Alyssa’s Favorite Nonprofit Websites
I have to start with a disclaimer: I am disappointed I cannot list Community Shares’ website as one of my favorites and I hope our upcoming reboot and public launch of the My
Our website includes some classic nonprofit mistakes: too many pages (mostly due to sub pages) which prevent information being kept up to date; a fairly static look that contradicts our dynamic organization; and, it doesn’t put our best attributes first – the people who make up our community giving fund. I would compare it to meeting someone on Match.com and then they show up for a face-to-face date, they look nothing like they sounded like. In this case, it is the opposite – we look and sound great but you meet us online and it is like meeting a different person.
We’ve been doings some fun work on our branding with board member Rich Jones (thanks!) that has made me take a look around and seek nonprofit or community-focused organizations that have websites that reflect their personality and attributes.
Here are a few of my favorite community change and nonprofit organization websites and why I love them. [Second disclaimer: In some cases, I may love a site while knowing little about the organization.] Of course, these are my opinions as an individual combined with my nonprofit executive eyes. Definitely respond with your favorite sites.
NONPROFIT SITES
1. Women’s Bean Project – www.womensbeanproject.org
Why I Love It: Awesome site upgrade! First off, the look of the site does a great job inviting you in and puts the product first. (For most nonprofits, the product is the change created. For WBP, they have two products – the women and the beans.) The video on the home page automatically loads which grabs your attention and makes you want to learn more. The shopping feature is super clean and easy to use. This is also a great example of not sending your site visitor to a third party to shop or donate. All in all, it’s great site.
2.
Why I Love It: It puts the animals first. My two favorite features on the site are the header that flashes through the animal pics (and they aren’t afraid to use white space!) and the adoption area of the site is genius. I love that they are adding videos of the dogs and the email function is diabolical (if you are trying to resist your partner’s efforts in adopting a cat). I think they could upgrade some other areas of the site (especially the donation options) but they do right what matters most.
3. Planned Parenthood – www.plannedparenthood.org
Why I Love It: Planned Parenthood has to balance the purpose of their site because the two primary reasons people visit require different messaging and voice. For those looking for services, they use straightforward, clear language and the ability to find a location near you follows you throughout the site when you are pages related to health topics. For those who want to learn about issues and action, the language changes and you are given very easy options to get involved locally. It strikes a nice balance and exudes support, authority, and a clear point of view.
4. National Public Radio – www.npr.org
(Okay, I must admit that one of my least favorite beginnings of a sentence is, “I was listening to NPR…” And, if anyone who knows me in my personal life is reading this, you know exactly why. In addition, I wish they would do more work giving the public the microphone instead of talking about what the public is doing. However…)
Why I Love It: The NPR site is a great example of using multiple media to share your product. Their streaming quality has greatly improved and they have podcasts, RSS, desktop widgets (Google Gadget in this case), mobile alerts and trivia quizzes, and a wide variety of options for their electronic newsletter service. If you don’t know what any of those things are, email me for more information or go check out the options on the NPR site.
2 COMMUNITY CHANGE SITES
1. TED – Ideas Worth Sharing – www.ted.com
This site is labeled “inspired thoughts by the world’s greatest thinkers and doers”. It features videos from the annual TED conferences. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from those three worlds.
Why I Love It: It uses some of the greatest attributes of social media. Think about reading about TED in a magazine and thinking, “I wish I could be there.” Thanks to the internet, you can be. Easy to watch, easy to share, easy to search.
2. Changemakers.net – www.changemakers.net
Changemakers.net is a project of Ashoka and it aims to “open source social solutions”. Changemakers is building the world's first global online "open source" community that competes to surface the best social solutions, and then collaborates to refine, enrich, and implement those solutions. Changemakers begins by providing an overarching intellectual framework for collaborative competitions that bring together individual social change initiatives into a more powerful whole.
Why I Love It: This truly is using social media for social change – it’s two paradigm shifts beyond where the sector is on social media. Talk about using collective knowledge and innovation to solve problems! This is a great model for nonprofits – instead of sending a fundraising letter asking constituents for money to solve a problem, what if you asked them all to weigh in first on the best way to do it. Engage your donors in real change. This site boggles my mind with potential.
This topic is of great interest to me and I will be sure to put out updates to this list quarterly. I also look forward to putting Community Shares at the top of the list soon.
Don’t forget to respond and let me know your favorite sites!
Alyssa Kopf
CEO, Community Shares of Colorado
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2 comments:
I like www.youngpeoplefor.org for a variety of reasons. Overall, I feel included and informed...
**There's a ton going on in the site, but I'm not overwhelmed with the content. Instead, I'm intrigued and want to learn more about all the great work they are doing.
**I love that its a national organization, yet easy to connect with locally.
**The use of red, white, black, gray (or grey if you prefer) is effective.
This is such an important topic. Nonprofits are not serious enough about creating an interesting, relevant, and up-to-date web presence.
I like Susan G. Komen for the Cure - Denver's site (www.komendenver.org). It is very well branded and the message is consistent throughout. It also integrates some important features, like easy online registration for the Race for the Cure, online donations, etc. I think they could integrate a blog or forum, given their mission, and it would be nice to see some more interactive content. Otherwise, I think it is a great site.
I also really like the Fieldstone Alliance site (www.fieldstonealliance.org). It is very functional, clean, and easy to use. it is not very interactive, but serves it purpose - provide resources and services to nonprofit organizations. I think this is a good example of a practical site that provides information in a straightforward way.
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