Small to Medium Size Nonprofits Look Amazing on the Web Using this Process
As a web design and hosting company, productivity is critical as it is in many sectors including nonprofits. A couple of years ago, I realized that we had a limited amount of production we could provide without hiring more personnel. We faced the challenge of what many small businesses face with thresholds of production. To increase the efficiency of our company, we had to develop suitable processes to improve productivity (and reduce stress!).Many nonprofits face that same challenge regarding limits on how much that can be produced in a single day, due to budgetary restrictions, and in some cases, regulatory requirements.When working with online marketing, production is imperative, especially regarding social media. In some cases, companies have dropped or reduced their efforts in social media due to the lack of return on time invested. With nonprofits, reducing the time spent on things like social media can be critical. To reduce the time spent and make it more efficient, the first thing that we need to do is classify the types of communications that go through social media and online marketing.- News and information. The category Includes news about changes to the way that the organization operates.
- Regulatory or bylaw changes. This includes information regarding changes to the way the organization runs or changes that may directly impact its members, subscribers, or clients.
- Events with the organization. The category covers news about any events that are occurring within the organization or that the organization may be participating.
- Personnel or staff changes. The people who are hired or promoted within the organization (e.g. Sandy Smith is the new Executive Director).
- News from other organizations that are related to the mission of your organization. The category includes any news or events that another organization may provide that is directly related to your mission and the work you do in the community. I have noted over the years that some organizations lose focus on the news that they provide and may cause members and visitors to lose interest or even worse, navigate away from what your organization offers.
- Ask for donations. The opportunity to ask your members and visitors for funding and should not be done too frequently because of annoying your audience.
Our Omaha web design, company has customers across the state of Nebraska, but some of our local nonprofits were engaged in Omaha Gives 24. Omaha Gives 24 is a charity donation event held locally in Omaha, Nebraska every year. The idea behind Omaha Gives is to raise money for local nonprofit organizations during a 24 hour period.We felt supporting these organizations through ads and promotions as part of our ongoing mission to give back to the community. Each of the organizations has been around for several years and is part of what makes our city so great.We had four local nonprofits who had signed up for the event. They were NAMI Nebraska, The Nebraska Family Support Network, Senior Health Foundation, and the Douglas County Community Mental Health Center Foundation.NAMI Nebraska not only helps people but also saves millions a year in health care costs in the state. They provide mental support groups and educational programs throughout the state of Nebraska for free. The educational programs include classes on how to be a better supporter (Family-to-Family Program) and how parents can be better champions of children with a mental health issue.The Nebraska Family Support Network helps to keep families together and save taxpayers money since a split family creates a greater burden on the state in many cases. They also provide the caseworkers for the Nebraska Family Helpline (you may have seen the commercials on TV). The purpose of the helpline is to connect children to services in their local area.Senior health Foundation takes care of our seniors in Omaha that are on a limited income. They provide housing for our elderly that have to go into a nursing home or assisted living. Since they are not private payer facilities, they primarily depend on Medicare and Medicaid, and donations to keep things running.Douglas County Community Mental Health Center formerly known as Douglas County Hospital. Their Foundation funds patient issues that would otherwise fall through the cracks. It also supports activities for the patients and recognition activities for the employees as well.We were unable to set up conversion data since Omaha Gives is a separate website. However, the feedback that we have received from some of the nonprofits suggests that the ads did help or brought attention to those who were regular contributors to those organizations.The total raised by the nonprofits we supported was $10,700. We feel that the time and money were well spent and we look forward to assisting our nonprofits in the future next year.
— Pages to Create —
(Make the pages rich as possible by including a unique listing and adding pictures and videos).
Non-profits are usually working very hard to get their message out and also to raise funding. One big problem is there is not always useful information on how to promote your organization on Facebook. Sometimes non-profits can gather an audience faster in most industries, and that depends some on their cause and the amount of time they connect with members and visitors online and offline. Much of using social media is about maximizing your exposure to your organization can spend less time working on it, and you can devote more time working on your cause.
Below is a simple list of things you can do to increase your exposure on Facebook:1- Limit the number of articles that go to other websites. Sharing articles for your audience is good, but even better is when articles are on your blog or page from your organization’s website.2- When you post an article on Facebook, add your description or opinion of the article. Use hashtags (#), locations, and your opinion when you share an article. For example, “We love this piece on how to help protect our #children in #Nebraska!”. Don’t sound fake.3- Don’t over-promote your fundraising efforts. If you are trying to raise funds, space out requests unless there’s news about the fundraising event. Once that people are informed, give them reminders on occasion, because if you ask too frequently, you may turn off your audience and lose potential donations.4- Add pictures and video in almost every post. People love photos and videos, and that also can get people talking about your organization by using this easy and fast method for promotion.5- Respond to comments. When you post something, and you are receiving comments, be sure to answer. Responding to comments connects you to your audience and it makes them feel special, and feeling special could mean more significant donations and possibly more volunteer hours.Two of the most important rules is to engage your audience and sound authentic to visitors. After all, this is SOCIAL media, isn’t it? Add: If someone is doing a wrong behavior, it is ok to block them, but be gentle. Always remember that your visitor can also be a potential donor.
It has become more apparent in the digital age for any company or organization must have a web presence. Some non-profit 501 entities feel their organization is too small, lacks funding, or is not significant enough to have or even need a website. The primary problem of not having a website is that your message is very limited to an offline audience and in many cases expensive methods of advertising. Without the reinforcement, if a website, those that you interact with can easily forget about your organization and the lack of this necessity may hinder your mission and the goals that you work so hard to support.Websites for non-profit organizations provide you with the results below:
Websnoogie web design with non-profit organizations is a collaboration process of working together as a team. We strive to create websites that are of high quality and crisp, but we also understand the budgetary requirements of non-profit organizations. We understand the funding associated with state and federal contracts, grants, and private funding as well. Each of these sources can have specific requirements including the total amount paid for the project, payment schedule, and specific requirements regarding applications that need to be utilized on the website. The use of HIPAA compliance may also be a necessary part of a contract, and we have the capability to provide 3rd party solutions and manage those needs as well.Services that we have managed or built for non-profit clients include:
Update: We no longer offer the “Great Web Hosting” plan, but we still give discounts on our Developer Web Hosting.
We are providing discounts to college students who are currently attending college. If they get the “Great Hosting” web hosting platform, they will pay only $17 per year. When a college student purchases the developer platform, they will receive a 33% percent discount. It is Websnoogie’s way of supporting the local community and promoting higher education in the area.Please keep in mind that this discount can not be used with any other promotion. 
We are offering our