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How to Choose the Best Shared Calendar for Associations and Nonprofits
How to Choose the Best Shared Calendar for Your Association or Nonprofit
Managing time and events is a real challenge for associations and nonprofits. Between meetings, events, room reservations, office hours, or recurring activities, it quickly becomes essential to have a reliable shared calendar that is accessible to all members.
In this article, weβll help you choose the ideal tool to manage a nonprofit calendar simply and effectively β plus, weβll compare the best available solutions.
Why Use a Shared Calendar for Your Association?
A nonprofit shared calendar centralizes all key information: upcoming events, volunteer availability, room schedules, and more.
The main benefits are: β Better coordination among members β Time saved in organization β Fewer double bookings or forgotten tasks β Up-to-date information accessible anywhere
No more endless email chains or hard-to-maintain Excel files!
Criteria for Choosing the Right Nonprofit Calendar
Before getting started, define your needs:
Number of users: should all members have access?
Types of activities: meetings, room bookings, public events?
Joynit provides a comparison of several shared calendars, based on 12 simple yet effective criteria, to help you make the right choice.
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shared calendar comparison
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Free or Premium Solutions for Every Budget
Since most nonprofits operate on small budgets, a calendar should ideally be free to use β while still offering premium options for larger organizations needing advanced coordination and control.
The most important selection factor is accessibility for all members. For example, with Google Calendar every participant must first create a Gmail account, which can be a major barrier.
With Joynit, by contrast, your association can share its calendar simply via a link to your profile page and shared agenda β ensuring quick and easy adoption.
Mobile App and Member Engagement
An app is nearly essential today. While organizers often post events from a computer, members usually access the calendar and receive notifications on their smartphones.
A mobile app with notifications, RSVP options, and integrated chat is key to boosting participation and coordination.
Privacy, Access Rights, and Event Management
Not all events need to be visible to everyone. A good nonprofit calendar should let you manage access rights simply and securely. Joynit lets you create public or private calendars and control visibility event by event.
You can also:
Limit capacity for each activity to prevent overbooking.
Split events into time slots (e.g., workshops, shifts, visits) so participants choose the one that works for them.
Add external ticketing links (HelloAsso, Eventbrite) directly in the event description.
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Groups, Networks, and Multi-Calendar Management
For nonprofit networks, a shared calendar that connects multiple organizations is a huge advantage. Being able to see other associationsβ schedules helps avoid conflicts and improve collaboration.
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Ergonomics: Donβt Overlook Usability
Ease of use is crucial. Tools like Google Calendar work fine for individuals but are not designed for large-scale nonprofit collaboration. They can quickly become cluttered and inefficient.
A dedicated platform like Joynit is built for associations: a clear, accessible calendar shared via a simple link, with communication tools integrated. Whether you have 10 or 200 members, everyone can access the calendar easily β especially on mobile.
