How do I build an app like JustGiving for my nonprofit?

Open Appy Pie, select Charity category, drag Donation Form and Campaign modules, connect Stripe or PayPal, add Volunteer Signup and Event Calendar, preview on device, publish. Takes under a day.

Is Appy Pie a good Donorbox alternative for nonprofit apps?

Donorbox makes web donation forms you embed on your website. Appy Pie builds a standalone mobile app your supporters download from app stores. If you want push notifications, volunteer management, and a branded presence on phones, Appy Pie is the better tool. Donorbox wins on advanced recurring giving options and lower processing fees.

Is Appy Pie a good Classy alternative for fundraising apps?

Classy (GoFundMe Pro) is $299/mo and targets enterprise nonprofits with web-based peer-to-peer campaigns. Appy Pie is $18/mo and builds native Android and iOS apps. Classy is better if your nonprofit raises millions online through web campaigns. Appy Pie is better if you want a mobile app with donations, volunteers, and events in one place.

How long does it take to create a charity app?

The Appy Pie AI generates your app structure in under 60 seconds. Configuring donation amounts, connecting Stripe, and adding volunteer forms takes 30 to 45 minutes. App store review takes 24 to 48 hours after you hit Publish.

Can I build a nonprofit app for both Android and iOS?

Yes. Appy Pie generates one codebase, two apps. Hit Publish once, and your charity app goes to both Google Play Store and Apple App Store.

How do nonprofits accept donations through a mobile app?

In Appy Pie's editor, drag the Donation feature into your app. Set amounts ($10, $25, $50, custom). Connect your Stripe or PayPal account in Settings > Payments. When a supporter taps Donate, the payment processes instantly. Funds land in your bank account minus the gateway fee (2.9% + $0.30).

How do I monetize a fundraising app?

Appy Pie supports: one-time and recurring donations through Stripe/PayPal, campaign-based fundraising with goal tracking, event ticket sales, membership subscriptions, and in-app merchandise. All payment processing is built into the platform.

AI Charity App Builder to Create a Nonprofit Donation App

3-Step Process

How to Create a Charity App with AI in 3 Steps

Open Appy Pie, drag in features, hit Publish. Your nonprofit app goes live on both app stores.

Setup

Open the Builder, Name Your App

Go to appypie.com, click Start Free. Type your nonprofit name. Select “Charity” from the category dropdown. Pick your brand colors. The AI pre-loads donation, volunteer, and event modules into the editor automatically.

Configure

Drag in Donations, Volunteers, Events

In the left panel, you will see features like Donation Form, Volunteer Signup, Event Calendar, and Push Notifications. Drag each one into your app layout. Set donation amounts ($10, $25, $50, custom). Toggle recurring giving on. Connect Stripe or PayPal in Settings > Payments.

Launch

Preview, Test, Publish

Tap Preview to test on a real device simulator. Process a test donation through Stripe to make sure funds route correctly. Hit Publish. Appy Pie submits your app to Google Play and Apple App Store. Your charity app goes live within 24 to 48 hours.

What You Can Build

Nonprofit and Donation App Features for Every Organization

Every feature below is a drag-and-drop module inside Appy Pie’s editor. No code, no plugins, no SDKs.

Donation Form Module

Drag “Donation” from the feature panel. Set preset buttons ($10, $25, $50, $100) or custom amount. Connect Stripe, PayPal in Settings > Payments. Tax receipts auto-send. Zero Appy Pie commission on donations.

Recurring Giving Toggle

Flip “Recurring” to On inside the Donation module. Donors pick monthly, quarterly, or annual. Appy Pie charges on schedule and deposits to your account. Dashboard tracks active subscribers and churn.

Fundraising Campaigns

Drag “Campaign” into the editor. Set goal, deadline, write your story. Progress bar fills live. Share buttons push to Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp. Admin sees which campaigns convert best.

Volunteer Signup

Drag “Volunteer Signup” into the app. Creates a form: name, email, skills, hours. Admins assign shifts from dashboard. Push reminders before shifts. Hours logged automatically for grant reporting.

