With the new year comes increased demand for public services. Everything from organisations helping colourblind Australians with revolutionary glasses to ensuring the elderly get three meals a day is critical to the overall infrastructure of society.
As that demand increases, so does the opportunity for expanding your online and offline presence. There are so many advancements in technology and easy-to-integrate tools that will boost communication, information flexibility, and reputation. All it takes is a little backend work, and you could use powerful tools that help you reach your Not-for-Profit (NFP) goals and better serve your community.
Our team at Web 105 wants to help you achieve this success. Here is a brief list of some of the more well-known tools you can hire our team to quickly integrate into your existing or updated website. Remember, this isn’t just about improving communication. Modern website amenities also improve employee access, volunteering, fundraising efforts, and plenty more. Time to leverage all the NDIS has done to ensure your success by expanding the tools available for you, your team, clients, and stakeholders.
#1 – Chatbots
Imagine if you have a readily available team member answering all the questions your prospective clients or business partners have – around the clock. It is like a team is working in the background of your offices providing access to crucial information 24/7, 365 days a year.
Chatbots allow this enhanced communication, even for small nonprofits with limited team members. A chatbot is a computer program typically enhanced with AI (artificial intelligence), ML (machine language), and NLP (natural language processing). These are fancy terms that mean it learns the more it is used.
Creating a chat option on your nonprofit organisation’s website ensures visitors have a way to get questions answered or be directed to where they can learn more. It is having a traffic cop at a busy intersection, so you are helping with the best-fit inquiries at all times.
#2 – Nonprofit CRM
Odds are, you probably have some form of EHR or client management system, but do you have a CRM for your prospective donors or volunteers? CRM is customer relationship management software.
Most businesses use a CRM to manage all their marketing and sales information. Like keeping a database of hot leads they can cater to in the future.
An Australian NFP can use the advanced features of a nonprofit CRM for growing relationships with donors, volunteers, team members, staff, stakeholders, and other community members. On top of this, you can use the data you collect to make future decisions about your fundraising and mission-oriented efforts.
#3 – Virtual Meeting Tools
The world has gone mobile. Since the pandemic, we have all been exposed to some form of online meeting software like Zoom or Google Meetups. Your NFP has already made use of these tools to continue your mission.
Now, you can easily integrate easy-to-use virtual meetings and online conferencing tools onto your website. This will allow you to host private meetings, create online community events, interview prospective team members remotely, and so much more. Even an NFP serving an elderly clientele can use virtual meeting spaces for games and other initiatives that help dissuade loneliness and depression.
#4 – Live Calendar of Event
If you haven’t already, hire our team at Web 105 to install a live calendar on your nonprofit organisation’s website. Your audience wants to feel connected. You are helping serve a specific niche audience, and they appreciate being informed of events, scheduled activities, and services.
Google has an easy-to-use calendar that you can add to a website page like your Contact Us or About Us sections. However, plenty of plugins, extensions, or apps will include private/public calendars, so you can couple this NFP website integration with things like scheduling employee hours, vacation time, and more.
#5 – Email List Signups
An email list is still the best way to digitally market for any nonprofit organisation. It is low cost, reaches your target audience in the privacy of their home, and can be quickly segmented for different partitions of your target community (clients, stakeholders, donors, etc.).
Having a form embedded into your website is quick and easy. The only challenge is ensuring the software you use for your email management matches your website design. You want to make it easy to sign up without overly annoying visitors with excessive pop-ups or ads.
#6 – User-Generated Reviews
This next item isn’t so much a tool as a marketing achievement. User-generated reviews come from social media, Yelp, Google, and other resources. These are fantastic additions to any NFP website because they will celebrate what makes you different and how much you care.
You can curate what is posted, but letting in the good and the bad lends to authenticity. It demonstrates to the world that you are willing to listen to productive criticism so you can grow and become even better at your mission.
#7 – Social Media Feeds
Here is a straightforward tool to integrate into your NFP website. Anything from an Instagram feed of how you improve the community by doing trash pickup along the roads to short-form YouTube videos about your animal rescue team can enhance your online presence.
Putting this information on your nonprofit organisation is just as important as social media platforms. For one, it connects your various social media accounts with your official organisation. For the other, it is fun and more engaging for your target audience.
#8 – Press Kit
A press kit is a tool usually reserved for authors, celebrities, athletes, and major corporations. The idea is to have a ready-made selection of media, logos, and contact points.
For an Australian NFP, a press kit can be added to a website for testimonials about what you offer, news articles related to your efforts, biographies of your leadership, donation/fundraising programs, and upcoming events.
These are incredibly convenient if you must work with the press. They can simply download your press kit and get the information they need based on your carefully curated suggestions.
#9 – Fundraising/Donation Portal
The last item on our list of suggested tools to update your NFP website is a donation page or online donation form. The idea here is to make it as easy and smooth as possible for target donors to send you money, gifts, and volunteer hours.
You want to make sure the portal your nonprofit organisation is leveraging is safe and secure. Building trust with your audience, especially when donating financial gifts, is crucial to improving your annual revenue.
Final Thoughts
As we embrace all the changes 2024 is bound to bring, ensuring your nonprofit organisation’s website is at the forefront of the day is essential. Having a professional-looking website that is engaging and makes your user experience rewarding is perfect for ramping up public trust.
Our team at Web 105 is here to help. We know how to craft a more interactive, inclusive, and efficient online presence that is mobile responsive and uses today’s latest website integrations. Reach out to our team today, and let’s schedule a consultation so you can learn more about how a new or updated website can make all the difference in this year’s efforts toward your NFP’s mission.
FAQ
What is a nonprofit CRM?
Customer relationship management in the form of a nonprofit CRM is crucial for keeping up to date with all your clients, donors, volunteers, and other stakeholders. It is a centralised repository of crucial information you can later use to better inform your decision-making.
What are the requirements for a nonprofit website?
It comes down to authentically relying on your NFP’s mission statement while simultaneously crafting an engaging online presence your target audience will appreciate. This may include everything from a clear mission statement to details about your services, donation forms, contact information, social media, and more. There are particular needs for any Australian NFP working with NDIS funding that our team at Web 105 is more than acquainted with.
How many pages should a nonprofit website have?
There is no right or wrong answer to this. Even a small nonprofit can have a large website. It all depends on your services and the information you wish to rely on. In general, you should have pages like Home, About Us, Contact, FAQ, Donate/Volunteer, Blog/News, and Programs/Services.