The funder searched your name. They found a 2019 newsletter.
Your work is visible on the estate, in the hall and at the food bank on a Tuesday. It's much less visible online, and that's where funders, partners and new volunteers look first. This playbook shows what they find when they search you, and what to fix before the next application goes in.
The short versionCommunity organisations usually lose grants and partners before an application is assessed, because funders search them online and find an out-of-date site, no project pages, no budgets or governance, and no evidence of results. A current, evidenced web presence and a reply path for partners fix that.
1Larger regional charityCommunity orgNamed first · cited
2Housing association schemeCommunity orgNamed · cited
–Your organisationCommunity orgNot mentioned
Why these three“Locally, Larger regional charity runs youth clubs and publishes each project's budget and results…”
Leak 1Stale websiteLatest news is years old; projects aren't listed.
Leak 2No budget answerFunders can't see what projects cost or who funds them.
Leak 3Slow replyA local firm offering funding waits for a part-timer.
Start here
Tick anything that sounds like your week.
Eight things community organisations commonly describe. Select the ones that apply and we'll show what usually causes them, in the order we'd tackle it. Nothing is submitted.
Tick what applies3 of 8 selected
Why a good organisation still loses the grant
Funders don't start with the form. They start with a search.
Before a grant officer reads your application, they usually search your name. They want to see that you're active, that projects exist, who runs the organisation, what it costs and what changed for people. A local business considering a partnership does the same. If they find a website last updated years ago and no project pages, the application starts from doubt, however good the work on the ground is.
01
The search before the application
Local youth projects with evidence?
1Larger regional charityNamed first · cited
2Housing association schemeNamed · project pages
–Your organisationNot namedStale website
Why don't funders and partners find our community organisation online?
Funders, partners and assistants look for specific, current projects tied to a place. A site with a general “about us”, old news and no project pages gives them nothing to check. Current project pages with dates, people and evidence are what both a grant officer and an AI answer look for.
02
The budget question funders ask first
how is this community project funded
Your page“Accounts available on request.”Tab closed
Answered pageWhat each project costs · who funds it · what a new grant would addQuoted by AI
How should a small charity show where its funding goes?
Funders want to know what a project costs to run, who else funds it and what their money would add. “Accounts available on request” makes them work for it. Project budgets explained in plain words, with funders named and accounts linked, answer the question before it's asked.
03
The partner offer left waiting
Local firm here, keen to fund your community garden. Can we talk?Web form · Mon 5:20 pm
Thanks! Our coordinator is part-time and back Thursday.5 days later
No problem, we've partnered with another group.Same day
Why do partner and funder enquiries to community groups go cold?
Community organisations often run on part-time staff and volunteers, so an offer from a local business can sit until the coordinator is back. By then the budget has been spent elsewhere. A shared inbox, an automatic acknowledgement with a date and a page on how businesses can help keep the offer warm.
What we'd do about it
Five moves, in the order that pays.
Fix the leaks first, then grow. Scaling a funnel that loses enquiries just spends more to lose more.
Move
W1W2W3W4W5W6W7W8W9W10W11W12M3+
01Make the site funder-readyCurrent projects, dated updates, trustees, safeguarding, accounts, funders and partners, all easy to find. Old news archived, not left on the front page.Web Development
Weeks 1–4
02Give every project a pageWho it serves, when and where it runs, what it costs and what has changed, with evidence you can stand behind. No impact claims your records don't support.Content Marketing
Weeks 2–6
03Close the reply gapA shared inbox several people can see, automatic acknowledgements with a date, and a page explaining how businesses, volunteers and funders can help.Marketing Automation
Weeks 3–7
04Get named for your areaTrack which organisations assistants name for your area and needs, then make your projects consistent across your site, partner sites and local listings.AI Search Optimisation
Weeks 5–10
05Then grow with ad creditsGrant ad credits pointed at volunteering, local-help and service searches, landing on project pages. Only once the site and replies are in order.SEM & Paid Ads
Month 3 onward
Social presence · where funders check you
The funder scrolled your page to see if you're still active.
Funders, partners and residents check your pages to see the work is current. Six things decide whether a look turns into a grant conversation or a new volunteer.
