is Web Wiz Forums right for us

There is lost of ways to do this in Web Wiz Forums.

If you have an existing member system you could use one of the API's to integrate your members system with Web Wiz Forums.

If you don't have an existing member system you can use the permission system so that only registered members can access all or individual forums.

If you don't want anyone registering then you can either disable new registrations altogether and just enter new members in the admin area, or have it so that new members are vetted by the forum admin before their accounts go live.

There are also lots of other options for registration, group, and member permissions so you can finely tune your forum to whatever level you feel is appropriate for your situation.

Yes you can set permissions in that way.

You have both group and member permissions.

The simplest way to use it is just use the group permissions. When creating or editing a forum you can select which groups have access to that forum, you can also decide other permissions for that group in that forum such as Create Topic, Post Reply, Create Poll, Vote, Create Event, etc.

There is also a permission called 'Post Approval' which can be set on a per forum bases if you set it so that a group has 'Post Approval' set on particular forums then anyone in that group who posts in that forum would need their post approved by an admin or a moderator before it goes live for other members to view.

There is also an option to hide forums form users who do not have access to that forum. This way you can setup completly private forums which only certain groups can access and other groups or members would not even know about that forum.

Upgrading from the Express Edition to Premium Edition is as simple as applying your license key to the software.

Sorry no longer do discounted keys for charities as when we did they were taken advantage of which 90% of sales claiming that they were charities or non-profit. Instead you now have two license versions, the cheaper branded license for private, charities, non-profit, and the more expansive brand-free edition for businesses.