Guide · Nonprofits

E-signatures for nonprofits

Grant agreements, board resolutions, volunteer waivers, and donor forms — signed legally and retained automatically. Free tier for organizations sending under 25 documents per month. No credit card.

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Nonprofit document types signed with GetSigned

Grant agreements

Funder-to-grantee agreements, grant acceptance letters, and reporting certifications. Sequential routing ensures grantee signs before funder countersigns.

Board resolutions

Board of directors resolutions requiring signatures from multiple directors. Parallel routing sends all directors their links simultaneously.

Volunteer waivers

Liability waivers and volunteer agreements. High-volume organizations use templates to send the same waiver to every new volunteer without re-uploading.

Donor commitment forms

Pledge agreements, multi-year commitment letters, and major gift agreements. Signed copies are retained and retrievable for audit purposes.

Partnership and MOU agreements

Memoranda of understanding with partner organizations, coalitions, and government bodies. Multi-party routing handles all required signatories.

Employment and contractor agreements

Offer letters, independent contractor agreements, and consulting contracts for nonprofit staff and consultants.

What the free tier includes

Permanent free tier — not a trial. Full access to every feature, no credit card.

Envelopes per month25
Signers per envelopeUnlimited
PKCS#7 digital sealEvery document
Hash-chained audit trailEvery document
Webhook notificationsIncluded
OTP identity verificationIncluded
Document storageConfigurable retention
Credit card requiredNo

Frequently asked questions

Is there a free tier for nonprofits?

Yes. GetSigned's free tier includes 25 envelopes per month with full API access, PKCS#7 digital sealing, audit trails, and webhook notifications — permanently, not as a trial. No credit card required. Small nonprofits sending fewer than 25 signed documents per month can operate entirely on the free tier. For higher volumes, the Growth tier is usage-based with no per-seat fees.

Can we use GetSigned for board resolutions that require multiple director signatures?

Yes. Declare all board members as signers and set routing_order to the same value for parallel signing — all directors receive their links simultaneously and sign independently. The resolution is sealed only when all required directors complete. You can also use sequential routing if your bylaws require a specific signing sequence (e.g., the chair signs last to certify the resolution).

Are e-signatures valid for grant agreements with government funders?

For most federal and provincial grant agreements, yes — e-signatures are valid under the ESIGN Act, UETA, and PIPEDA. Some government funders have specific signature requirements in their grant terms — check your grant agreement's execution requirements. Many federal agencies, including US federal grant-making agencies under OMB guidance, accept electronic signatures for grant agreements.

How do we handle high-volume volunteer waivers efficiently?

Create a template for your standard volunteer waiver — define the document once with field positions and signer roles. For each new volunteer, send the template with their name and email. No re-uploading the document. If your volunteer management system can make HTTP requests, automate the envelope creation via the API so waivers are sent automatically when a volunteer is registered in your system.

Can signers sign on a mobile phone?

Yes. The GetSigned signing page is fully responsive and works on any browser — iOS Safari, Android Chrome, or desktop. Signers receive a link by email, tap it on their phone, complete OTP verification, and sign. No app install required. This is particularly important for volunteer signing where many participants will use their phones.

How long are signed nonprofit documents retained?

Retention is configurable per tenant — you set it based on your records management requirements. For grant documents, many funders require 7-year retention. For volunteer waivers, your legal counsel will advise based on your jurisdiction's statute of limitations. On expiry, the PDF blob is purged but the audit trail tombstone (hashes + event metadata) is retained permanently for authenticity verification.

Related: E-signature legality · Multi-signer routing · Template API · E-signatures for legal

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25 envelopes per month, forever. Upgrade only when your volume requires it.

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