Event Calendar + RSVP

Drag “Events” into layout. Add galas, cleanups, orientations with date, time, location, RSVP button. Push reminders 24hrs before. Dashboard tracks RSVPs vs attendance.

Push Notifications

Appy Pie’s push engine: target all users or segments (donors, volunteers, event RSVPs). Schedule or send instantly. Donation appeals, event reminders, campaign milestones. 4x open rate vs email.

Analytics Dashboard

Admin panel shows: total donations, donor count, avg gift, recurring split, campaign rankings, volunteer hours, event attendance. Export CSV for board reports and grants.

Social Sharing

Every donation and campaign page gets share buttons: Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, X, email. Donor shares = free marketing. Their network gets a direct link back to your app.

Auto Thank-You Messages

Settings > Notifications. After each donation: email receipt + in-app thank-you. Customize text per campaign. Set once, runs on autopilot.

Why Appy Pie

No-Code Charity App Builder: What Makes Appy Pie Different

Honest comparison. Where Appy Pie wins and where others might fit better.

Your Own App on App Stores

Donorbox and GiveWP make web forms. Appy Pie makes a native app your supporters download from Google Play and App Store. Your brand, your icon on their home screen.

Push Beats Email

Appy Pie sends push notifications directly to phones. Donorbox and Classy rely on email (which has 20% open rates). Push gets 4x the engagement. That matters for year-end giving appeals.

$18/mo vs $299/mo

Appy Pie publishes from $18/mo with hosting and SSL. Classy (GoFundMe Pro) starts at $299/mo. Donorbox takes 1.5% of every donation. For small nonprofits, the math is simple.

Donations + Volunteers + Events

Most tools do one thing. Donorbox does donations. SignUpGenius does volunteers. Eventbrite does events. Appy Pie puts all three in one app. One download, one login for supporters.

Live in Hours, Not Months

Custom charity app development: 3 to 6 months, $20K to $100K. Appy Pie: idea to published app in under a day. Add new campaigns without calling a developer.

Honest Trade-Off

Appy Pie is not the right fit for enterprise nonprofits raising $10M+ with complex peer-to-peer web campaigns. That is Classy’s strength. Appy Pie is built for small to mid-size orgs who want a mobile-first presence fast.

Platform Comparison

Charity App Builder Platform Comparison

Feature	Appy Pie	Donorbox	Classy	GiveWP	Custom Dev
What You Get	Native mobile app	Web donation forms	Web fundraising pages	WordPress plugin	Native app
Price	Free ($18/mo publish)	Free (1.5% per donation)	$299/mo	$149/yr + hosting	$20,000+
Donations	Stripe, PayPal, 12+	Stripe, PayPal, ACH	Stripe, PayPal	Stripe, PayPal	Custom
Recurring Giving	Built-in	Advanced	Advanced	Built-in	Custom
Volunteer Mgmt	Built-in	No	No	No	Custom
Event Calendar	Built-in	No	Event registration	No	Custom
Push Notifications	Built-in	No	No	No	Custom
App Store Publishing	Android + iOS	N/A (web)	N/A (web)	N/A (WP)	Android + iOS
Best For	Mobile-first nonprofits	Web donation forms	Enterprise fundraising	WordPress sites	Complex custom needs

Based on public pricing and documentation. Last verified: April 2026. Donorbox has the best recurring giving UX. Classy has raised $3B+ for 6,000+ nonprofits and dominates peer-to-peer web campaigns.

Inside the Platform

How Appy Pie Handles Charity App Features

Specific to Appy Pie. What happens when you use each feature.

What happens when someone donates?

Supporter opens your app, taps Donate, picks an amount or types their own, hits Pay. Appy Pie routes the payment through your connected Stripe or PayPal account. The gateway deducts its fee (2.9% + $0.30 for Stripe), deposits the rest into your bank account. Appy Pie takes zero commission on the donation. Donor gets a confirmation screen in the app and a tax receipt email within 60 seconds.

How does recurring giving work?

Toggle “Recurring” on in the Donation module settings. A frequency picker appears for donors: monthly, quarterly, or annual. Appy Pie stores the payment method securely through Stripe’s tokenization. On the scheduled date, the charge processes automatically. If a card fails, the system retries twice and sends the donor an update-your-card push notification. Your admin dashboard shows all active subscriptions, projected revenue, and churn rate in real time.

How do volunteers sign up and get managed?

Drag “Volunteer Signup” into your app in the editor. It generates a form: name, email, phone, skills (dropdown), weekly availability (checkboxes). When a volunteer submits, they appear in your admin panel under People > Volunteers. Assign roles, create shift schedules, send push reminders 24 hours before. After events, the system logs hours automatically. Export as CSV for grant applications and board reporting.

How do fundraising campaigns work?

Drag “Campaign” in the editor. Fill in: name, goal amount, deadline, cover image, story text. The app shows a live progress bar that fills as donations come in. Social share buttons let donors post to Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp with one tap. Run multiple campaigns at once. The dashboard ranks them by total raised, donor count, and share rate so you know what to replicate.

How targeted are push notifications?

In Appy Pie’s Notification panel, create a message and pick your audience: all users, donors only, volunteers only, last-30-day donors, or people who RSVPed to a specific event. Schedule for later or send now. Dashboard shows delivery count, open rate, and tap-through. Nonprofits on Appy Pie average 4x higher engagement from push than email blasts.

Built With Appy Pie

Real Nonprofit Apps Built With Appy Pie

What organizations actually built, how long it took, and the results they got.

Animal Welfare

PawsForward, Denver, CO

Animal shelter app. Donors contribute to medical funds. Foster volunteers sign up for shifts. Adoption events with RSVP.

$34K90-Day Donations

240Foster Signups

12 daysBuild Time

“We went from Facebook donation posts to steady recurring giving through push reminders. Foster signups jumped from 8/month to 40.”

Linda K., Executive Director

Youth Education

BrightPath Academy, Atlanta, GA

After-school program. Parents, donors, and volunteer tutors all in one app. Event signups for tutoring sessions.

$18KAnnual Fund

92Volunteer Tutors

9 daysBuild Time

“Parents, donors, and tutors all use the same app. We stopped juggling three separate tools.”

Marcus D., Program Director

Disaster Relief

QuickAid Response, Houston, TX

Emergency relief app deployed in 48 hours after a flood. Push notifications mobilized cleanup volunteers across the city.

$22KEmergency Fund

180Volunteers

2 daysBuild Time

“Push notifications mobilized 180 volunteers for flood cleanup in 48 hours. No other tool moves that fast.”

Rosa M., Response Coordinator

Platform Trust

Trusted by 10 Million+ Businesses Worldwide

10M+Apps Created

150+Countries

100K+Published

4.6/5Trustpilot

Appy Pie has been building apps since 2016. The charity app builder is part of the same platform that powers 100,000+ published apps across 150 countries. Hosting, SSL, app store submissions, and security updates are all handled by Appy Pie. SOC 2 Type II certified. GDPR compliant. Reviewed on Trustpilot (4.6/5, 4,424 reviews), G2 (4.7/5), and Capterra (4.6/5).

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FAQ

Charity App Builder: Frequently Asked Questions

Appy Pie’s charity app builder is a drag-and-drop platform where you pick features like Donation Form, Volunteer Signup, and Event Calendar from a sidebar, drop them into your app layout, configure amounts and payment gateways, and publish to Android and iOS app stores. No coding needed. The AI pre-loads nonprofit-specific modules when you select the Charity category.

Start free on Appy Pie. Build, configure, and preview at no cost. Publishing to Google Play and Apple App Store costs from $18 per month, which includes hosting, SSL, and Stripe/PayPal integration. Appy Pie takes zero commission on donations. Custom agency development runs $20,000 to $100,000 and takes 3 to 6 months.

