GraceSquad

GraceSquad is a church and nonprofit platform for coordinating volunteers, maintaining member records, and handling donations. It suits organizations that want those tasks tied together, particularly where child-safety workflows matter. Its strongest case is reducing coordination work without giving up coordinator review; the trade-off is that the mobile apps are still coming soon.

Overview

GraceSquad brings volunteer profiles, shift scheduling, reminders, child-safety tools, and giving into one system. Its auto-fill engine weighs skills, certifications, availability, and rotation fairness to draft assignments, which a coordinator then reviews and publishes. That balance is useful for busy teams that want help with recurring schedules but still need a person to make the final call.

Organizations own their volunteer and member records and can export or delete them. GraceSquad says it uses US-hosted hardened VPS infrastructure, TLS 1.3, encrypted database backups, and role-based access, and does not sell or share member data for marketing. Usage logs are retained for up to 30 days, with no third-party analytics cookies. Payments run through Stripe; optional SMS uses Twilio, while Mailgun handles authentication email, Cloudflare R2 file storage, and Amazon Lightsail hosting.

Key features

Scheduling and volunteer records

The CRM keeps profiles, skills, certifications, availability, family groupings, service history, hours, and badges together. Auto-fill and conflict detection can reduce the manual work of placing volunteers, while recurring schedules and availability tracking support regular programs. Starter has manual scheduling only, so the automation is a paid-plan reason rather than a free-tier benefit.

Reminders, safety, and giving

Community and higher plans include SMS and email reminders described as arriving 48 and 24 hours before shifts; Starter is email-only. Child-safety tools include background-check status tracking, QR-code check-in, parent tags, and two-adult-rule enforcement. Community includes the child safety module, though background-check tracking is on Growth and above, so organizations needing that specific capability should compare the plan details carefully.

Giving supports one-time and recurring Stripe donations, fund designation, and giving statements. The stated processing pass-through is 2.2% + $0.30 per transaction, a cost to include when evaluating donation volume.

Pricing

GraceSquad has a free plan, paid plans from $39/mo, and a 14-day trial. Starter is free forever and capped at 100 members and one ministry; it includes volunteer profiles, basic member CRM, email notifications, and manual scheduling. It is a reasonable starting point for a small organization that can assign shifts without auto-fill or SMS.

Community costs $39/mo for up to 500 members and five ministries. It adds auto-fill, SMS and email, a volunteer portal, conflict detection, basic reporting, child safety, and giving management. This is the practical step up for teams that need automated assignments and reminders as well as donation handling.

Growth costs $79/mo for up to 2,000 members and unlimited ministries. It includes auto-fill and child safety, plus donation tracking, a forms builder, and the full report library. Its higher member ceiling and reporting tools suit larger operations, and it includes background-check tracking. Ministry costs $119/mo for unlimited members and everything in Growth, adding multi-campus support, API access, priority support, a custom domain, and dedicated onboarding. It is aimed at organizations whose scale or campus structure justifies those additions.

Platforms

The web app is available now. Although Android and iOS are listed as platforms, the mobile apps are marked coming soon, so teams that need a ready-to-use phone app should look elsewhere for now.

Who it's for

GraceSquad identifies churches, food banks, youth programs, healthcare volunteers, and other mission-driven organizations as its intended users. Its mix of member records, recurring coordination, safety features, and giving is most compelling when an organization wants these workflows in one place. The web-first availability and member caps make it less suitable for teams that require mobile apps now or exceed the lower plans' limits.

Pros and cons

• Pros: Auto-fill considers skills, certifications, availability, and rotation fairness, with coordinator review before assignments are published.
• Pros: Volunteer records include service history and hours alongside family groupings and qualifications, helping teams keep coordination context together.
• Pros: Organizations can export or delete records they own, and the stated privacy posture includes role-based access and no marketing sale or sharing of member data.
• Cons: Starter lacks auto-fill and is limited to 100 members and one ministry.
• Cons: SMS, donation management, and the child safety module require Community or above, while background-check tracking starts at Growth.
• Cons: The mobile apps are not yet available, and Stripe processing adds 2.2% + $0.30 per donation transaction.

Alternatives

For a broader category comparison, see Church Volunteer Management Software.

Choose Planning Center if its free Calendar, People, or Services options better match a church's needs. Consider Church Volunteering for its free roster builder for one team of up to 10 volunteers, or its $12 a month Standard plan when unlimited teams and volunteers matter. Ministry Planner is another freemium option, with free tools that include scheduling for one team and up to 1,000 volunteers.

RosterThat may suit smaller roster needs: its Pro plan is $5 a month for up to three admin members, up to 50 people, and unlimited rosters. SimpleServ offers a free plan for up to five volunteers and one admin account. For other needs, WorshipTools Presenter, HolyJot, and AidOrbit are alternatives to consider.

Verdict

GraceSquad is a strong fit for mission-driven organizations that want volunteer scheduling, member records, safety workflows, and giving under one roof. Choose it when coordinator-reviewed automation and plan-based safety tools address real operational needs; look elsewhere if you require mobile apps today or need a free plan with automated scheduling.