How NVC-UK Built a Self-Managed Membership Platform That Handles 100+ Members

NVC-UK is a nonprofit Community Interest Company promoting Nonviolent Communication across the UK. They connect facilitators, trainers, and supporters through a membership network – helping people learn and share Dr Marshall Rosenberg’s communication framework.

Their website is their infrastructure. It’s where:

• Members renew subscriptions and manage profiles
• Facilitators list their services in a searchable directory
• Practice groups promote local meetups
• Training events get posted and discovered
• Materials get sold through the shop

By late 2021, their old WordPress site wasn’t doing what they needed. Worse, they couldn’t get hold of the previous developer to fix it.

NVC-UK had three problems holding them back:

• The old site couldn't handle subscriptions

  Membership renewals were a mess. The site had a shop for selling materials, but it couldn’t process annual membership subscriptions properly. Managing members meant manual work, spreadsheets, and payment chaos.

• No way to manage member-created content

  NVC-UK wanted members and facilitators to post their own events and practice groups across the country. But the old site had no approval workflow, no filtering, no way to let members contribute whilst maintaining quality control.

• Previous developer was unreachable

  Even if they could work around the limitations, they couldn’t get the developer to respond when things broke or needed changing. They were stuck.

We worked with Nora Zimerman Studio on the design, then built the functionality NVC-UK needed to run a proper membership organisation.

• Multiple membership tiers with subscriptions

  We built a system that handles different membership levels – Supporters and Members – each with different pricing and permissions. Subscriptions should auto-renew through PayPal (though PayPal’s reliability on renewals isn’t perfect).

• Member-created content with approval workflows

  Members can now create and submit events and practice groups. But nothing goes live until an admin approves it. Different permission tiers control who can post what, who can approve, and what gets published.

• Custom filterable directories

  This is where the custom development work paid off. We built instant filtering for:

  • Facilitator directory – searchable by location, specialism, experience
  • Events – filterable by date, location, type
  • Practice groups – searchable by area

  The filtering uses custom JavaScript to work instantly – no page reloads, just immediate results as you refine your search.

• Member profile management

  Every member has their own profile they can edit and update themselves. Facilitators can manage their directory listings, update their specialisms, change their availability – all without needing admin intervention.

• Shop + terms agreement workflows

  The site handles product sales alongside membership subscriptions, and we built in agreement workflows so members confirm they’ve read the code of ethics before posting.

• Video training for independence

  Here’s where this project differs from most. At my previous agency, we’d do half-day training sessions on how to use the website. Six months later, clients would come back with questions because they’d forgotten everything.

  For NVC-UK, we created custom video tutorials for every function. Need to approve an event? Watch the 2-minute video. Want to manage membership renewals? There’s a video for that. Need to update the facilitator directory? Video.

  The result? They manage the platform themselves. No constant “how do I…” emails. No dependency on a developer for basic tasks.

The platform now manages around 100 members with multiple membership types, a filterable facilitator directory, member-created events and practice groups, and a shop.

True independence
The video training approach worked. NVC-UK’s team can now approve content, manage members, and oversee the network without needing technical support for daily tasks.

Significantly easier admin
What used to require spreadsheets, manual approvals via email, and constant developer intervention now happens through a proper workflow.