Industry guide
Non-profit accessibility
Non-profit accessibility ensures donation portals, volunteer signup, programme information, and grant applications are usable by donors, volunteers, and beneficiaries with disabilities — an obligation under the ADA, Section 504 (for federally funded non-profits), and the EAA for EU-facing non-profit services.
15-25%
of donors abandon inaccessible donation forms
Source: Network for Good
What does accessibility mean for non-profit sites?
Non-profits face accessibility on three fronts: legal exposure under the ADA, grant-funding requirements (most federal grants now require digital accessibility), and mission alignment (excluding disabled donors and beneficiaries undermines mission). Donation forms and event registration are the most common failure points.
Compliance standards that apply
- ADA Title III
- Section 504 (federally funded)
- WCAG 2.2 AA
- PCI-DSS (donation forms)
Common accessibility failure points in non-profit sites
- Donation forms with poor keyboard support
- Event registration timeouts without warnings
- Inaccessible grant-application PDFs
- Programme content as image-only
- Inaccessible third-party donor platforms
Most-cited violations
- Donation amount buttons coded as divs
- Captcha without alternative
- Inaccessible "Donate now" overlays
- Event-RSVP PDFs untagged
- Logo-only sponsor lists
Remediation priorities
- Donation flow (mobile + desktop)
- Event registration and ticketing
- Grant application forms
- Programme information pages
- Volunteer portal
Authoritative sources
- ADA.gov — US DOJ
A note on widgets and overlays
Can an accessibility widget make your site compliant?
No. Widgets adjust how content renders for individual visitors — text size, contrast modes, dyslexia-friendly fonts. They do not remediate the underlying source code. WCAG conformance is graded at source level, and US federal courts (Murphy v. Eyebobs, Suarez v. Camping World, Hernandez v. Caesars) have repeatedly held that the presence of an overlay does not preclude ADA liability.
Our product produces an IAAP-format audit report with source-level remediation guidance. If you want a preferences panel for end users, ship one separately — opt-in, disclosed, and never marketed as a compliance solution.
See the Overlay Fact Sheet, signed by 900+ accessibility professionals.
FAQ
Non-profit accessibility — FAQ
Cited answers. Sourced. Updated as standards and case law change.
Does the ADA apply to non-profits?
Yes. ADA Title III covers any "public accommodation" — and non-profit charities, foundations, museums, religious-organisation services, social service centres, and educational programmes are typically in scope. Religious organisations themselves are partially exempt from Title III but their auxiliary programmes often are not.
Do grant-funded non-profits have additional obligations?
Federal grants typically require recipients to comply with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act — which includes a digital accessibility component. Some grant terms now also reference WCAG explicitly.
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founders@accessivepath.com · +977 9851094056