Today, I’m excited to share that Charitable is joining the Awesome Motive team led by Syed Balkhi.

Wes and I launched Charitable in 2015 because we were tired of seeing non-profits use hosted fundraising platforms that charge hefty fees and strip them of the ability to brand & control their donation pages. 

Other WordPress donation plugins existed, but they missed important functionality or were poorly supported, leaving nonprofits to choose between expensive platforms or plugins lacking the features they really needed.

Over the last 7 years, Charitable has grown a lot. It has become a top-rated WordPress donation and fundraising plugin that is trusted by over 10,000 non-profits all over the world.

After being a small team splitting our time on the product as well as our agency business for the last 7 years, we are ready to pass the reins to someone who shares the same passion and has the resources to make Charitable even better than it is today.

With Awesome Motive’s vast resources and deep understanding of the WordPress industry, I know they’ll be able to make Charitable even more powerful than it is today.

Since this is a BIG NEWS, you probably have a lot of questions like: who is Awesome Motive, what does this acquisition mean for existing customers, what will happen to the Charitable team, what’s coming next, etc.

Who’s Awesome Motive?

Awesome Motive is a company started by Syed Balkhi with a mission to help small businesses grow and compete with the big guys.

What we like about Awesome Motive is that it’s a bootstrapped company that’s truly purpose driven. 

They’re behind some of the most popular plugins and resources in the WordPress ecosystem:

• WPBeginner – the largest free WordPress resource site for beginners.
• OptinMonster – popular conversion optimization software that helps you convert abandoning visitors into subscribers and customers.
• WPForms – the most beginner friendly WordPress form builder.
• MonsterInsights – the most popular WordPress Analytics plugin that helps you grow your business with confidence.
• AIOSEO – the original WordPress SEO plugin to help you get more traffic.
• WP Mail SMTP – the #1 plugin that helps improve your WordPress email deliverability.
• SeedProd – the best drag & drop landing page builder for WordPress.
• RafflePress – powerful WordPress giveaway and contest plugin to grow your website traffic.
• Smash Balloon – most popular social media feeds plugin for WordPress.
• PushEngage – leading web push notification software for small businesses.
• SearchWP – the most advanced WordPress search plugin.
• AffiliateWP – leading WordPress affiliate management plugin.
• Easy Digital Downloads – leading eCommerce plugin for selling digital products.
• WP Simple Pay – simple WordPress payment plugin that lets you accept online payments without creating a shopping cart.
• … and many more.

Collectively over 20 million websites use Awesome Motive plugins. 

We have known Syed Balkhi, WPBeginner and Awesome Motive for multiple years and have a lot of respect for the work they do.

We also share a lot of the same values: commitment to excellence, customer service, and putting people first.

Aside from the shared commitment, their team has a lot of experience with running large plugins as well as working with payment & marketing platforms, both of which are critical for Charitable.

I’m confident that Charitable will have a brighter future under Syed’s vision and leadership.

What does this acquisition mean for existing users?

Aside from the new ownership change, it’s business as usual. You can continue to use the plugin that you love without any interruptions.

Charitable was run by Wes and I, and we will be helping with the transition process to ensure everything goes smoothly. The product will now be led by Awesome Motive.

David Bisset, one of the most well-known and highly respected WordPress developers has joined Awesome Motive, and he will be leading the product development as they grow the Charitable team.

See the Awesome Motive Careers page for open positions.

It’s also important to note that for existing users with an active paid subscription of Charitable, the invoices will now come from WP Charitable LLC instead of Studio164a. 

What’s Coming Next?

I’m super excited to see what new features Syed and team will build in WP Charitable first. 

We have shared our extensive feature wishlist, and we know that with Awesome Motive’s resources and experience that wishlist will become a reality much faster.

As we pass the baton, Wes and I want to say thank you to everyone who has supported us on this journey. We have been humbled to play a small part in the fundraising journey for so many amazing organizations. 

I just want to say that I’m proud of the work we have done with Charitable, and I am very confident in Syed’s vision to take Charitable to the next level.

Lastly, I want to thank everyone who has supported us on this amazing journey. If you would like to stay in touch, you can connect with me via LinkedIn.

Sincerely,

Eric Daams
Founder of WP Charitable