Small nonprofits and charities
A nonprofit takes monthly support and runs its programmes.
Food banks and community pantries
Every donation is counted in, with the date it must be used by. Volunteers see their shifts, and the fridges are checked every day.
The staff and regular volunteers work in one Magpie team. Households, referrers and donors use the forms and pages you publish.
Get started free
This combination of six Magpie areas fits a food bank or community pantry.
- Inventory
- Inventory counts what comes in and goes out, with each delivery's date.
- Daily Operations
- Daily Operations schedules the fridge readings and the opening checks.
- Staff Scheduling
- Staff Scheduling plans the volunteers' shifts.
- Forms
- Forms takes referrals and sign-ups from volunteers.
- Newsletter
- Newsletter tells donors and volunteers what is needed.
- Supporters
- Supporters takes monthly support, with a public page.
You know what is on the shelves, and what is running low.
Inventory counts tins, pasta, nappies and the rest in each place they are kept. A supermarket's drop-off is recorded as a delivery. An item can keep each delivery's use-by date.
Running low lists what is below the level you set. Food past its date is recorded as waste, with the reason.
The fridges and freezers are checked on time, and a bad reading is followed up.
Daily Operations gives each session its checks, such as opening, the fridge round and closing. Each reading is kept with who took it.
A reading outside its range opens an incident, with what to do. You set each fridge's limits.
Volunteers see their own shifts, and an open shift waits for someone.
Staff Scheduling plans each session, with positions such as warehouse, distribution and driver. Each volunteer you invite sees their own shifts.
An open shift waits for someone to take it. Volunteers can swap a shift or say when they cannot come.
Referral agencies send households to you on one form.
Forms builds a referral form with your questions, such as household size and dietary needs. Every referral comes into one list.
You get an email for each new one. A second form can take volunteer sign-ups.
Donors and volunteers hear what is needed this week.
Newsletter keeps your mailing list, with double opt-in on its sign-up page. A list can be brought in from a CSV file.
You write each issue, send yourself a test and schedule it. A sent issue has a web copy, which can start a social media post.
Supporters give every month, and see where it goes.
Supporters gives the food bank a public page, with a free tier and monthly paid tiers. Payments go to your own Stripe account.
Posts can go to everyone or to paying supporters, such as a month's numbers. A post can hold photos, a video or a poll.
Six more areas cover partners, the books, vans, appeals, posters and the website.
- Contacts
- Contacts keeps referral agencies, donors and suppliers, with follow-ups.
- Accounting
- Accounting keeps the books, with supporters' payments posted automatically.
- Asset Tracker
- Asset Tracker keeps the van, the freezers and the trolleys, with their maintenance.
- Social Media
- Social Media posts the week's appeal to Bluesky, Mastodon and LinkedIn.
- QR Codes
- QR Codes puts the volunteer form on a poster at each collection point.
- Websites
- Websites builds your site, with opening times and how to get a referral.
A week goes from a supermarket drop-off to parcels handed out.
The drop-off
The supermarket's surplus is counted in, with its dates.
The appeal
The newsletter asks for what is running low.
The referrals
Agencies send households on the form.
The session
Volunteers on the rota open up and check the fridges.
The parcels
What goes out is taken out of stock.
Setting up takes four steps.
Add what you stock
You turn on dates for the items that need them. Help: Keep track of stock.
Add the fridges
You set each one's limits. Help: Record temperatures.
Invite the regular volunteers
They then see their shifts. Help: Add staff and invite them to see their shifts.
Build the referral form
You choose its questions. Help: Build, publish, and share a form.
Plans
A food bank fits the Team plan, with each person who sees their shifts a member. Households, referrers and donors are not added to it.
Magpie's fee on supporters' payments is 3%. Stripe's processing fee is taken from each card payment. Prices are on the Pricing page.
Other groups that serve their community have pages of their own.
Churches, mosques, temples and faith groups
A faith community plans services, rotas and gatherings.
Clubs, meetups and community groups
A community group lists events, signs up volunteers and talks on a board.
Questions food banks ask
Can we record what each donation brought in?
Yes. A donation is recorded as a delivery, with each item and quantity. An item can keep each delivery's date.
Can we see what is running low?
Yes. Each item can have a minimum in each place. Running low lists everything below it.
Can we record food that has to be thrown away?
Yes. Waste records it with a reason, such as expired or damaged. History lists each change.
Can volunteers see when they are on?
Yes. Each volunteer you invite sees their own shifts once the rota is published. They can swap a shift or take an open one.
Can we log fridge temperatures?
Yes. Each fridge has its limits, and each reading keeps who took it. A reading out of range opens an incident.
Can agencies refer households online?
Yes. A referral form asks your questions, and you get an email for each referral. Every referral comes into one list you can export.
Can people support us every month?
Yes. Supporters gives you a page with monthly paid tiers. Supporters change their card or cancel themselves.
Set up your food bank in Magpie.
Create a Magpie account and make a team for the food bank.