Free Websites for Animal Rescue Groups / Animal Advocacy Groups
Due to increased demand, there is a waiting period for these donated websites, and we are now requiring a 12 month hosting commitment for donated websites. Please contact us to add your name to the waiting list. Thank you for understanding.
About the $20 Hosting Fee
Sometimes we get asked why we require a website hosting for this program. Every website in the world has to be hosted somewhere. Hosting is like renting space on the computer server where your website files reside. While it is possible to publish a website to a different server other than ours, in this case, we are also installing the content management system (CMS) directly on the server. It is the CMS that allows you to add/edit all the content that goes on your web pages, so it is a required element. We will not install the CMS on other servers because we cannot be responsible for the functioning of other servers. Also, we spend several hours of our time setting up each donated website and supporting each client. The small amount we make on hosting is the way we can justify the time expenditure and the out-of-pocket expense of donating the initial domain name registration.
The $20.00 per month hosting package is a very generous plan. It includes up to 5,000 MB of disk space, up to 50,000 MB of bandwidth/traffic, an unlimited number of email accounts, free traffic statistics, and 24-hour emergency technical support.
Need help with the Hosting Fee?
Sometimes a fee that seems like a lot to a non-profit organization may seem like a small amount for a traditional, for-profit business. Some non-profits may wish to get sponsorships from local businesses, such as pet groomers, dog trainers, pet sitters, pet supply companies, vegetarian restaurants, etc. If you offer promote their sponsorship, the $20 monthly fee may be a small amount to pay for valuable advertising.
At Griffin Web Design, we are vegan/vegetarian animal lovers, with a long history of involvement in animal rescue and advocacy. It seemed only natural that we set up a website donation program to assist any organization that helps animals.
We do not require that you have your 501(c)(3) tax exempt status in place to qualify for this program. All we require is that your focus is on helping animals rather than on making a profit.
We have a few designs to choose from, and each donated site includes some customization to the selected design to reflect your organization's name, choice of pages to include, etc.
We will also include the initial domain name registration, such as MyRescue.org, or AnimalGroup.com, etc. The registration will be completed in your name, not ours, so you are the official registrant of the name.
If desired, we can include a free plug-in to display your Petfinder.com list of available animals. We also include a free content management system (CMS) to allow you to add/edit the text on each web page. (A $25 upgrade to the pro version of the CMS is also available if you'd like to be able to add / edit photos in addition to the Petfinder plug-in.)
Each donated website includes the option of incorporating a free, interactive Adoption form, Foster form, Last Chance Notification form (ideal for animal control organizations), Desired Breed Registration form, and/or a Contact form. Changes to these forms and additional upgrades are also available.
While several upgrades are possible, and the $25 pro version of the CMS is recommended, the donated website truly does not require any set up fee to be a fully-functioning, large, attractive, website. We even include search engine registration for free. The only expenses to keep in mind are the hosting ($20 per month with no commitment required) , and in a year from now, the renewal of the domain name registration (around $10 to $30 per year depending on whether or not you renew it yourself or we do it for you).
The time frame from sign up to completion is typically five to 20 business days, depending on how many rescue groups are in the queue at the time you sign up.
If you would like to present this information to your board of directors, please download the details and sign-up form worksheet here. When you are ready to move forward, please fill out the online sign-up form.
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