WIRES is one person. That has to change.

Where WIRES is now

I started WIRES because nobody was campaigning, in public, for connectivity to be treated as essential infrastructure in Scotland. Since then I've written to over 1,450 elected representatives and council leaders, published every reply, made a submission to the competition regulator, and built the accountability tracker.

All of that has been done by one volunteer with no budget. That works for a while. It doesn't work for long, for four reasons:

• Accountability. A campaign that asks councils for a named person in charge should have more than one person in charge of itself.
• Money. I can't accept a donation or a grant properly without a bank account in WIRES's name, and funders won't give to one person.
• Trust. People and organisations are more willing to work with a group that has a constitution, a committee and published accounts.
• Survival. If WIRES depends on me alone, it ends when I stop. It needs to outlast any one person.

The options I looked at

People often ask whether WIRES should be a charity or a social enterprise. Here is what each would mean for a campaign like this one, under Scottish law.

What I've decided

This will happen in two stages. First, WIRES becomes a properly constituted community group with a committee and a bank account. That's quick and free, and it means WIRES can work with funders and partners straight away. Then, during 2027, the committee will take advice and apply to become a Scottish charity (a SCIO), with charitable purposes built around ending digital exclusion and campaigning as the main way of pursuing them.

If the advice is that the charity rules would get in the way of honest campaigning, WIRES will become a not-for-profit company instead, as 38 Degrees and Common Weal have done. Either way, the decision and the reasons will be published here.

How WIRES will be funded

WIRES doesn't cost much to run: website hosting, email, printing and travel. Even so, where the money comes from matters as much as how much there is. These are the rules I'm setting, and they'll be written into the constitution:

• No government money. WIRES holds the Scottish and UK governments and councils to account, so it won't take their grants. I do consider National Lottery funding acceptable: it comes from people who play the Lottery, not from taxes, and the National Lottery Community Fund says its grant decisions are taken independently of government.
• No money from the companies WIRES campaigns about. That means no funding from broadband, mobile or telecoms companies, or from programmes they pay for. WIRES criticises their prices and their social tariffs, and needs to keep doing that.
• People first. The aim is for WIRES to be funded mainly by small, regular donations from people who want it to exist. That's the model Common Weal uses.
• Everything in public. WIRES will publish the name of every organisation that funds it, every single donation over £500, and its accounts every year.

Once WIRES is constituted, these are the grants it will apply for first. All three are open to new community groups:

• National Lottery Awards for All Scotland: £300 to £20,000. It will fund projects that are mainly about campaigning, as long as they aren't party political.
• Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust: small grants of up to £10,000, at any time. It's one of very few funders that supports campaigns that aren't charities, though its focus is democracy and accountability, so WIRES will need to show where it fits.
• The Robertson Trust Wee Grants: up to £5,000 for small groups that support people affected by poverty. It would fund WIRES's work helping people find cheaper broadband, not its lobbying.

The plan, step by step

This is what happens next, and roughly when. I'll keep this list up to date as each step is done.

1. Find two more people to run WIRES with me Now

   Nearly every funder needs a committee of at least three people who aren't related to each other, and so does a charity. This is the most important step, and the one I need help with. A treasurer would be especially welcome.

2. Get free advice Now

   Scotland has free support for new groups: every council area has a Third Sector Interface, and SCVO publishes free model constitutions. I'll use both before writing anything new.

3. Adopt a constitution at the first meeting By December 2026

   A short written constitution: what WIRES is for, who can join, how the committee is elected, and how decisions are made. It will include the funding rules above, so they can't quietly change later.

4. Open a bank account in WIRES's name By January 2027

   Every payment will need two people who aren't related to sign it off. Once it's open, I'll add a way to donate to this site.

5. Apply for the first grants Early 2027

   Starting with the three funders above. Every grant WIRES receives will be listed on this page.

6. Stay on the right side of election law Before May 2027

   Scotland's council elections are on 6 May 2027. WIRES will keep publishing what councillors say, but will never tell anyone how to vote. Where Scottish law requires it, WIRES's online campaign material will carry an imprint: a short line saying who published it and where. WIRES spends far less than the level that would mean registering with the Electoral Commission, and I'll keep checking that it stays that way.

7. Decide: charity or company Summer 2027

   With advice, the committee will draft charitable purposes and test them against OSCR's rules. Then it makes the call, and the reasons are published here.

8. Register By the end of 2027

   Either an application to OSCR or registration at Companies House, with the community group's money and work moving across to the new organisation.

William Ellis, founder of WIRES. Last updated 15 October 2026. Sources for every fee, threshold and grant amount on this page are on the figures and sources page.