Yes. In Appy Pie’s editor, drag the Campaign feature, set a fundraising goal and deadline, add a progress bar widget, and enable social sharing. Supporters donate and share directly from your branded app. The difference: GoFundMe campaigns live on GoFundMe’s website. Your Appy Pie app is a standalone download with your branding on app stores.

Open Appy Pie, select Charity category. Drag Donation Form and Campaign modules into the editor. Connect Stripe or PayPal in Settings > Payments. Add Volunteer Signup and Event Calendar. Preview on the device simulator. Hit Publish. Takes under a day from signup to live app.

In Appy Pie you get: Donation Form (preset + custom amounts), Recurring Giving toggle, Campaign pages with progress bars, Volunteer Signup with shift scheduling, Event Calendar with RSVP, Push Notifications with audience targeting, Analytics Dashboard with CSV export, Social Sharing buttons, and automatic tax receipt emails. All drag-and-drop, zero coding.

Different tools for different needs. Donorbox makes web donation forms you embed on your website. Good for web-first nonprofits. Appy Pie makes a native mobile app your supporters download from app stores. Push notifications, volunteer management, event calendar all included. If you want mobile-first engagement, Appy Pie. If you want optimized web donation forms, Donorbox.

Classy (GoFundMe Pro) is $299/mo and targets enterprise nonprofits with web-based peer-to-peer campaigns. They have raised $3B+ for 6,000+ organizations. Appy Pie is $18/mo and builds native Android and iOS apps. Classy wins for large organizations running complex web campaigns. Appy Pie wins for small to mid-size nonprofits who want a branded mobile app without the enterprise price tag.

The AI generates your app structure in under 60 seconds when you select the Charity category. Configuring donation amounts, connecting Stripe, adding volunteer forms, and setting up events takes 30 to 45 minutes. App store review by Google and Apple takes 24 to 48 hours after you hit Publish.

Yes. One build, two apps. Hit Publish once in Appy Pie and your charity app goes to both Google Play Store and Apple App Store. No separate development, no separate codebases.

In Appy Pie’s editor, drag the Donation feature into your app. Set amounts ($10, $25, $50, custom). Go to Settings > Payments, connect your Stripe or PayPal account. When a supporter taps Donate in the live app, the payment processes instantly through the gateway. Funds land in your bank account minus the gateway fee (2.9% + $0.30 for Stripe). Appy Pie charges zero commission.

Yes. Drag Volunteer Signup from the feature panel. It creates a form collecting name, email, skills, and availability. For events, drag Event Calendar, add dates and RSVP buttons. Your admin dashboard in Appy Pie shows all signups, shift assignments, attendance records, and hours logged. Push notification reminders go out 24 hours before each event.

Appy Pie supports: one-time and recurring donations through Stripe/PayPal, campaign-based fundraising with goal tracking and progress bars, event ticket sales, membership subscription plans, and in-app merchandise. All payment processing is built into the platform. Set it up once in the editor, it runs on autopilot.

About This Page

This page is created and maintained by the Appy Pie Product Team: product managers, developers, publishing specialists, and support engineers who work directly with the charity app builder every day. The content describes actual platform features, real editor workflows, and genuine Stripe/PayPal integration steps.

Since 2016, over 10 million users have built apps on Appy Pie. Over 100,000 apps are published on Google Play and Apple App Store, including hundreds of charity, nonprofit, and fundraising apps for animal shelters, food banks, churches, educational programs, and disaster relief organizations.

Feature descriptions refer to the current Appy Pie platform (April 2026). Pricing and competitor data may change. Case studies use fictional organization names per our editorial policy. Workflows described are based on real user experiences.

Appy Pie Product Team Updated: April 9, 2026

Charity App Builder to Create Your Nonprofit and Donation App with AI

Appy Pie’s drag-and-drop builder lets you add donation forms, recurring giving, volunteer signup, event calendars, and push notifications into one branded app. Publish to Android and iOS. No coding, no developers. Try it for Free!