Introduction
Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) rely heavily on their online presence to drive awareness, communicate their mission, raise funds, and engage with communities. However, many NGOs struggle with limited budgets, technical challenges, and content management issues. This case study highlights how one NGO overcame these obstacles using Joomla CMS, resulting in a functional, scalable, and impactful digital transformation.
Read on to discover how Joomla helped this NGO streamline operations, improve outreach, and scale their impact — and how you can achieve similar results for your own non-profit project.
Client Overview: Helping Hands Foundation
Organization Name: Helping Hands Foundation
Mission: Providing education and health services to underprivileged communities in rural India
Challenge: Outdated, static website with no content management system, no donation integration, and poor mobile compatibility
Goal: To build a modern, multilingual, mobile-responsive NGO website that enables:
- Real-time updates of projects and news
- Online donations and volunteer sign-ups
- Secure admin access with role-based permissions
- Integration with social media and email marketing
Why Joomla Was Chosen
The NGO team evaluated several CMS options, including WordPress, Wix, and Drupal. They ultimately chose Joomla for these reasons:
- Open-source & budget-friendly
- Robust multilingual capabilities
- Advanced user access control
- Strong community and long-term support
- Easily extendable with donation, event, and form extensions
Project Highlights
Design and User Experience
A fresh, clean design was created using the Helix Ultimate framework, ensuring responsive layout and accessibility. Key pages include:
- About Us
- Our Projects
- Events
- Blog / Newsroom
- Volunteer & Donate Pages
- Contact Page with Google Maps
Multilingual Content
The site needed to be available in English, Hindi, and Marathi. Joomla’s core multilingual features were used effectively:
- Language switcher module
- Separate menus and modules for each language
- Custom language overrides for labels and messages
Donation Integration
The Joomla extension JoomDonation was installed to:
- Accept payments via PayPal, Razorpay, and bank transfers
- Set up recurring donations
- Generate auto email receipts for donors
- Display real-time donation goals and progress bars
Volunteer and Contact Forms
With RSForm! Pro, dynamic forms were created for:
- Volunteer registration
- Contact inquiries
- Feedback from program beneficiaries
Spam protection was added using reCAPTCHA v3.
Blog and News Section
The team uses Joomla’s native article manager and EasyBlog (for a better writing experience) to post:
- Success stories
- Field reports
- Event recaps
- Press releases
User Access Control
Different backend access roles were created using Joomla’s ACL system:
- Content editors (for blog updates)
- Donation team (view donations only)
- Admins (full access)
This reduced the risk of accidental edits and streamlined the workflow.
SEO & Performance
- Meta descriptions and schema added using sh404SEF
- Lazy load for images and caching with JCH Optimize
- AMP version set up for blog posts
- Mobile performance tested with Google PageSpeed Insights (>85 score)
Impact and Results
The site was launched in January 2025. After just 90 days, the following outcomes were observed:
· 62% Increase in Website Traffic (compared to previous year)
· 140+ Online Donations, totaling ₹3.2 lakhs
· 450 Volunteer Sign-ups
· 3x More Newsletter Subscriptions
· 4 Local NGOs requested collaboration through contact form
The internal team also appreciated the ease of content updates, faster publishing, and language-specific communication.
Lessons Learned
- Joomla’s modular layout and multilingual features are ideal for NGOs working in diverse regions
- Using extensions like RSForm!, JoomDonation, and sh404SEF significantly cuts down development time
- Regular training for NGO staff on how to use Joomla ensures long-term success
- Periodic backups using Akeeba Backup prevent data loss and make updates stress-free
Conclusion
Helping Hands Foundation’s website success story demonstrates how Joomla is more than capable of powering a modern, professional NGO site — even with a limited budget. The CMS’s flexibility, multilingual support, and strong ecosystem of extensions make it a top choice for non-profit organizations aiming to grow their digital presence.
If you’re running an NGO or planning to launch one, Joomla offers the tools to scale your mission online while staying in control of your content and costs.
Planning a digital transformation for your NGO? Contact our Joomla experts for a free consultation and see how we can help you build a powerful, budget-friendly website that makes a difference.
