Nine Free Services All UK Charities And Not-for-Profits Should Be Aware Of

If you manage or work for a charity or not for profit you will be used to the constant need to minimise your expenditure while keeping your activities ticking over. I’ve compiled a list of nine essential free services which will help charities and not for profits get this balance right.

This is the second essential charity services list I’ve compiled with the first one published on Huffington Post in 2014.

1. Tsohost — www.tsohost.co.uk
   Website Hosting

Tsohost is a market leading and reliable web host with with over 13 years in experience. Free web hosting is provided to registered charities and the service can be scaled up as your charity and its needs grow. The free hosting includes 10GB web space, 150GB monthly bandwidth and a choice between linux and windows hosting.

Tsohost manually setup each charity account and in my experience they are extremely helpful and only too eager to assist in the rare instance that things go wrong.

2. Nimvelo (formally Sipcentric) — www.nimvelo.com
Cloud based telephony services

Nimvelo is a cloud telecoms solutions provider which doesn’t require special business phone lines or equipment to be installed at your office. They were formally named Sipcentric and have been providing VOIP services to business since 2010. The company provides a complete telephony package free of charge to registered UK charities which includes:

• Up to 5 free telephone numbers for your charity (e.g. have a presence in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Manchester, London and Newcastle all while sitting in your Leeds office) — Additional numbers charged at £1 p/m,
• Interactive Voice Menus (press 1 for sales, 2 for accounts, 3 for tech support),
• Free recording of calls (either on demand with keypress or record all calls automatically and have them stored on your secure portal),
• Voicemails are sent directly to your email inbox,
• Full control over the calls received and where they are routed to,
• Use your existing SIP phone, softphone or download a SIP client (e.g. Acrobits Softphone for iPhone or Android).

3. Microsoft Exchange Email and Office 365 Service — products.office.com
Email and file storage system

Microsoft provide free access to their powerful Exchange email and Office 365 products for registered charities in the UK. The license provided free of charge is Enterprise E1 and comes with a whole host of features including:

• Free email for an unlimited number of users,
• 50GB storage space for each user account,
• Access to Yammer, OneDrive and ability to use MS Office products online,
• Antivirus and spam protection included with all user accounts,
• Create and deploy an intranet and knowledge base for staff.

4. Donation Manager — www.donationmanager.co.uk
Donation collection

Donation Manager is a complete donation, gift aid management, appeals and supporter database which all UK charities can register for and use without charge. The website can simplify the process of collecting donations, keep in touch with your supporters, logging gift aid, manage sponsored events, bank reconciliation and much more.

5. Google Ad Grants — www.google.co.uk/intl/en/grants
Advertising and marketing

Google Ad Grants are provided by Google and allow registered charities to apply for an advertising grant. The advertising grant is an in-kind donation which allows successful charities to create and manage advertising on the Google platform for free. Free advertising is limited to $10,000 per month and you can set up a number of different campaigns and keywords. A good way to drive traffic to your site and let people know what you do.

6. Benchmark CRM Software — www.benchmark-software.co.uk
Software

Benchmark provide their popular CRM software Cream free of charge to charities, churches, not for profits and clubs. This powerful CRM software is a full version with no limitations and it can:

• Allow you to build, organise and manage a database of your clients, suppliers, staff, donors etc,
• Keep track of all interactions and communications,
• Can use mail merge to create customised mailings or emails for clients, partners etc,
• Create and run custom reports on your data,
• And much more… Once you get the CRM up and running you’ll be wondering how you managed before.

7. Pressat Free Press Release Distribition — www.pressat.co.uk
Marketing and public relations

As a charity, social enterprise or not for profit your resources are tight and hiring the services of an agency to send out press releases can be very expensive and time consuming. Pressat is a specialist distribution agency which allows businesses and organisations to create and distribute press releases using its easy to use website. Press releases can be sent to local, regional or national outlets and Pressat provide free access to charities and not for profits. Definitely a must for all charities and not for profits.

8. Display Wizard Free Banner — www.displaywizard.co.uk
Graphic design

Display Wizard is a Preston based business which specialises in printing, outdoor displays and exhibition signage. Display Wizard are offering a free PVC banner (500mm x 1000mm) for registered charities, schools and not for profits with a website.

9. Lawworks Free Legal Services for Charities — www.lawworks.org.uk
Human resources and legal services

LawWorks provide a range of free legal services and advice services for charities registered in England and Wales only.