Quorum

Quorum is software for nonprofit formation and board governance, bringing launch tasks, board decisions, meetings, and compliance tracking into a private portal. Its California edition guides founders through a 27-step checklist in five stages, with plain-English instructions and links to agency and IRS filing pages. Boards can vote on motions, view live tallies or receive results by email, and send passed motions to signature automatically. The service names DocuSeal for e-signatures and Zoom for meetings; its privacy policy also lists Google Calendar and email providers as connected services. Quorum works on the web and can be installed from a browser on iPhone, iPad, and Android. Users can create an organization and explore the screens free without a card, but changing information and inviting board members requires a paid plan. Starter is $49 a month, with up to seven board members. Quorum says organization data is logically isolated and encrypted in transit, and that it does not sell personal information or use organization content for advertising. Its templates are not legal or tax advice.

Quorum combines nonprofit launch guidance with board voting, meeting, and compliance tools. The free access allows exploration, while active changes and board invitations require a paid plan.

Quorum suits nonprofit founders working toward 501(c)(3) formation and boards that need to document decisions. It is also presented for small organizations without full-time administrative or legal staff.

Quorum is a private workspace for forming a nonprofit and running its board, combining a guided launch process with voting, meetings, signatures, and compliance tracking. It suits founders and small organizations that lack dedicated administrative or legal staff, especially those operating in California. The strongest case for Quorum is its unusually broad workflow; the main qualification is that meaningful collaboration starts at a paid plan and its launch guidance is currently California-focused.

Overview

Quorum covers the administrative path from incorporation planning through ongoing board records. Its launch checklist divides 27 guided steps into five stages, using plain-English instructions and links to official filing pages. That structure can make a complicated 501(c)(3) launch more manageable for a first-time founder, while remaining useful to a board that needs a shared record of decisions and deadlines.

The service is software rather than a law or accounting firm. Its templates are not legal or tax advice, so organizations with unusual structures or higher-risk filings still need professional counsel. Quorum says it is launching with a California edition, including links and deadlines for California agencies and the IRS; organizations elsewhere should not assume the same jurisdictional coverage.

Key features

Launch and compliance

The five-stage checklist, document library, templates, and deadline reminders put formation tasks and recurring obligations in one portal. Plain-language directions and links to government filing pages are practical for small teams, but they do not replace legal review.

Board decisions and meetings

Motions support live vote tallies and emailed results. When a motion passes, Quorum can automatically send a document for signature, connecting approval to execution instead of leaving someone to coordinate it manually. Minutes management, meeting tools, email invitations, and Zoom integration make the product relevant after launch, not just during incorporation.

Integrations and access

Quorum names DocuSeal for e-signatures and Zoom for meetings; its privacy policy also identifies Google Calendar and email providers as connected services. The mobile experience is a browser-installed web app on iPhone, iPad, and Android, with computer installation through Chrome and Edge. That broad device coverage is useful for distributed boards, though it is a web app rather than a separately described native download.

Security and privacy

Data is encrypted in transit with TLS, passwords use salted bcrypt hashes, and each organization’s data is logically isolated. Quorum says it does not sell personal information or use organization content for advertising. Intuit QuickBooks Payments handles payment processing, giving buyers a clear boundary for billing data.

Pricing

Quorum is freemium. You can create an organization without a card and explore every screen, but changing information or inviting board members requires a paid plan. That makes the free tier useful for evaluating fit, not for operating an active board.

Starter — $49 a month

Starter is billed at $49/month or $490/year, with two months free on annual billing. It supports up to seven board members and includes the 27-step checklist, document library and templates, board votes, and deadline reminders. It is the sensible fit for a small board that needs launch and governance basics; the seven-member ceiling and lack of listed e-signatures, AI drafting, or Zoom features are material limits.

Growth — $149 a month

Growth costs $149/month or $1,490/year, again with two months free annually. It removes the board-member cap and adds fair-use e-signatures, AI-drafted motions and documents, Zoom meetings, and email invitations. This is the better choice for an expanding organization or a board that wants a fuller meeting-to-signature workflow. Fair-use terms mean heavy signature volume should be confirmed before purchase.

Scale — $299 a month

Scale is $299/month or $2,990/year, with two months free on annual billing. It includes Growth, plus organization branding and themes, priority support, and an onboarding session. Those additions matter most to organizations that want guided implementation or a branded member experience; they do not expand the core governance features beyond Growth.

Launch Partner — $599 setup

The one-time $599 setup fee is paired with Growth at $149/month or $1,490/year. White-glove setup, document formatting and loading, a one-on-one walkthrough, and priority support for the first 90 days target founders who want implementation help rather than a self-serve start. The ongoing Growth subscription still applies after setup.

Platforms

Quorum supports Android, iOS, and web. On phones and tablets it installs from a browser as a web app; on computers, Chrome and Edge provide installation. That is enough for boards using mixed devices, provided members are comfortable with a browser-based app.

Who it's for

Quorum is best for nonprofit founders pursuing 501(c)(3) status, boards that need documented votes and minutes, and small organizations without full-time administrative or legal staff. Starter fits a board of seven or fewer. Growth is aimed at organizations that need unlimited board members, signatures, meeting links, and drafting assistance. It is less suitable as a substitute for legal or accounting advice, or for organizations that need jurisdictions beyond the California launch edition.

Pros and cons

• Pro: A 27-step, five-stage checklist turns formation work into a sequenced process with official filing links.
• Pro: Live tallies, emailed results, automatic signature requests, minutes, and reminders connect board decisions to follow-through.
• Pro: Browser-installed access spans Android, iOS, and desktop Chrome or Edge, while TLS encryption and logical data isolation address core operational concerns.
• Con: Free access is exploratory; active changes and board invitations require payment.
• Con: Starter stops at seven board members and omits Growth’s signatures, AI drafting, Zoom, and email-invite features.
• Con: The launch guidance is California-oriented, and Quorum explicitly does not provide legal or tax advice.

Alternatives

Nonprofit Board Management Software is the broader category overview for readers comparing governance products across a wider field.

BoardSite is a better fit when a permanent free tier is the priority: its Free plan supports up to five users, 10 documents, and one vote per month, while paid plans raise those limits.

Board I.V. suits readers seeking another freemium board platform, including a small-board free plan and mobile and web access.

Hippoly is worth considering for nonprofits wanting a €42-per-month Grow workspace with unlimited users, file management, and meeting management, but it does not offer a free plan.

BoardEffect is a paid option for organizations prepared to request a demo and pricing.

BoardSpot is the alternative for teams wanting paid plans with unlimited document storage and no additional per-user charge; its Essentials plan is $105 per month.

CivicCA is a paid governance platform with a free trial and support for up to five bodies and 25 users on its Professional plan.

MinuteBox is aimed at entity-management workflows, including law firms, with plans that support up to 300 entities and unlimited users.

Atlas Governance is a paid choice starting at $17 per user per month when billed annually, with meetings, agendas, minutes, electronic votes, document storage, chat, and AES-256 encryption.

Verdict

Choose Quorum if you are launching or governing a small nonprofit and want one California-oriented workspace for formation steps, board records, votes, meetings, signatures, and reminders. Its main advantage is the continuity from checklist to documented decision. Look elsewhere if you need non-California launch guidance, a genuinely operational free tier, or professional legal and tax advice rather than software templates and workflow.