GraceSquad

GraceSquad is a church and nonprofit coordination platform for organizations that need volunteer scheduling alongside member records, child-safety workflows, and donations. It is strongest for teams that want scheduling assistance but still expect a coordinator to approve assignments. Its free plan is useful for a small, manually scheduled ministry; automation and SMS start at $39/mo.

Overview

GraceSquad brings volunteer records, shift coordination, reminders, child-safety tools, and giving into one platform. Its auto-fill engine weighs skills, certifications, availability, and rotation fairness, then prepares assignments for a coordinator to review and publish. That keeps final judgment with staff while reducing the work of building rosters, a practical balance for recurring programs with varied volunteer qualifications.

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, and the privacy policy says there are no third-party analytics cookies. Payments use Stripe; optional SMS reminders use Twilio, authentication email uses Mailgun, files are stored in Cloudflare R2, and hosting is on Amazon Lightsail.

Key features

Scheduling and member records

The CRM stores profiles, skills, certifications, availability, family groupings, service history, volunteer hours, and badges. Availability tracking and recurring schedules support ongoing rosters, while auto-fill and conflict detection can help coordinators manage assignments. Starter lacks auto-fill, so organizations on the free tier must schedule manually.

Reminders and safety workflows

Starter sends email only. Community and higher plans add SMS through Twilio, with reminders described as going out 48 and 24 hours before shifts. The child-safety module includes background-check status tracking, QR-code check-in, parent tags, and two-adult-rule enforcement; background-check tracking is available on Growth and above. Community includes the child-safety module, but teams that specifically need background-check tracking should compare Growth's inclusion before choosing.

Giving and support

GraceSquad supports one-time and recurring donations through Stripe, with fund designation and giving statements. The stated processing pass-through is 2.2% + $0.30 per transaction, an additional cost to account for alongside the subscription. The team will help map Planning Center export fields at no cost on any plan, and CSV imports cover members, volunteer profiles, service templates, and upcoming schedules. That makes migration more approachable for organizations moving existing records and schedules.

Pricing

GraceSquad has a free tier, paid plans from $39/mo, and a 14-day trial. The plan caps are based on members and, on lower tiers, ministries; organizations should match both to their current size and likely growth.

PlanPriceWhat it includesStarterfree; free foreverUp to 100 members, 1 ministry, manual scheduling, volunteer profiles, basic member CRM, and email notifications.Community$39 a monthUp to 500 members, 5 ministries, auto-fill scheduling, SMS and email notifications, volunteer portal, conflict detection, basic reporting, child-safety module, and giving management.Growth$79 a monthUp to 2,000 members, unlimited ministries, auto-fill, child-safety module, donation tracking, forms builder, and full report library.Ministry$119 a monthUnlimited members, everything in Growth, multi-campus support, API access, priority support, custom domain, and dedicated onboarding.Starter is a credible fit for a small organization that can work within one ministry and handle assignments manually; it gives up automation, SMS, and the broader paid-plan toolkit. Community is the entry point for auto-fill, SMS, and giving management, but its 500-member and five-ministry limits may constrain larger organizations. Growth raises the member cap to 2,000 and adds forms and full reporting with unlimited ministries. Ministry is aimed at larger or multi-campus organizations that need unlimited members, API access, and onboarding support. Donation processing carries the stated 2.2% + $0.30 pass-through regardless of subscription choice.

Platforms

The web app is available now. Although Android and iOS are platform targets, the mobile apps are marked coming soon, so teams needing a currently available native mobile app should look elsewhere. An API is available on the Ministry plan.

Who it's for

GraceSquad identifies churches, food banks, youth programs, healthcare volunteer teams, and other mission-driven organizations as its audience. It makes most sense when a group needs volunteer coordination tied to member records and child-safety processes, and can justify a paid plan for automation or SMS. A very small team with simple rosters may find Starter sufficient; organizations that need mobile apps now or exceed Community's member and ministry caps should weigh other options.

Pros and cons

Pro: Auto-fill considers qualifications, availability, and rotation fairness, while leaving approval and publishing to a coordinator.

Pro: Volunteer records include service history, hours, family groupings, and badges, giving coordinators more context than a basic roster.

Pro: Child-safety workflows include QR check-in, parent tags, and two-adult-rule enforcement.

Pro: Records remain organization-owned and exportable or deletable, with a no-cost Planning Center field-mapping offer on every plan.

Con: The free plan is limited to 100 members and one ministry and requires manual scheduling.

Con: SMS and auto-fill require Community or higher, and the mobile apps are not yet available.

Con: Stripe donation processing adds a 2.2% + $0.30 pass-through per transaction.

Alternatives

For a broader starting point, browse Church Volunteer Management Software.

WorshipTools Presenter is a freemium option on Android, iOS, Linux, macOS, and Windows, with a free plan capped at 500 MB of cloud storage, 10 users, and 15 items per service; consider it if presentation planning across desktop platforms matters more than GraceSquad's volunteer and member workflows.

Planning Center is freemium, offers a free trial, and runs on Android, iOS, web, and API; its free Calendar, People, and Services plans may suit organizations that want to assemble church-management tools around their needs, while GraceSquad emphasizes volunteer scheduling with safety and giving features together.

Church Volunteering has a free plan for one team and up to 10 volunteers, with manual reminders and a basic roster builder; choose it for a much smaller volunteer group, rather than GraceSquad's broader records and child-safety scope.

Ministry Scheduler Pro is a paid option with a free trial and support for Android, iOS, macOS, Windows, web, and API; consider it if those platform options are a priority.

RosterThat offers a $5 a month Pro plan for up to 3 admin members and 50 people, or a $12 a month Team plan with unlimited admins; it may suit a team prioritizing a lower-cost roster tool over integrated child safety and giving.

SimpleServ has a free plan for up to 5 volunteers and one admin account, with email invites and a fill-status dashboard; it is a better fit for a tiny team testing basic scheduling without paying for GraceSquad's wider toolkit.

Ministry Planner offers one free tool per church account, including scheduling for one team and up to 1,000 volunteers; consider it if a single free tool and a high volunteer cap matter more than an integrated CRM and giving system.

HolyJot is free, with no subscriptions, tiers, or upsells, and runs on Android, iOS, and web; choose it if a free faith-oriented app is the priority rather than volunteer coordination.

Verdict

GraceSquad is a strong match for churches and nonprofits that need to coordinate recurring volunteer work while keeping member records, child-safety workflows, and donations connected. Its best reason to choose it is the combination of qualification-aware scheduling drafts and a broad operational toolkit, with coordinators retaining control over published rosters. Look elsewhere if your organization needs native mobile apps today, wants to stay within the free tier but needs automation, or would be better served by a narrower roster or presentation tool.