Welcome to the very next issue of VellumWorks Weekly. Each week, we’re sharing what we’re building, why it matters, and how it can support your work.

Each week, we’ll share progress from across our tools and projects — like VellumSEO and VellumCMS — along with stories, resources, and ideas to help charities and communities thrive.

What to expect from VellumWorks Weekly?

You’re receiving this because, at some point, you showed interest in what we’re building at VellumWorks. A mission-led initiative dedicated to creating free, open digital tools for those making a difference. Whether you signed up through one of our platforms, joined a project, or simply followed our progress, we’re glad you’re here.

VellumWorks exists to support charities, grassroots organisations, and underserved communities by developing systems that remove digital barriers. This weekly update is our way of keeping you in the loop as we build, iterate, and move the mission forward.

Here’s what we’ve been focused on this week:

– We’ve started another email newsletter/articles on Substack. Although this will be our main email, where we keep you updated. We want to serve people and give tips and tricks to everyone, regardless of the platform. First article coming soon.
– As always, our SEO services for charities are now available through VellumSEO.com - if you or a charity you know could benefit from free, hands-on support to improve visibility and reach, have a look.
– We’ve also added some copy to our website to ensure that our mission is spread across our websites. If you look in the footer of each website, you’ll see a bit of copy. - We’ve also improved our sign-in for VellumSEO, and you’ll also notice that we’ve added a message for coming soon. We’ll soon be adding a countdown to our website for these tools.

Thanks for following along — we’ve got even more in the pipeline for next week.

One in three small charities say their website hasn’t been updated in over two years — and 60% still don’t have SEO tools or support. That’s not just a missed opportunity — it’s a crisis in visibility we’re working to fix.

We’ve recently updated the security of both of our websites, which are currently live. This includes VellumWorks and VellumSEO. This includes ensuring that the code is fully updated, organised properly internally and that you, as the visitor or charity, have the permissions you need.

This includes updating our consent controls within data permissions. We’ve recently updated our cookie consent pop-up to give you even more permissions.

We’ve added the functional and marketing sliders. When activated, this will enable you to have a more personalised experience, but equally, you can deny these permissions, and we won’t even know you’ve visited the website.

Our goal is to give you the tools you need without the overwhelm: clear insights, no fluff, and no plugins required, whilst keeping you safe.

Recently, we published a Medium article that explained exactly why we started a charity to help others. If you’re wondering why you, as a reader or you as a charity, should care about the work that we’re doing, this article will explain exactly that.

It’s more than a story about starting a charity — it’s about rethinking how digital tools are built, who they’re built for, and why so many small organisations are left behind. If you've ever felt that resources are out of reach or that your impact is limited by a lack of support, this piece is for you. It outlines the values behind VellumWorks and the urgent need for accessible, mission-aligned tech for nonprofits.

We know your time and energy are focused on doing good in the world, and we aim to support that work however we can. If something we’re building could help your charity — or if you just want to share an idea — don’t hesitate to reach out.

Until next week,
Alex
Founder, VellumWorks
[email protected]
https://vellumworks.com