Aid for Africa Web Site Makes Giving Easier
In its mission to attract financial support for nearly 80 charitable organizations in Sub-Saharan Africa, Aid for Africa relies heavily on its Web site to boost member visibility and secure donations.
Yet the compelling story of its member charities wasn’t being fully told, so Aid for Africa turned to OmniStudio for a site redesign—one that would effectively illustrate who these charities serve and why.
The result of the redesign is a vibrant site filled with the images of Africa. A site where interactive maps, a “store” to purchase goods from indigenous peoples, and a dynamic, easy-to-use search function have boosted visits to member charity and volunteer pages.
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| Aid for Africa’s Web site redesign has increased interest in and donations to the organization’s member charities. |
“We’ve found that more people have come to the site,” said Barbara Rose, the organization’s executive director, noting that the redesigned site is a vast improvement.
Site visitors can now easily donate to member charities—most of which work at the grassroots level to empower African people and to improve their futures—by using the site’s interactive map of Africa to search for a charity by Sub-Saharan country. Donations are up since the new site launched last fall.
Moreover, the new search engine optimization (SEO) strategy has resulted in a boost in traffic from search engines—about 80 percent of visitors now come from searches—indicating that Aid for Africa is climbing the Google search ranks.
Omni’s redesign included a new look and feel for the site, and an update to the database and content management system (CMS), shifting it to a WordPress platform that makes it easier for Aid for Africa to track data and revise pages.
“We wanted to expand on the site’s previous functionality,” said Jim Jacobs, Omni’s vice president of Interactive, noting that WordPress is a sophisticated but simple CMS that gives clients confidence to update their site. “The design is a lot more user-friendly and user-centric.”
Omni’s redesign resulted in restructured member profile pages as well, making them more functional and simple to use. The new profile pages can easily generate a list of other issue areas the charity focuses on, as well as a list of the other countries in which the charity does work.
Additionally, Aid for Africa’s online store features the unique and culturally rich work of African artisans that can be purchased through individual member organizations, which further fuels the fire of giving to Aid for Africa’s charities.
Brown Bag Lunch Series Back!
Omni is pleased to present the first three workshops in its 2010 Brown Bag Lunch Series. This series is an exciting venue for professionals to increase their knowledge about common and not-so-common communications, interactive and design issues.
Best of all, these sessions are free! You bring lunch, and we’ll supply drinks.
Our spring seminars, held from 12:30 – 1:30 PM, include:
| From Tweets to E-blasts, Tell Your Story Briefly but Powerfully
With e-communications, you only have a few moments to catch your audience’s attention. How do you stand out from the crowd? Make your message short. Make it powerful. Whether you’re writing e-blasts or e-newsletters, learn to write with brevity and authority in this hands-on workshop. Bring your paper and pen! |
Friday, April 23 | |
| Social Media 101
Harness the power of social media with a better understanding of Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube and Twitter. Designed for social media novices, we’ll explore the most popular social networking sites and address how you can use social media sites to publicize your nonprofit’s activities and position your organization in the social media sphere. |
Friday, May 7 | |
| Understanding Content Management Systems and How to Choose One
Finding the right content management system (CMS) for your organization is critical, and Omni’s interactive experts will share their insights into selecting a superior CMS. We’ll focus on two highly regarded CMS products—Drupal and WordPress—while outlining the key decisions clients must make before selecting a new CMS. |
Friday, May 14 |
For more information, or to RSVP for a class, please email aflashenberg@omnistudio.com. There is limited seating, so it’s first come, first served.
Need More Information?
If you have any questions about what OmniStudio can do for you, write to Eileen Kessler at ekessler@omnistudio.com. Thank you for your suggestions, comments and continued interest!
