Registering for an ActiveDonor account¶

In short: Go to the ActiveDonor sign-up page on a desktop or laptop, enter your name, email and organisation name, then pick a Workspace ID and a password. Registration is not available on mobile devices — on a phone or tablet the form is replaced by a demo-booking calendar.

Overview¶

ActiveDonor gives every South African nonprofit its own private workspace — a subdomain such as yourcharity.activedonor.com. Registering creates that workspace, sets up the first administrator login, and seeds the account with starter data (templates, a default project, default receipt methods and tags) so you can begin straight away. There is no payment required to start: the sign-up screen is headed Start your free trial with the note "Quick and easy setup. No payment required."

Before you start¶

You'll need:

A desktop or laptop computer. The sign-up form is hidden on mobile devices (see the warning below).
Your organisation's name (your registered charity / NPO name).
A working email address — it is verified during sign-up by an email-validation service (DeBounce), so disposable or invalid addresses are rejected.
A password of at least 8 characters.

⚠️ Important: If you open the sign-up page on a phone or tablet, ActiveDonor hides the form and shows "Book your free 30 minute demo" with a booking calendar instead. If you try to continue on a mobile device you'll see "Oops! Please complete the signup on a desktop/laptop computer for best experience. Thank you." Switch to a desktop or laptop to register.

Registering¶

Go to the ActiveDonor sign-up page (the /register address on the main activedonor.com site, reachable from the Start your free trial link on the website).

Step 2: Enter your details¶

On the first screen, headed Start your free trial, fill in:

Your Name — your full name. Both a first name and a surname are required.
Email Address — your work email.
Organisation Name — your charity name. The field tooltip reads "Enter your Charity Name".

Select Next →. ActiveDonor verifies your email address and generates a few short Workspace-ID suggestions from your organisation name. A ⚡ Processing indicator appears while this happens.

Step 3: Choose a password and Workspace ID¶

On the second screen (which shows your organisation name at the top), fill in:

Password: — at least 8 characters.
Select a short Workspace ID: — choose one of the suggested IDs from the dropdown. This becomes your subdomain (for example, choosing hope gives you hope.activedonor.com).

Select Sign Up. A "Getting things ready!" message appears while your workspace is created. By clicking Sign Up you agree to the ActiveDonor terms and acknowledge the privacy policy. You are then automatically signed in and taken into your new workspace, where you complete the onboarding wizard and the setup checklist.

What gets created automatically¶

When your workspace is built, ActiveDonor seeds it with starter data so the system is usable immediately:

Your administrator user account (the name, email and password you entered).
Certificate settings and default message/email templates.
An initial project, an initial (placeholder) donor, default receipt methods, and default tags.

You replace or add to these as you work through the setup checklist — see Using the setup checklist, which walks you through uploading your logo, creating a project, adding a donor, recording a donation and generating a certificate.

📌 Note: The placeholder project and donor are why some setup-checklist steps only count as complete once you have more than one project or donor. See Using the setup checklist.

Why the Workspace ID matters¶

Your Workspace ID is permanent and becomes the web address you and your team log in at (for example hope.activedonor.com). You can only pick from the suggestions ActiveDonor offers, the ID must contain letters and numbers only, and it cannot already be taken by another workspace.

Field reference¶

Field	Required?	What to enter
Your Name	Yes	Your full name — letters and spaces only, up to 50 characters. Both a first name and a surname are required.
Email Address	Yes	A valid, deliverable email address, up to 100 characters. Checked by an email-validation service.
Organisation Name	Yes	Your charity name, up to 100 characters. Letters, numbers, spaces and the symbols ' - . , & ( ) ! ? are allowed.
Password	Yes	At least 8 characters.
Workspace ID	Yes	Selected from the suggested list. Letters and numbers only. Must not already be taken by another workspace.

Common issues & solutions¶

What you see	What it means	How to fix it
"Please enter a valid email address."	The email-validation service could not confirm your address is deliverable.	Check for typos and use a real, working mailbox.
"Please enter your full name."	Only one name was entered in Your Name.	Enter both a first name and a surname.
"Oops! Please complete the signup on a desktop/laptop computer for best experience. Thank you."	You are on a mobile device, where the form is unavailable.	Switch to a desktop or laptop, or book a demo from the mobile page.
"This workspace ID is already taken. Please select another option."	The subdomain you picked is in use.	Choose a different suggestion from the dropdown.
"Please select a valid workspace ID from the available options."	No ID (or an invalid one) was chosen.	Pick one of the offered IDs from the dropdown.

FAQ¶

Why can't I register on my phone? The sign-up form is desktop/laptop only. On a phone or tablet it's replaced by a "Book your free 30 minute demo" calendar. Use a computer to complete registration, or book a demo and the team will help you.

What is a Workspace ID / organisation ID? It's the short name that becomes your charity's web address, e.g. hope → hope.activedonor.com. You choose it during sign-up from a list of suggestions. It's how you'll reach your login page afterwards.

Can I change my Workspace ID later? No self-service option exists in the sign-up flow — you pick it once during registration. If you need it changed, contact ActiveDonor support.

My email is rejected even though it works. Sign-up uses an external email-validation service. If a genuine address is rejected, double-check for typos; if it still fails, contact ActiveDonor support so they can help.

Do I need to pay to register? No. The sign-up screen states "Quick and easy setup. No payment required." You start on a free trial.

What this does not do¶

It does not work on mobile — registration must be done on a desktop or laptop.
It does not let you type a custom subdomain. You select a Workspace ID from the suggestions ActiveDonor generates.
It does not add team members. Inviting other users happens later — see Managing users.

Logging in and signing out
Completing the onboarding wizard
Using the setup checklist
Editing your profile (My Account)
Organisation settings
Managing users

Need a hand?¶

If you can't complete sign-up — a Workspace ID won't accept, or a valid email is rejected — contact ActiveDonor support with your organisation name and the email you're trying to use, and we'll help you get set up.