Houdini
What it is
Houdini is free, open source fundraising infrastructure for nonprofits and NGOs. It provides crowdfunding campaigns, fundraising events, a donate-widget page and generator, and simple donor management. Dashboards let organizations review payment history and payouts, manage recurring donations, track metrics, maintain supporter relationships in a CRM, and administer organizational user accounts. Campaign reporting is described as advanced. Payment processing is separate, and configuring it requires Stripe API keys. Houdini runs as a self-hosted Rails application, with production instructions using SystemD and Nginx on Linux. Supported systems listed include Ubuntu 18.04, 20.04, 22.04, or equivalent. Prerequisites include Node.js 16, Yarn, PostgreSQL 12 (PostgreSQL 10 may work), and Ruby 2.7. The project describes its latest version as pre-2.0 and in heavy development, recommending v1 instead. Building JavaScript assets needs about 3 GB of free RAM, and the deployment guide suggests at least 4 GB for the server.
For and against
For
- Free and open source
- Supports crowdfunding and fundraising events
- Includes recurring donation management
- Provides CRM supporter relationships
- Offers advanced campaign reporting
Against
- Payment processing requires separate Stripe setup
- Self-hosted deployment requires Linux administration
- Latest version is pre-2.0 and in heavy development
- Server setup suggests at least 4 GB RAM
The verdict
Houdini covers core nonprofit fundraising workflows in a free, open-source package. Its self-hosted deployment and development status require technical planning before adoption.
Who it suits
Houdini suits nonprofits and NGOs that can operate a self-hosted Linux Rails application. It is intended for teams managing campaigns, events, donations, and supporter data.
Plans and prices
Houdini
Free and open source fundraising infrastructure
Read 9 Oct 2026 · github.com
On the record
- Campaigns
- It includes crowdfunding campaigns and fundraising events.github.com · read 9 Oct 2026
- Community support
- The README points users to GitHub Discussions to join the project chat and get involved.github.com · read 9 Oct 2026
- Deployment
- Houdini can be run as a self-hosted Rails application, with production deployment instructions for a Linux server using SystemD and Nginx.github.com · read 9 Oct 2026
- Development status
- The README describes the latest version as pre-2.0 and in heavy development, and suggests using v1 instead.github.com · read 9 Oct 2026
- Donations
- It includes a donate widget page and generator, plus simple donation management for donors.github.com · read 9 Oct 2026
- Linux support
- The README lists Ubuntu 18.04, 20.04, 22.04, or equivalent as supported operating systems.github.com · read 9 Oct 2026
- Nonprofit dashboards
- Nonprofits can manage payment history and payouts, recurring donations, metrics, supporter relationships in a CRM, and organizational user accounts.github.com · read 9 Oct 2026
- Payments integration
- The setup instructions require Stripe API keys to configure payments.github.com · read 9 Oct 2026
- Production resources
- The production deployment guide says building JavaScript assets requires about 3 GB of free RAM and suggests a server with at least 4 GB RAM.github.com · read 9 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- Houdini is free and open source fundraising infrastructure for nonprofits and NGOs.github.com · read 9 Oct 2026
- Security reporting
- The security policy asks people to report vulnerabilities by email and says the project will respond as soon as possible.github.com · read 9 Oct 2026
- Technical requirements
- The README lists Node.js 16, Yarn, PostgreSQL 12 (10 may work), Ruby 2.7, and Ubuntu or equivalent as prerequisites.github.com · read 9 Oct 2026