9:41●●● 5G
yourcommunity
YCYour Community ProjectCommunity organisation
Youth, food & green spaces locallyProjects, budgets & funders ↓Volunteer or partner with us ↓
ContactMessageCall
ProjectsFundersVolunteerEvents
Tuesday food bankYouth club · by MarcusGarden dig dayWhere the grant wentThank you, fundersA resident's storyVolunteers needed SatProject updatePublic meeting
FacebookProject updates, events and residents' groups locally.Join
LinkedInFunder thanks and results for local firms and grant makers.Trust
WhatsAppVolunteer rotas and residents' updates, by opt-in.Join
InstagramFaces and places from projects, shared with consent.Discover
A week that books, not just posts
Social Media Marketing Included in Zero to Hero (2 platforms) and Own The Answer (4 platforms).
MONProject updateWhat happened last week, plainly.
WEDFunder thanksWho funded what, credited by name.
THUVolunteer callOne task, one date, one link.
SATFaces of the projectWith consent, in their own words.
DAILYRepliesPartner and resident messages, same day.
What we'd watch
Your dashboard, minus the vanity metrics.
Six numbers that show whether the work is turning into funder and partner conversations — each pulled from a system you already own. The audit fills in your baseline; every sprint after shows the trend.
Funding pipeline · weeklyYour dashboard after the free audit
Area answers you're named inAI visibility tracking
Baseline—
Project page visitsWebsite analytics
Baseline—
Time to first replyShared inbox
Baseline—
Partner conversationsCRM or spreadsheet
Baseline—
Applications to awardsGrants tracker
Baseline—
Volunteer sign-upsVolunteer records
Baseline—
Your numbers, not ours
What is the slow reply actually costing you?
Three inputs only you know. We don't know your business yet — so nothing here is a benchmark, just your own arithmetic.
Runs in your browser. Nothing is stored or sent.
What you may be losing
$25,980a month in funders who book somewhere else — worked out from your three numbers above.
6 × 4.33 weeks× 1 in 2× $2,000
The fix is a shared inbox, not more hours. Visible to several people, with an automatic acknowledgement — weeks 3 to 7 of the plan.
Free with any monthly plan from $499. Domain, hosting and paid tools are bought by you and stay in your name; shops and booking systems are quoted separately. The 48-hour clock starts once your plan is active and the launch checklist is done.
yourorganisation.comLIVE
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Questions community organisations ask
Straight answers, no sales script.
Straight answers. If yours isn't here, a 30-minute call is the fastest route — no pitch, no deck.
Many do, often before they read the application, to check you're active and well run. Current projects, trustees, safeguarding and accounts that are easy to find remove doubt before the assessment starts.
We're tiny. Do we need a page for every project?
One short page per project is enough: who it's for, when and where it runs, what it costs and what it's achieved. It's what funders, partners and assistants look for, and you can reuse it in every application.
What can we say about our impact?
What your records show: how many sessions ran, who came, what changed and how you know. Honest numbers with a short explanation of how they were collected are more credible than big claims. We won't publish what you can't evidence.
Should we publish project budgets?
A plain summary helps: roughly what a project costs to run, who funds it and what more funding would add. Funders read that as confidence, and it shortens the conversation.
How long before we notice a difference?
Site and reply-time fixes can help the next application straight away. Being named in AI answers for your area usually takes a few months. We don't guarantee grants, mentions or rankings.
We run on volunteers. Can we keep the site current?
Yes, if updating it is simple. We set up a short monthly routine: one project update, one photo, one dated note. Small and regular beats a big refresh every few years.
Which social platforms matter most for a community organisation?
Facebook and WhatsApp for residents and volunteers, and LinkedIn for funders and local businesses. Funders often check your pages before an application is read, so regular, dated project updates and credited funders matter more than polish. Share photos of people only with their consent, and take extra care with children.
Do we get a free website for our organisation?
Yes. Every monthly plan includes a free 5-page website for your organisation — fast, AI-readable and yours to keep. It goes live within 48 hours once your plan is active and the launch checklist is done. Your domain, hosting and any paid tools sit outside the offer and stay in your name; online shops and booking systems are quoted separately. What's included
Free · one business day
Tell us about your organisation. Get a plan back.
A strategist reads your brief and replies within one business day with what we'd fix first for your organisation, a timeline and the real cost.
Reply in 1 business dayFrom a strategist, not a bot
We'll check what a funder finds when they search you, whether your projects and governance are easy to see and how fast a partner enquiry gets answered, then send you what we found.
Social presence · where funders check you
The funder scrolled your page to see if you're still active.
Funders, partners and residents check your pages to see the work is current. Six things decide whether a look turns into a grant conversation or a new volunteer.
yourcommunity
Is your profile ready to sell?
Tap what's already true.
Where your funders look
A week that books, not just posts
Social Media Marketing Included in Zero to Hero (2 platforms) and Own The Answer (4 platforms).