Operating a non-profit organization presents many unique challenges.
Among them is the difficulty of picking a robust Content Management System (CMS) that can power the non-profit's digital presence while also being affordable.
Just like any other organization, your non-profit must effectively connect with your prospective audience online, and more specifically you must:
- Facilitate the secure transfer of donations
- Share information about your nonprofit's mission
- Provide a performant and enjoyable user experience
- Scale to the needs of your web traffic
If you're a non-profit looking for a robust and cost-effective CMS, Drupal is the clear winner.
#What is Drupal?
Drupal is an open-source, innovative CMS that is used to create websites and applications.
Drupal allows you to author content in a flexible and intuitive platform. It has many built-in tools that can be used to create your content.
The best part about Drupal is that it is free, which is a huge draw for non-profits. As an open-source CMS, this provides you with access to thousands of resources for your webpage.
It primarily operates on PHP scripts, which is a popular and relatively easy-to-learn coding language. However, the Drupal developers did not want to create a one-dimensional CMS.
That is why they provide many themes, modules, and plugins on their page. These additional items can expand the capabilities of Drupal to meet the unique needs of your non-profit.
#Why Is Drupal Great for Non-Profits?
While Drupal is a great all-around CMS, it is especially useful for non-profits. It offers many features that can be utilized at little to no cost to you.
Some of these benefits include:
#Access to a Rich Developer Community
The open-source model used by Drupal and many other successful CMS providers encourages ongoing innovation through a community of users.
Drupal has well over 1 million users, and this number continues to grow. Each user can access the CMS and build upon the existing framework.
Every time the Drupal team drops new content, the community of users will review and interact with the coding. This immediate usage by a diverse group of coders, developers, and engineers ensures that you always have access to the latest techniques and practices.
#Optimized User Experience (UX) for Donors and Content Editors
Innovative CMS practices result in a better overall user experience.
Facilitating a high-quality experience for your clients is essential as you want to form a connection with donors. This is especially pertinent if you are backed by grants or other large sources of funding, as donors want to see their money in action.
You can highlight your organization’s charitable activities through blogs, news postings, and other content.
One way that Drupal CMS helps you to refine the UX is by providing an intuitive layout builder. You can use this tool to edit the appearance of your page and highlight key aspects of your non-profit.
With Drupal, you can create landing pages, event pages, donation forms, and more. Having easy access to these pages is a key part of creating a positive user experience.
With Drupal, you can also ensure that your content is mobile responsive. This is a standard feature of page building with Drupal, which means that your clients, staff, and donors can view your content from any device with ease.
#Scalable Solutions
Building a web page is a complex but rewarding endeavor. Thanks to Drupal, many of the more tedious aspects of page creation can be resolved with built-in tools or plug-ins. You can even scale your page as your non-profit grows.
Drupal has a flexible API architecture, which can support rapid growth across the global network of users.
This means that clients can easily access your page from anywhere and will not experience efficiency delays, even when page traffic is high.
Drupal is designed to optimize page loading and implement caching modules to facilitate this increased demand on your site.
#Secure Enough for Justive.Gov
Drupal is an extremely secure CMS system. In fact, it is the most secure solution for online donations. Even Justice.gov trusts Drupal CMS to power their webpage.
As mentioned above, Drupal is a community-driven project. While this may make you apprehensive, it actually means that Drupal has no incentive to hide its security concerns.
Drupal has a stellar track record of maintaining high-quality security. The majority of security concerns found within Drupal are only present in custom modules created by users, not in the Drupal core.
#A CMS That's Easy to Maintain
Drupal is not only secure -- it is also incredibly easy to maintain.
The developers recently released Drupal 9, which makes upgrading to the latest version simple and efficient. Easier maintenance will save you time and money in the long-term, which will allow you to focus on the success of your non-profit.
#Looking for a Partner? With Pulp Can Help
With such a vast community of users, it can be challenging to find the right partner for your non-profit organization. Fortunately for you, With Pulp can help.
We are a collaborative team of Drupal engineers, UX designers, and creative professionals that can create a custom Drupal website for your organization.
We have done extensive work with Drupal in the non-profit space and have been involved in major upgrades and migrations, integrating fundraising capabilities using Drupal Commerce, and integrating third-party CRM solutions like Salesforce.
We will work with you to convey the core values of your non-profit, while also providing donors and content editors with a premium web experience. If you are ready to make an impact, then it is time to contact With Pulp!