
5. Donation Acceptance: Registered charities in the United States and Canada can accept donations through Shopify Payments with the NPO Full plan.

Setting Up Donations on Shopify

Once you’ve chosen the Shopify plan you like, the rest is similar to creating a regular Shopify store.

Setting up donations on Shopify is easy and works just like adding any other item to your store.

When you’re making a donation item, follow the same steps as you would for any other product.

But, there are a couple of special settings you should adjust to make sure the donation works correctly.

First, you can turn off keeping track of how many donations you have because they’re not physical items with limited quantities. This means you don’t need to worry about managing stock levels.

Second, it’s important to label the donation item as “not a physical product” so people understand they’re contributing, not purchasing something tangible.

Depending on where you’re located and the tax regulations, you might need to modify the tax settings. Sometimes, donations are exempt from taxes, while in other cases, you might have to charge taxes. Ensure you set this up in accordance with local laws.

You can also include a button or form on your Shopify store to collect donations. Certain popular Shopify apps designed for nonprofits can assist you with this.

Best Shopify Apps for Nonprofits

Shopify can be a great option for nonprofits and charities to manage donations and boost their online presence. With Shopify’s features for nonprofits, you can:

• Collect donations through social media.

• Sell event tickets online.

• Get reduced or waived transaction fees.

• Set up recurring monthly donations.

• Share donation links via text messages.

• Run email marketing campaigns.

• Sell merchandise locally and globally.

• Accept in-person donations.

Now, let’s take a look at some of the top Shopify apps designed for nonprofits and the features they offer to help you achieve your nonprofit goals:

1. ShoppingGives:

ShoppingGives is a platform that aids brands in backing nonprofits and managing donation processing. It lets businesses create a social impact strategy and manages donations while ensuring compliance.

Key Features:

• Efficiently manages donation processing and reporting.

• Ensures that 100% of donations reach the intended nonprofits.

• Provides valuable data for budgeting and personalized marketing.

• Seamlessly integrates with Shopify POS for in-person donations.

• Allows for donation management based on product SKUs and variants.

Pricing: ShoppingGives offers a 7-day free trial with 20 donation credits and then charges 0.5% + $29 per month.

2. Shop for Good:

Shop for Good assists businesses in enhancing customer loyalty by incorporating charitable initiatives. It allows customers to round up their purchase totals for donations, receive discounts or gifts for donating and supports various donation campaigns.

Key Features:

• Empower customers to round up their cart totals for charitable donations.

• Offers discounts or gifts to customers who contribute.

• Enables businesses to allocate a portion of sales or specific product sales to charitable causes.

• Provides insightful analytics for tracking customer engagement and donation trends.

Pricing:

Startup Brands: Free, with a 10% deduction from donations, includes basic features.

Emerging Brands: $299 per month, offering more features like custom amounts and donation tiers.

Scaling Brands: $700 per month, with advanced features like custom branding and a personal account manager.

3. Easy Donation:

This app makes it simple for your customers to donate to your nonprofit while they’re shopping on your Shopify store. During checkout, customers have an option to add a donation to their order total.

Key Features:

• Simplifies the donation process for customers while they shop on your Shopify store.

• Customers can easily add a donation to their order during checkout.

• Offers various donation options to cater to different preferences.

• Allows customization of receipts to align with your brand.

• Provides straightforward tracking of donations for each charity.

Pricing:

Basic Plan: $6.99 per month, includes a single donation widget, landing page, flexible placement, donation tracking, and receipts with no extra charges.

Advanced Plan: $9.99 per month, offers multiple donations, landing pages, flexible placement, donation tracking, and receipts with no extra charges.

4. Popupsmart:

Popupsmart helps you create eye-catching popups on your Shopify store without needing any coding skills. You can design popups to collect donations from your website visitors.

Key Features:

• Empowers you to create attention-grabbing popups on your Shopify store without coding skills.

• Offers ready-made popup templates for quick and hassle-free setup.

• User-friendly interface with no coding requirements.

• Utilizes smart mode with AI and integrations for maximum impact.

Pricing:

Free Plan: $0 per month, with 5,000 pageviews, 1 website, and 1 popup.

Basic Plan: $32.5 per month, includes 100,000 pageviews, unlimited websites, and popups.

Pro Plan: $82.5 per month, provides 500,000 pageviews, unlimited websites, and popups.

Expert Plan: $132.5 per month, offers 1,000,000 pageviews, unlimited websites, and popups.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Shopify emerges as a strong platform offering an abundance of tools and benefits tailored explicitly to nonprofit organizations. With specialized nonprofit plans that encompass reduced transaction fees, lowered credit card rates, smooth donation processing, and the flexibility of unlimited staff accounts, Shopify presents cost-effective solutions to amplify the missions of nonprofits. If you’re a nonprofit seeking a steadfast partner to champion your cause, Shopify stands as a transformative force, poised to help you bring about positive change and make a lasting impact on the world.