The NonProfit Times - December 15, 2007 - (Page 14)

Turbo-Charged Continued from page 13 cians, advocates, volunteers, donors and hungry people learn where soup kitchens and food pantries are in their city, while taking action to end hunger. HEARTSPRING www.heartspring.org Heartspring, a center for children with special needs, headquartered in Wichita, Kan., with almost 300 employees,launched a completely revamped Web site earlier this year. The goal was to find new and interactive ways to engage an online audience. The new Web site has many interactive possibilities, including: signing up for e-newsletters, applying for a job online, asking “Dr.Wayne,” telling your story (to possibly be told later in an online video format), and accessing important board of directors materials. The emotional videos that can be accessed throughout the Web site are some of the most popu- lar features. The online video gallery features students, clients, parents, staff and special guests. “We wanted people to truly experience our successful outcomes,” said Kristina M. Baker, coordinator of outreach programs for Heartspring. Heartspring.org, which was designed and built in-house by Heartspring’s Web developer Mia Lee, was created in response to the organization’s commitment to use technology in innovative ways to promote global awareness of children with disabilities. Lee and her team spent several months planning the site and researching best practices from Web sites in all different industries. After four months of building out the site, heartspring.org launched just this past January. The relaunch included the addition of new Web sites for the organization’s two largest fundraising events. These sites allow users to register, pay, donate and communicate online.All the sites link together for a seamless Web journey for the user. Since the launch of the new site, Heartspring’s daily hits have grown from an average of 1,000 to 9,000. ARKANSAS REPERTORY THEATRE www.therep.org amount of entries (850, which is quadruple the number of programs in the directory since the re-launch) but also its ease of use. Visitors can choose up to three categories, cross-referencing and drilling further down into information.The system generates an automatic email every six months to program contacts to remind them to update their records. Other interactive features include a blog written by Executive Director Donna M. Butts, which highlights the latest issues affecting intergenerational programs.There is also an active online community consisting of a message forum, online chats (there were 12 in 2006),Webcams and videoconferencing. Generations United has also partnered with the National Endowment for Financial Education on an online intergenerational literacy course that includes video segments, interactive quizzes and downloadable certificates of completion.During 2006,the site had more than 124,000 visits and more than 123,000 downloads of online publications. MARCH OF DIMES www.shareyourstory.org Beyond BLOGGING and PODCASTING Yes, blogs and podcasts are hot, hot, hot, but nonprofits are using additional technology offerings to help communicate with their supporters and members. INTERNET PHONE SERVICE Many nonprofits are now using Skype (www.skype.com), the free Internet-based telephone service, to communicate with members. Skype offers video calls, group chats and conference calls with up to nine people -- all for free. Skype works especially well for nonprofits that are looking to connect members across the country, such as a bicycle messenger network that assists fellow messengers injured on the job. Looking for a way to distinguish itself from other theatres in the Little Rock, Ark., market, Arkansas Repertory Theatre launched a new, interactive Web site in November 2005. Capitalizing on the regional theatre’s highly praised show art and photography, the site aimed to engage theatre patrons, donors, artistic collaborators, educators, prospective employees and members of the media. Aside from being a very aesthetically pleasing Web site, www.therep.org touts numerous interactive features, such as an e-news system featuring an online database of categorized subscribers and four different newsletter templates, ticket purchasing, an FTP site for media, a Web-based survey model and a Web-based “backdoor” administration module to make it all happen seamlessly. Detailed show pages include artwork, descriptions, photos, bios, sponsor logos and more. Staff members say the pages have been especially useful in attracting highly notable actors to audition for upcoming performances. Actors visit special areas of the Web site to download “sides” (script excerpts often named after characters) for auditions. Referral reports automatically generated by the site reflect a surge of visitors since the Web site’s debut in 2005. GENERATIONS UNITED www.gu.org PHOTOSHARING Sites such as Flickr (www.flickr.com) and Photobucket (http://photobucket.com) are photosharing sites that allow users to store images on their sites, saving much needed server/hard drive space for the user. Many nonprofits are using these sites for a variety of photo storage, in particular, photos from fundraising events. Photobucket provides free video sharing along with its photo sharing. MAPS Nonprofits, such as the New York City Coalition Against Hunger featured in this story, are using Google Maps to visually showcase their missions. Nonprofit organi-zations are also using Frappr maps (www.frappr.com), giving Web site visitors an easy and unique way to visualize and interact with each other. Visitors can add their name, photo and message directly on a Web page embedded with Frappr maps, and the Web site owner gets real-time stats on where visitors are coming from and how often they visit. The maps are free and can be embedded on any Web page, blog or online community that supports flash embeds. NPT Generations United, which focuses on intergenerational collaboration, public policies and programs for young and old, used funding from Verizon to revamp its Web site. The site, at www.gu.org, was completely overhauled, combining three of the Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit’s largest databases into one Web-based system that allowed users to search and cross-reference intergenerational programs. Interactivity was key to the site in order to keep visitors returning again and again for new and updated information. “Before the re-launch of the site, we were very text-heavy on the site -- not surprising for an advocacy organization,” said Brent Elrod, program director for Generations United.“It just wasn’t easy to find and get materials and remember what had been updated.” With the new site, updates are done quickly, easily and in real time.The entire staff is responsible for certain areas of the site, making internal accountability more manageable, Elrod said. The site’s searchable database of intergenerational programs is impressive -- not only for the THE NONPROFIT TIMES When the March of Dimes in White Plains, N.Y., set out to create an online community for parents of premature babies, it had no idea how fast the idea would take off. The site, www.shareyourstory.org, quickly became a place of sharing, bonding and eventually donating for parents, friends and family touched by the March of Dimes mission. The site, developed with the help of San Francisco-based WebCrossing, is one of the first nonprofit online communities and features many interactive areas, such as instant messaging, message boards, community cafes, personal blogs and even a book club. Many of the visitors to the Web site are parents looking for other parents who are dealing with the birth of a premature baby or the death of an infant. The site makes it easy to get in touch with others and instantly feel part of a community.“A lot of the site is pretty heavy, so we created the ‘community center’ that allows parents to talk about anything and everything and to bond outside a medical issue,” said James Soohoo, shareyourstory.org host for March of Dimes. People from all around the world visit the site. In 2006, there were 181,000 unique visitors and 3.5 million page views. Last year, online membership to the site doubled from 7,800 to 15,500. Most importantly to March of Dimes staff, many of the site’s frequent visitors have taken their association to the next level, much like Shonda Hershberger, a Share Your Story member from central Iowa. Hershberger and her husband, Mike, lost two of their triplet boys during their first two weeks in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Hoping to help others deal with the pain she experienced, Shonda reached out to other parents on the Web site. She is now a volunteer who helps maintain the site (the entire site is maintained and managed by members) and an active participant in WalkAmerica, the March of Dimes annual fundraising walk. In fact, half of all of the Share Your Story members participate in the event, raising $1.5 million for the organization, Soohoo said. The site’s participants are also huge allies when it comes to lobbying efforts for the March of Dimes. Share Your Story members recently helped pass the federal “Preemie”Bill in December 2006 after basically shutting down the telephone line of Rep. Joe Barton R-Texas with requests to let the House of Representatives vote on the bill before Congress adjourned. “The site is perfectly simple in its idea,” Soohoo said. “A lot of these parents because of the fragile medical issues they deal with are shut-ins at home. This site gives them a way to connect with someone who knows exactly what they’re going through without having to leave home.” NPT DECEMBER 15, 2007 www.nptimes.com http://www.heartspring.org http://www.heartspring.org http://www.heartspring.org http://www.shareyourstory.org http://www.therep.org http://www.shareyourstory.org http://www.therep.org http://www.shareyourstory.org http://www.flickr.com http://www.gu.org http://photobucket.com http://www.gu.org http://www.nptimes.com

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The NonProfit Times - December 15, 2007 Say Hello To 2008, Kissin’ Cousin of 2007 Scandal Ensnares Red Cross CEO Contents Nonprofits Getting A Second Lease On Life Hot Nonprofit Auctions Is It $10, $25 or $100? The World’s Best Fundraisers Turbo-Charged Web Use Help Wanted: 640,000 Open Positions Focus On Community Impact Has United Ways Changing Donor Migration - North Putting That Spark In Your Script NPT Jobs Resource Directory

The NonProfit Times - December 15, 2007

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