Having helped set up a handful of websites for non-profit and ad-hoc groups, I’m increasingly convinced that donated web hosting is worth every penny you pay for it. While it seems great to have someone offer to host a site for free, or even donate rack space for a dedicated box, the trade-offs in availability, support, and accountability are severe.
Volunteer tech help is a valuable commodity for non-profits. Anything that makes it harder or less satisfying for your techies to do their work is a Bad Thing, and will cause a host of problems, up to an including total burn-out of your volunteers.
It isn’t that hard to find a single donor who will pay for an economical VPS or managed-server solution as an in-kind contribution. That $30-50 per month will free up many more hours of volunteer time, and should bring with it uptime guarantees, 24×7 emergency support, and secure off-site backup.
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