Resources for non-profit/charity sites

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patrickfgoddard's picture
Posted by patrickfgoddard on November 19, 2011 at 6:54pm

Curious of any tips on resources available to non-profit/charity sites.

Specifically, any freebies or discounts companies might offer.

For example:

  • Hosting (Didn't Acquia offer non profit hosting at one point?)
  • Typography (google fonts is a no-brainer, but anything else?)
  • Stock images
  • General design resources

Just as a bit of background, I'm helping build out a site for a local (Long Beach, CA) non-profit with little or no funding at the moment. My main need at the moment is design help. I'm using the Omega with this responsive design goodness, which is awesome and the non-profit DOES have a logo, some I have some design "guidance", but since I'm not a graphic designer, struggling quite a bit. It's a lot to ask, but in need of a designer who can donate some time for, at the very least, overall guidance, someone with understanding of responsive design, and someone with experience in action sports (skateboarding.)

that is that.

-pat

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Comments

Images

Posted by mcfilms on November 29, 2011 at 12:48am
mcfilms's picture

Finding free to use images is a challenge. It's especially confounding because some of the stock image companies have begun to send out exorbitant "Demand Letters" for the use of images which they claim to control the copyright. These can run over $1000 per image. I know of at least one non-profit that was forced to close down due to this practice. To learn more about this disturbing trend, I encourage you to visit http://www.extortionletterinfo.com

So it is important to document where you got the images from.

I have begun to put together a list of sites that at least CLAIM their imagery is free and in the public domain. I welcome any additional notes or clarification. A lot of these companies make the images available under a Creative Commons License. I have done some cursory research and it seems to me that these are legitimate free PD images.

http://www.morguefile.com/

http://www.freeimages.co.uk/

http://www.turbophoto.com/Free-Stock-Images/

http://www.freerangestock.com (Look carefully, the first 3 images are for sale, the rest are free)

http://www.imageafter.com A lot of textures and elements for artists and animators

http://www.freepixels.com Nice photos small selection

It is worth mentioning that my understanding is that anything produced by the U.S. federal government is in the public domain.

http://photolib.noaa.gov - one example of the many photos you can use for free from U.S. Government sites.

http://public-domain-photos.com - claims to be the largest collection of public domain photos (my notes say images are so-so)

The Library of Congress: http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/ Every image in there online catalog tells you if there are "No known restrictions on publication" or if there may be an issue. Most of the photos and artwork are from mid-twentieth century and earlier. But if you are looking for wonderful retro imagery it is a great resource.

You may also want to search on Flickr for skateboarding images that just require attribution. But again, document everything.

Dreamhost offers free hosting to non-profits

Posted by oseldman on November 29, 2011 at 10:10pm
oseldman's picture

Hi Pat,

Dreamhost offers free hosting for non-profits with a 501(c)(3). I've hosted sites there personally and professionally (with varying degrees of success). Depending on the organization's needs, this can be a fantastic resource, or just a great way to get up and running on a tight budget.

Some of the specifics are explained at: http://wiki.dreamhost.com/Non-profit_Discount

Oliver