01 / How it works
How the grant works
Omen Services donates the design and the build. You pay $25 a month for hosting and SSL for the first 12 months, then $50 a month. This page is the whole mechanism. What is included, what is not, how long it takes, and what we need from you.
02 / What is included
What the award covers
Five deliverables. Each one is done by Omen Services at no charge to you.
- Site
- Design and build of a custom multi-page site. Built for your organization, not a template you fill in.
- Copywriting
- We write the pages. You read them and tell us what is wrong.
- SEO
- On-page SEO setup for the pages we build.
- Brand
- Logo or basic brand work for organizations without one. A mark and a palette.
- Donations
- Donation button integration. We connect the processor you already use: Stripe, Givebutter or PayPal. We do not supply the processor and we do not open the account for you.
03 / What is not included
What it does not cover
Seven things this grant does not pay for. If one of them is the thing you need most, you should find that out now, not in week three.
04 / The process
From application to launch
Three stages. No cycle to wait for and no countdown to beat.
-
Apply
The application asks who you are, what you do, your tax status, your budget range, and what a website would let you do that you cannot do now. Apply any time. The program is rolling and there is no deadline.
-
Decision
We read it and answer within 2 weeks of a complete application. Complete means every required question is answered. If the answer is no, you are told it is no.
-
Build
Once you are awarded and your content is in hand, the site is live in 4 to 6 weeks. The clock starts on the content, not on the award.
05 / Your part
What we need from you
The slowest part of any nonprofit web project is waiting on content. It is not the design and it is not the code. It is a folder of photos nobody has time to find.
01
One point of contact
One person who can answer an email inside a few days and approve a page without a board vote. Two people is workable. Six is not.
02
Your content
Text, photos if you have them, your logo if you have one, program details, service area, hours, staff. We write the copy. We cannot invent your program dates.
03
Timely review
When pages go out for review, read them and reply. Every week a draft sits unread is a week added to the 4 to 6.
That is the entire ask on your side. No exclusivity, no minimum term, no requirement to buy anything else. The build is donated and hosting is $25 a month for the first 12 months, then $50.
06 / The money
What this costs, exactly
The build is donated. The hosting is not. Every number is in the table, and the reason behind the numbers is beside it.
Terms at a glance
No fine print- Build
- Donated. $0 upfront. Nothing owed for design or development.
- Monthly
- $25 per month for the first 12 months, then $50 per month, ongoing.
- Domain
- You own your domain name. It is registered in your own account, under your organization's name.
- Files
- You own the finished site and the source files.
- Leaving
- Stop any time and take the site with you. Canceling means you receive the files and can host them anywhere. Nothing is held hostage.
- Covered
- The monthly covers hosting and SSL only.
- Not covered
- Content edits are not included. They are billed separately at the normal rate.
This block appears word for word on the program page, the application and the program terms. If it ever differs, the program terms govern.
Why the build is donated
Omen Services sells websites to paying clients. Sites built under this program are the evidence that the work is good. That is the whole reason the build costs you nothing.
The $25 a month is the revenue. It covers hosting and SSL, and it is what keeps the program running. There is no second charge waiting behind it and no upsell you have to accept.
We ask before naming any organization or pointing at its site. If you would rather not appear anywhere, say so and you will not.
07 / Questions
Questions before you apply
Does the hosting have to be yours?
The monthly is hosting and SSL from Omen Services. That is the entire revenue behind a donated build, so it is the part of the arrangement that is not optional while it runs.
It is also the part you can walk away from. The domain is in your own account and the source files are yours, so you can stop and host the site anywhere.
What happens after 12 months?
Hosting goes from $25 a month to $50 a month, ongoing. That is the only scheduled change to what you pay.
Nothing else changes. The site is still yours, the domain is still in your account, and you can still leave.
What if our content runs late?
The 4 to 6 weeks runs from the point your content is in hand, not from the day you are awarded. Slow content moves the launch date. It does not change the terms.
This is why the application asks who the point of contact will be. It is the single best predictor of when a site goes live.
08 / Apply
Apply when you are ready
Rolling. No deadline. A decision within 2 weeks of a complete application. Read the eligibility rules first if you are not certain you qualify.
The phone and the email are support channels, not a sales line. Nobody will call you to close a deal.