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For nonprofits and charities

Nonprofit website design and development in Canada

Paper Crane designs and builds websites and software for Canadian nonprofits and charities, and sets them up so your own staff can run them. Ten of our projects were built for nonprofits, from local Calgary agencies to national bodies.

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Websites your staff can run without us

We build nonprofit websites your team can update without us, and you own the code, the design and the accounts. Many nonprofits end up paying for a licence that renews whether or not it still fits, or a developer invoice every time a paragraph changes.

The Regional District of Central Kootenay had outgrown an expensive engagement platform. We rebuilt it as a lean WordPress application they own outright and cut their annual running costs by more than 95 percent.

YWCA Calgary and CHF Canada build their own pages without calling us.

The person updating the site is usually a coordinator or a volunteer with an hour to spare, so we keep editing simple. Pages are built from blocks designed around your content, and adding a new program page doesn't need a developer.

Nonprofit websites we've built

What a nonprofit website needs

Small local nonprofits and national organizations

Some are local and lean. ELIXR needed a site that fit the organization it had become.

Others are national. CHF Canada supports more than 900 housing co-ops across the country, in English and French. Pain Connect is McMaster University's national platform for the Chronic Pain Network.

Custom systems for nonprofits

Some nonprofits need a working system more than a new website: a database, a member portal or a tool that matches people to services. We build both and will tell you which one you need.

Pain Connect is a searchable directory of studies, a database that matches people to them, an admin portal and the email flows that connect the two. Explore Lethbridge is a points and rewards app covering more than 350 locations. Help for Dementia runs a learning platform alongside an AI resource assistant.

For donor, member and volunteer records, see our custom CRM development.

Accessibility

We build to WCAG 2.2 AA. YWCA Calgary's site is one example.

We don't call a site certified. A formal accessibility audit is separate work done by a third party, with its own cost. If you need one, we'll scope it alongside the build and quote it.

How we approach accessibility

French and bilingual websites

We build French and bilingual websites. CHF Canada's site is in English and French, and their team publishes in both without a duplicate workflow.

If you serve French-speaking communities or a funder requires French, plan for it at the start. It affects the page structure, the navigation and how your team edits.

How much does a nonprofit website cost?

We give one fixed price after a short planning session.

  • Programs and page types

    Each kind of page, such as programs, events, resources or stories, is designed and built once and then reused.

  • Donation and CRM connections

    Connecting a donation platform or donor database adds setup and testing.

  • Accessibility

    Building to WCAG 2.2 AA is included. A formal third-party audit is separate work with its own cost.

  • French

    A bilingual site needs a second set of content and a way to publish in both languages.

  • Content migration

    Time depends on how many pages there are and how much needs rewriting.

We list one-time build costs separately from monthly running costs, so your board can see where the money goes.

Questions from nonprofits

How much does a nonprofit website cost in Canada?

We give one fixed price after a short planning session. The main factors are the number of page types, donation and CRM connections, accessibility work, French, and how much existing content moves over. We list build costs separately from monthly running costs so your board can compare quotes.

Do you work with Google Ad Grants?

Yes. We build the landing pages that Ad Grants campaigns point to, so each ad sends people to a page about one program with one clear next step. Google gives eligible charities up to US$10,000 a month in search ads.

Can you connect our donation platform?

Yes. We link or embed the platform you already use, such as CanadaHelps, Zeffy or Stripe, and receipts keep coming from the system that issues them today.

We're writing an RFP. What should we be asking for?

Ask who owns the code and the design system when the engagement ends. Ask whether your team can build a new page without a developer, and ask to see the block library that makes that possible. Ask where the data lives, which matters if you handle anything sensitive or have Canadian residency requirements. Ask what the platform costs to run each year, separate from what it costs to build.

Do you respond to RFPs?

Yes. We have delivered through public and sector procurement for the Regional District of Central Kootenay and for national bodies including CHF Canada and the Chronic Pain Network at McMaster University.

Can you work in French?

Yes. CHF Canada's site is in English and French, and their team publishes in both without a duplicate workflow.

Can our team actually run the site afterwards?

Yes. YWCA Calgary runs on 51 custom blocks and CHF Canada on more than 40, and their teams build pages from those blocks. Most of our clients keep us on for the bigger pieces of work and handle the day to day themselves.

Do you work with organizations outside Alberta?

Yes. We have offices in Calgary and Vancouver and work with nonprofits across North America. Recent work includes projects in British Columbia and Ontario, and for the Visual Arts Center of New Jersey.

What happens after launch?

It depends what you want. Some clients take the keys and we hear from them once a year. Help for Dementia has been a three-year partnership across a rebrand, a learning platform and an AI assistant, and we are still building with them.

Talk to us about your nonprofit's website

Tell us what you're working on. If it isn't a fit, we'll say so.

Get in touch