For non-profits
Good work deservesa proper digital presence.
Meant builds websites at no charge for registered non-profits and charities. The same team and the same standard as the paid work, and everything owned by the organisation at the end. This page is the whole programme: who qualifies, what is included, how to apply, and the work so far.
The programme
Seven things to know before you apply.
- Who it is for
- Registered non-profits and charities: a licensed charitable or community organisation in the UAE, a registered charity or non-profit anywhere else. Not businesses, not political campaigns, and not organisations that exist to fund a for-profit.
- What is included
- A proper website, in English and Arabic where the organisation needs both. The copy written from your documents, your logo cleaned up or redrawn, structured data, share cards, a sitemap, hosting set up, and the launch checklist run the way it is on every paid build.
- What is not included
- Paid media budgets, ongoing content, retainers and custom software. The domain is registered in your name and paid by you; hosting for a site like this costs nothing.
- What it costs
- Nothing. No invoice, no percentage, no sponsor banner. A small "Developed by Meant" line in the footer, which you may remove.
- What you own
- Everything. The code in a repository under your name, every account opened in your name, and a written handover so a change of studio never means starting again.
- How many
- There is no fixed number. Every application is read by a person and answered honestly about capacity: a yes with a start month, or a no with the reason.
- How long
- Two to four weeks once the documents are in. EBSSA Research Center, the first site built this way, took that.
Who qualifies
Five things, all of them checkable. If you have them, apply. If you are not sure, apply and say so.
- 01
A registration or licence number and the public registry or authority it appears in. We check it before anything else.
- 02
A named person writing from the organisation’s own email address, authorised to apply on its behalf.
- 03
A real mission with people it serves which a website would actually help: partners who need to find you, communities who need to read you.
- 04
Material to work from a profile, photographs, documents. EBSSA’s site was written from a profile deck and the founder’s CV.
- 05
No website, or one that no longer represents the work a twenty-year institution with a Facebook page qualifies; a site rebuilt last year does not.
Not for: businesses of any size, political campaigns, and organisations that exist to fund a for-profit. A business is a client, and the rules for clients are on the pricing page.
How it works
Six steps, from the form to a site in your name.
- 01
Apply
The form below. Ten minutes, and nothing to prepare that you do not already have.
- 02
Verification
We check the registration against the registry. We may ask for one document. A reply within five working days, either way.
- 03
A call
Thirty minutes on what the site must do, who reads it, and in which languages.
- 04
The build
Two to four weeks. A preview link that updates as we work, and a weekly look at the thing itself.
- 05
Launch and handover
The domain in your name, the accounts in your name, the launch checklist, and a written handover.
- 06
After
The site is yours. We stay reachable for questions, and with your written approval the work joins the portfolio.
The work so far
Pro Bono · Bilingual Institutional Site · Sudan
EBSSA Research Center
Twenty-two years of evidence, on the record at last.
A 2003 research centre, online in both its languages, built at no charge
Apply
Ten minutes, nothing to prepare.
What we need to check the registration and understand the work. A person reads every application and replies within five working days.
Common questions
The questions an organisation asks before applying, answered here so the answer is ours.
Is it really free?+
Yes. No invoice, no percentage, no sponsorship deal. You pay for your own domain name, which costs about $15 a year, and nothing else. This is pro bono work in the ordinary professional sense: the same team and the same standard as the paid builds, at no charge.
We are a small business, not a charity. Can we apply?+
No. The programme is for registered non-profits and charities only. A business, however small, is a client, and the rules for clients are on the pricing page: projects start at $2,000, fixed scope and fixed price.
Do you accept organisations outside the UAE?+
Yes. The work runs remotely, English and Arabic are written in-house, and the first site built under the programme is for a research centre in Khartoum, Sudan.
Is there a limit on how many you take?+
There is no fixed number. Every application is read by a person, and the answer is honest about capacity: a yes with a start month, or a no with the reason. If the queue grows, the page will say so.
What does Meant get out of it?+
A footer line you may remove, the work in the portfolio if you approve, and the reason the studio exists: work that deserves to be seen, seen. Nothing is sold to you afterwards.
Will our site be used as a case study?+
Only with your written approval, and you see the write-up before it goes live. EBSSA Research Center is the first; its founder approved the study, the photographs and her name in it.
Can the site take donations?+
If your licence allows you to collect donations, a donation page is part of the build. We do not run fundraising campaigns, and we do not build donation pages for organisations that are not licensed to collect.
What happens after launch?+
The site is yours, on accounts in your name, with a written handover. We stay reachable for questions. Ongoing work, if you ever want it, is a normal engagement under the pricing rules.
If the work is real, the site should be too.
Apply above. If you would rather talk first, the contact page reaches the same person, and the first call is free for everyone.