Sites for Service · a free program of Sightline Studio
Your department deserves a real website. It's free.
We build and host websites for fire departments, EMS, police and sheriff's offices, 911 centers and search and rescue teams, and for the memorials and support groups behind them. No contract, no bill, no strings. You own it.
These aren't cookie-cutter sites. Every one is built for the department that asked.
Anywhere in the United States. All we ever ask for is photos and facts.
Who it's for
The people who answer the call, and the people behind them
Thousands of departments and agencies still have no website, or a page nobody can update. Residents can't find the non-emergency number. Recruits can't find out how to join. We fix that.
Volunteer & combination fire departments
Recruitment front and center, the burn status, calls, events and how to reach the station.
Police & sheriff's offices
How to reach a deputy without calling 911, community programs, recruiting, and records requests in one place.
911 & dispatch centers
When to call and when not to, text-to-911, and a recruiting page for the dispatchers you're always short of.
EMS & rescue agencies
Who you serve, how to join, community CPR and safety programs, and what to expect when you call.
Search & rescue & emergency management
Readiness guides, alert sign-ups, volunteer call-outs and training dates.
Fire districts & authorities
Board meetings, budgets and public notices in one place, built to the accessibility standard the law now asks for.
Memorials & foundations
Built with care, never as an advertisement. No badges, no marketing on a roll of honor.
LAST & peer support teams
The number to call on the worst day, on every page, plus resources and a way to request a visit.
Auxiliaries & associations
Members, events, fundraising and the history of the people you support.
What every site includes
Built for the day after we hand you the keys
Everything an agency actually needs, nothing that needs a web person to keep alive.
Recruitment first
"Join" on the first screen, a plain-language path from curious to sworn in, and an interest form that goes straight to your recruiter.
Status you change from your phone
Burn bans, road closures, open houses. The chief updates one line and the banner changes on every page.
Calls, news & events
A run log the public can read, news with real photos, and a calendar residents can add to theirs.
Community safety
Smoke-alarm requests, printable escape plans, burn permits and the numbers people look for at 2 a.m.
Accessible by design
Built to WCAG 2.1 AA, with an accessibility statement. Federal rules require it of public entities, and fire districts face a 2028 deadline.
Fast, secure, yours
Modern hosting, no plugins to patch, your own domain. The department owns the code and can take it anywhere.
Also free · Operation Charity
Your donors and your money, in one place
Foundations, memorials, auxiliaries and volunteer departments that take donations get the same deal as the website: Operation Charity, our donor and fund tracking system, free. Every gift, every donor, every restricted dollar and every receipt, in one place your treasurer and your board can trust.
Every donor, one record
People and households, with every gift, receipt, call and note on a single timeline. Spouses and family members are linked, and a gift given in someone's honor shows on both records.
Receipts the IRS accepts
A receipt for each gift and a year-end statement for each donor, as PDF, with the wording the IRS asks for. Issued once and never silently changed.
Restricted money stays restricted
Record what each gift is for. See what is left in every fund at a glance, and move money out only with a recorded reason.
Grants you can keep up with
Each award, its period, what has arrived, what is still due and when the reports are owed.
Who to thank today
A daily list: thank-yous due, first-time donors ready for a second ask, donors who are slipping away, grant reports coming up.
Reports your board will read
Who gave last year but not this year, how many donors came back, giving by fund. Each one downloads as a spreadsheet.
Nothing is ever edited after the fact: corrections are recorded as adjustments, so totals always tie out. Bring your current list over from Little Green Light, Bloomerang, DonorPerfect or a spreadsheet, with duplicates flagged before anything is saved. The data is yours: export it any time, or connect to it through the API.
How it works
From request to live, without a meeting marathon
You ask
Five minutes on the request form. Tell us who you are and what you need most.
We draft it
We build a first draft from public records and your Facebook page, and send it to you for review. How long it takes depends on how many departments are in line. We move as fast as we can, and your account page always shows where things stand.
You correct it
Mark what's wrong, send photos, approve the names and numbers. Nothing goes public without your OK.
We launch it
On your domain, or a new one in your department's name. You get the keys and a one-page "what you own" sheet.
We stay
Text or email us a change any time. Once a year we offer a free refresh.
What it costs
Nothing. Really.
Free for volunteer and combination fire departments, fire districts, EMS and rescue agencies, police and sheriff's offices, 911 centers, search and rescue teams, emergency management offices, memorials, foundations, peer support teams, auxiliaries and associations.
The only thing you might pay for is your web address, about $10 to $20 a year, registered in your department's name, not ours. Already have one? Keep it.
Larger career departments and agencies: ask us. We'll keep it at our cost.
- No contract, no automatic renewal, no yearly price increase
- No ads, and we never sell or share your information
- If you ever want to leave, you take the whole site with you
| Question | Sites for Service | Typical paid vendor |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Quote only; renewals can run $3,000 a year or more |
| Contract | None | Annual, often renews automatically |
| Who owns the site | Your department: domain, code and content | Often the vendor's platform |
| Accessibility | Built to WCAG 2.1 AA from day one | Often an add-on service |
| If you leave | The site keeps running; it's yours | Start over somewhere else |
Our promises
The lines we don't cross
Photos and facts only
That's all we will ever ask a department for. Never money, never a signature on a contract.
You approve everything
Every name, date and number is confirmed by you before anything goes public.
Respect for the fallen
Memorial pages carry no advertising and no credit to us. The names come first.
Nothing depends on us
Your domain, your code, your hosting account. If we disappeared tomorrow, your site would keep running.
Questions
What chiefs and sheriffs ask us
Why is it free? What's the catch?
Sightline Studio builds websites for local businesses for a living. Sites for Service is how we give back to the people who serve. The software that runs these sites is shared, so each new department costs us very little. There is no upsell: we will never ask a department for money, and memorial pages never carry our name.
What do you need from us?
One contact person, permission from whoever needs to give it (chief, board or members), and your photos. We draft everything else from public records and your Facebook page, then you correct it.
How long does it take?
How long it takes depends on how many departments are in line; we move as fast as we can, and your account page always shows where things stand. How fast it goes live after that depends on how quickly you can review it.
Who keeps it up to date?
You can, from a phone: the burn status, calls, news and events are simple fields. Or just text or email us the change and we'll make it.
Can we keep our domain and our Facebook page?
Yes. We'll use the web address you already have, or help you register one in the department's name. Your Facebook page stays, and the site links to it.
Does the site meet the accessibility rules?
We build to WCAG 2.1 Level AA, the standard in the Justice Department's 2024 rule for state and local government websites. Under the current schedule, special districts and governments serving fewer than 50,000 people must comply by April 26, 2028; larger ones by April 26, 2027. Each site includes an accessibility statement. Ask your attorney how the rule applies to your organization. Read: What the ADA web deadline means for a volunteer department
What if Sightline goes away?
Nothing changes for you. The domain, the hosting account and the code are in your department's name, and the shared software behind them is public, so any web developer can maintain it.
Do you also handle donations and donor records?
Yes. Operation Charity, our free donor and fund tracking system, keeps your donors, gifts, receipts, restricted funds and grants in one place; see Your donors and your money, in one place. Check "Donor and fund tracking" on the request form and we will set it up with your site, or on its own. Read more about Operation Charity.
Do you work outside Colorado?
Yes, anywhere in the United States. Our first department site is in Michigan.