Getting your group's website paid for by a grant or your council

A website is a modest cost, which makes it a good thing to ask a council or a grant maker to help with. Many funders like small, clear requests. Here is how to put one together.

Know your number

A community website from JW Community Websites costs £20 a month, which is £240 a year, with everything included: the build, hosting, the domain and the weekly update round. Knowing the whole-year figure makes it easy to put into an application or a budget line.

Who might help

• Your parish or town council. Many keep a small budget for local groups. Ask the clerk what it can support and when they meet.
• Local grant makers and trusts. Some support the running costs that keep a group going.
• Community foundations and local funds. These often help groups in a particular area.
• Service clubs and local employers. Groups such as Rotary or Lions, and local businesses with a community budget, sometimes fund small items.

Every funder has its own rules. Read them first, and check that a website is something they will pay for.

What to put in your application

• What your group does and who it serves, in a few sentences
• Why a website helps: people can find you, book the hall, see what is on, and volunteers answer fewer repeat questions
• The cost, £20 a month or £240 a year, and what is included
• Who will keep it up to date, and how, so the funder can see it will not go stale

Ask for a written quote

Many funders want a quote alongside an application. I can send a written quote on request, with the price, what is included and what is not. I can also supply invoices once the funding is agreed.

If the funder can only pay groups

Some funders can only give to constituted groups or charities. In that case the grant goes to your group, and your group pays the £20 a month as normal. JW Community Websites is a sole trader business and not a charity, so this is a common and simple arrangement.

What happens next

Once the funding is agreed, I build the site, and from then on you send your weekly batch of updates. If funding only covers part of the year, or only part of the £20, that is fine too, because the sponsor pot can cover what a group cannot, when there is room in it.

If you are a funder rather than a group, see Grants and funders for how councils and grant makers can pay for a group's website or add to the pot.