Free resources

Useful things for your group, free to copy.

Wording for a grant application or a letter to your council, a website checklist you can print, and questions to ask before you publish photos. No sign-up, and you do not need to be a customer.

Grant wording Letter to your council Website checklist Photo permission
Grant applications

Wording for a grant application

A starting point you can paste into an application form and adapt. Replace anything in [SQUARE BRACKETS], and check the funder's own rules first, because every funder is different.

What we are asking for

[GROUP NAME] is a [TYPE OF GROUP, e.g. village hall committee or youth football club] serving [VILLAGE, TOWN OR AREA]. We are asking for £240 to cover the first year of a website for our group.

The website is provided by JW Community Websites, a small business run by one person. The cost is £20 a month, or £240 for the year. This covers building the site, hosting, the domain name and a weekly round of updates, with no setup fee and no contract.

Why a website will help

At the moment, people who want to find us, [BOOK THE HALL / JOIN A SESSION / SEE WHAT IS ON] have to [DESCRIBE THE CURRENT SITUATION, e.g. ask around, or rely on a social media page that not everyone uses].

A proper website would let anyone in the community find us, see when and where we meet, and get in touch. It would also save our volunteers answering the same questions repeatedly, and give us a place for opening times, events, policies and contact details that stays in one place.

How it will be kept up to date

We will send one batch of changes each week to our website provider, who publishes them. This means the site does not depend on a volunteer learning new software, and it does not go out of date when someone steps down. [NAME OR ROLE] will be responsible for sending the weekly changes.

A written quote is available from the provider on request.

These are suggestions, not a guarantee of funding. Say only what is true for your group, and adjust the wording so it sounds like you. I can send a written quote for your application: ask for one here.

Parish and town councils

A letter or email to your council

Many parish and town councils keep a small budget for local groups. The clerk is the best first contact: ask what the council can support and when it next meets.

Email to the clerk

Dear [CLERK'S NAME],

I am writing on behalf of [GROUP NAME] to ask whether the council could consider a contribution towards a website for our group.

[ONE OR TWO SENTENCES ABOUT WHAT THE GROUP DOES AND WHO IT SERVES.]

A website would help local people find us and see what we offer, and it would save our volunteers time. The cost is £240 for a year (£20 a month), including hosting and weekly updates. I can send a written quote from the provider, JW Community Websites, if that would help.

Could you let me know whether the council has a grants process, what information you would need from us, and the date of the next meeting where this could be considered?

Thank you for your time.

Yours sincerely,
[YOUR NAME]
[YOUR ROLE AND CONTACT DETAILS]

Councils have their own rules about what they can fund and how. If a council can only support constituted groups, the grant goes to your group and your group pays the £20 a month as normal. See Grants and funders for how it works.

Before you build

A checklist for your group's website

Gather these before you start and the whole thing is quicker. You can print this page's checklist, or just tick it off on screen.

The basics

Making it useful

Photos and privacy

Questions to ask before you publish a photo

Photos make a website feel alive, especially for groups that involve children, but a photo of someone is personal information about them. These questions help you think it through.

Ask first

  • Has everyone in the photo, or their parent or carer, agreed to it being on a public website?
  • Do they know where it will appear, and for how long?
  • Have you written down that they agreed?
  • Is there anyone in the group for whom a public photo could cause a problem?

Then keep it careful

  • With children, think twice about names alongside faces. First names only, or none, is often wiser.
  • Do not show anything that gives away where a child lives or goes to school.
  • Make it easy for anyone to ask for a photo to be taken down, and act on it quickly.
  • Review old photos now and then, and remove ones that are no longer needed.

This is a starting point, not legal advice or a consent form. For photos of children or vulnerable people, follow your own safeguarding policy or your national governing body's guidance. Read more in Photos of children on group websites.

Need a hand with your website?

A proper website for your group costs £20 a month, with weekly updates included. Pay it yourselves, or ask for sponsor support.

Apply for a website See pricing

Or call 07452 752398 or send a message.