Why we build your website before buying your domain
Most web programs start by selling you a domain. Free For Charity deliberately does the opposite: your website is built and validated first, live on its free GitHub Pages address, and only then do we spend a single donated dollar on your .org domain. That order is not an accident — it is how we protect donors, charities, and volunteers at the same time.
Donor trust: every dollar buys something proven
FFC runs on donations and volunteer time. When we register a domain, that is real money leaving a charity’s ecosystem — so we only spend it on organizations whose site is already live, validated, and ready to point a domain at. Donors can see exactly what their support bought: a working website, not a parked name.
No sunk costs: free until it works
Everything before the funding gate is free. GitHub Pages hosting costs nothing, the templates are open source, and volunteer time is donated. If an organization stalls, changes direction, or never sends content, nothing has been wasted — there is no annual domain renewal quietly billing for a site that never launched. The build phase has zero sunk cost by design.
A competence filter that protects everyone
Getting a site validated takes a small amount of real engagement from your charity: sending your logo, mission text, and photos, and reviewing the result. That engagement is the best predictor we have that a partnership will last. Organizations that clear the website stage almost always thrive with their domain and email; asking for that proof before money moves filters kindly but firmly, with no penalty for anyone who is not ready yet.
The four gates, in plain language
Gate 1 — Validation
1. Application & validation: Approval here is the gate for every later stage.
Before anything is built, we verify your organization: IRS status, Candid profile, and program fit. Every later stage requires this approval, so nobody invests effort in an organization that cannot qualify.
Gate 2 — Website
2. Website — built and proven first: Your validated live site is the funding gate: it unlocks the domain purchase in stage 3.
The website application only opens after validation. A volunteer builds your site from an FFC template and you prove the partnership works by getting us your content. The site goes live on its free GitHub Pages address — which costs nothing.
Gate 3 — Funding
3. Domain — only after your site is proven: Unlocked only after your website is validated live on GitHub Pages.
This is the money gate. We only spend funds on your free .org domain once your website is validated live. The domain order form literally asks for your live GitHub Pages address — that is what unlocks the purchase.
Gate 4 — Email
4. Email: Comes after the domain — the nonprofit email programs require a live website before they approve your 501(c)(3).
Microsoft and Google both require a live website before they approve a nonprofit for free email. Because your site is already proven and your domain is live, your free Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace mailboxes sail through.
Two templates, one standard
Every FFC build starts from one of two open-source templates. The Single Page Site Template is the starting point for charities without a site: a complete, professionally structured one-page site with every section a charity needs — mission, programs, team, donate, contact — plus the full FFC footer. The Footer-Only Template is the FFC footer and compliance layer for charities whose site is already designed: it adds the FFC footer, legal pages, cookie consent, and analytics to your existing design instead of replacing it.
Whichever template a site starts from, it must meet the same standard — the FFC footer with your validated organization details, the legal pages, and an accessible build — and both paths converge at Gate 3: your site validated live on GitHub Pages, which unlocks your free .org domain. Compare the two side by side in the template chooser on the free charity web hosting page, or inspect the templates themselves on GitHub: Single Page Site Template and Footer-Only Template.
Ready to start?
The whole journey — application, website, domain, email, and ongoing support — is free for verified 501(c)(3) organizations. See the full stage-by-stage walkthrough on the charity onboarding journey page, or jump straight in: