It's a new year!!! What now?

The new year is upon us and now it's time to make some decisions for your organization. You've already forecasted your upcoming year but did you remember your website? Anymore, it's not just enough to build a website. It's got to stay fresh in the minds of your donors. How about a redesign? I'm not saying you have to redesign it every year but you should consider giving it a face lift every couple of years. Technology changes from year to year so you want to be sure that your website is up to it's top potential. So how do you know if you need a redesign? Definitely look at how long it has been. If it's been two or three years, consider it. If you are using a content management system like Joomla or Wordpress, this is even easier than you know. There are so many fantastic templates out there that have been designed for these CMS you can easily purchase one and use it. In some cases, you may need some assistance from a designer/developer to maybe make sure it's loaded correctly and all the features are up-to-date. A good designer can also take a template you purchased and make modifications to match your brand a bit better. Just consult with your favorite designer for options on this.

Marketing and Fundraising Sessions

The Center for Nonprofit Management (Dallas) is offering several sessions on Marketing and Fundraising. Some topics are:

The most powerful tool in fundraising - Writing the case statement clinic.
Building donor partnerships - Beyond the sponsorship package: creating donor partnerships
Attract new donors - Web design do's and don'ts and how to's
Tell your story - Write to be heard! secrets of a PR Pro

You can read more about these sessions by visiting their website at www.cnmdallas.org

Free EBook from Network for Good

Network for Good has released a new EBook titled "How to Raise A Lot More Money Now - 50 Great Ideas from 11 Top Experts." The book gives you creative ideas on how to raise money for your organization. In past postings, I've talked about strategic ways to get donations. People like to see where their money is going. So being creative with that part of your website can really get peoples attention. Take a few minutes to review this EBook.

If you need help with getting your website designed or redesigned to draw in donors, visit www.gogreencre8tive.com.

Don't forget your networking tools. Get help with you networking as well. I have packages exclusively for non-profits to manage your networking.

Joomla 1.5.20 Security Release

Yes, I know we just upgraded a release a few days ago. But now Joomla has another security release that fixes some bugs and a couple of security issues. Because it's a security release, everyone needs to really update their sites. To view a list of the fixes, visit the Joomla website.

New and Improved: The Witte Museum

The Witte Museum got an amazing face lift with the assistance of myself (the designer) and NPower Texas. The original website was outdated in appearance and structure. They wanted a more interactive site that would draw in visitors to the museum. They also wanted an easy way to update it regularly. I implemented the Joomla CMS so that making changes and managing the website are a breeze. I also implemented a rotating banner on the homepage where they could highlight features and exhibits as they occur. On every page is a row of "call to action" items that fade in and out and are scrollable. On every page, a visitor can do things like plan their visit, donate, get involved and learn more about their capital campaign. The Witte Museums mission of “promoting life-long learning” has been accomplished by making it easy for visitors to have a clear path of action when on the website.

If you're interested in getting a makeover for your website, contact me via email.

Visit the website at www.wittemuseum.org.

Giving in 2009 was still good

The Chronicle of Philanthropy reported in their newsletter that "individuals, who make 75 percent of all charitable contributions, held steady in their giving, providing more than $227-million, the same sum they contributed in 2008, according to researchers at Indiana University’s Center on Philanthropy, who compile Giving USA."

View the source »

There's an App for that. How Charities are using the IPhone

Since the IPhone came on the market, we are mad about applications! Many non profits including the Monterey Bay Aquarium are using applications to educate the public about their organization as well as fund raising campaigns. And now with the latest Smart Phones like Android coming on the market, the opportunities are endless. Technology is a staple for non profits - some just don't know it yet.

View the source »

If you're interested in getting an application developed for your organization, contact patsy@gogreencre8tive.com.