United Way website on Squarespace
United Way Alliance of the Mid-Ohio Valley
I served as the Executive Director of United Way Alliance of the Mid-Ohio Valley for three years, meeting some of the best nonprofit leaders and corporate partners I have ever worked with. Leaving that position was one of the most challenging times in my career. Shortly after I left, the new Executive Director asked me to redesign the UWAMOV website - an easy yes.
Before moving the United Way website from a Drupal platform to Squarespace, it was what I called "stuck in a box." The website contract was in place when I arrived, and while I learned to manage it, it was always challenging. The options were limited, the designs were templates you couldn't alter, and even the simplest tasks seemed to take forever. However, moving the United Way website to Squarespace was a game-changer. The improved functionality and user-friendly interface have served the organization well over the past several years, impressing both the team and website visitors.
Site Highlights
Speaking the United Way language
I've never had an easier time writing the website copy for a site than I did for this one! The words spill out onto the site when you speak the United Way language. Balancing "fundraising speak" with copywriting that potential donors and partner agencies can understand is where the magic happens. Our goal was to build a website that would appeal to many audiences - volunteers, partner agencies, donors, and the general public – and speak to each of them through dedicated areas of the website.
Highlighting the United Way brand
One of the best parts of working with a national affiliate organization like United Way is the branding, which is top-notch! We used the UWAMOV brand color palette throughout the site, creatively incorporating icons and United Way imagery.
“Andrea’s work on our website transformed our ability to have the outreach we wanted. She nailed the design, copywriting, and branding to give us the professional and functional website we needed.”
Nonprofit website features
Building a nonprofit website on Squarespace differs from a small business website in a few different ways:
Each page incorporates online giving, making the case for how a particular subset of the audience can financially contribute. While we often accomplish this through integrating a third-party donation tool (in this case, GiveSmart), sometimes it looks like prominently featuring corporate sponsors to encourage other companies to step up and join the campaign, too. We showcased this on the UWAMOV site through its Corporate Campaign Sponsors and Media Sponsors.
Pages like Financial Transparency, a Board of Director gallery, and special volunteer campaigns like Driving for Impact go a long way toward educating visitors on the myriad of ways they can contribute beyond a financial gift.
Incorporating a blog feature to keep UWAMOV in the news means that the team can quickly add new information to the website, showcasing their community work and featuring local events and partners.
The UWAMOV continues to evolve and meet the needs of this critical organization in our community. With the easy-to-edit platform, team members can keep the site updated on their own without expensive contracts or design limitations. This empowerment ensures that the site remains current and relevant, and those who visit the site can easily discover how to make a gift to United Way and support the many nonprofits under its umbrella.
