Your strategic plan and your website are both important. They both become more effective and powerful when they work together. This article discusses integrating your strategic goals into the design of your website...and then taking the next step. Here are some examples:

Fundraising
I’ve never worked on a strategic plan where there weren’t fundraising goals, but they are different for each organization. If you want to increase individual giving adding a donate button to every page is one strategy. Donor Digital has teamed with Amnesty International and ompleted an excellent research project on this subject. Read the article for advice on the details of planning a donate now plan for your website. Paying attention to the fine details can improve your results!

If you want to increase grants, figure out what can help you with your funders. Funders will check out your website. Some ideas are:

  • List your grantors with an optional link to their websites
  • Clearly state your mission on the home page
  • Provide a page outlining your strategic plan and update with current strategies and accomplishments
  • Include current information and pictures on the website for specific programs you will be making grant requests for

Advocacy
Design advocacy into your navigation and have strong tools to support it. Provide brief position papers that your supporters can understand without having to be familiar with all the nuances of the issues. List who you want supporters to write or call. Even better, provide email links so that a message can be sent straight from your website.

Program Marketing
Many nonprofits fail to use their website for marketing effectively. Build your navigation so that visitors can clearly see the opportunities. Show the schedule, fees, who to contact for more information, event dates, etc. Consider applying for a Google ad word grant. You may be eligible for local ads on a Google search even if you are a small 501c(3). Do some Google Analytic keyword analysis to be more effective - it is worth a try.

Education
Include a resource section in the navigation. This can include information papers, videos, publications for sale and links to other websites.

Relationship Building
Your website isn’t just about providing information and collecting donations. It is an important tool in relationship building. If this is one of your strategic goals, keep your website fresh and updated. As donors are becoming more sophisticated, consider including more about your financials, strategic plans and planned giving.

Volunteers
If developing your volunteer program is part of your plan, feature volunteers on your website. Keep it updated and upbeat. Highlight a brief bio of featured volunteers and mention what they do when they volunteer and quotes from them about how they value their volunteer experience.

Take it Up a Notch - Real Time Strategic Planning and Social Media
If you are a Strategic Planning veteran pro and have a great website then you are ready to take it up a notch. Here are some suggestions:

Last week I participated in a convening of the Kellogg Action Lab College of Consultants and attended workshops led by David LaPiana and Beth Kanter. David’s new book is The Nonprofit Strategy Revolution – Real Time Strategic Planning in a Rapid Response World. It provides a straightforward model that can be used to address a “Big Question” facing your organization and doesn’t require going through a whole organizational analysis. David defines strategy as “a coordinated set of actions designed to create and sustain a competitive advantage in achieving a nonprofit’s mission.” This understanding of strategy as action rather than as a goal is central to the RTSP model.

Beth Kanter gave an excellent workshop on nonprofits using social media. She provides a model for getting involved with social media with 5 steps: Listen, Participate, Generate Buzz, Share Content and Community Building/Social Networking. Web 2.0 tools such as blogging, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr, and podcasts are the tools you need to build relationships with the millennium generation. Get your basics in order first but don’t sit on your hands when you get there - take it up a notch!

Source: Marion Conway Consulting
MarionConwayConsulting.com
marionconwaynonprofitconsultant.blogspot.com