LARC is a non-profit organization located in Lafayette, Louisiana. The company has been helping disabled citizens maintain a higher quality of life for over 50 years. Their mission is “to support persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities in reaching their goals of self-sufficiency, quality of life, and self-worth.” LARC offers community support, and residential and vocational services. They also own and operate Acadian Village, which plays a major role in supportive funds. In order to qualify for LARC’s services, individuals must meet particular requirements such as applying through the Acadiana Area Human Services District (formerly OCDD). Since the company is a non-profit organization, donations are critical to the company’s success. Community members and local organizations are the primary sources of donations, so continuous interaction with them is a vital step in gaining donations. LARC’s website serves as the primary communication tool with the public, so it is important that the site is set up to accomplish the company’s goals. Through the utilization of Google Analytics software, company interviews, survey answers, and team evaluations, our group collected and analyzed data of LARC’s website. We then used that data to formulate three actionable recommendations that we feel could assist LARC in achieving their goals by maximizing the effectiveness of their site. Our recommendations, which are discussed in detail later in the paper, include strategic steps to increase value, donations, and traffic to LARC’s existing website. LARC offers a variety of invaluable services to their clients. With the help of dedicated staff members, the company provides means for supporting developmentally disabled citi...
... middle of paper ...
...our-bounce-rate/, on 7 November 2013
Sibley, A. (2012), “A Simple Guide for Setting Up Your FIrst Google AdWords Campaing,” retrieved from http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/33283/A-Simple-Guide-for-Setting-Up-Your-First-Google-AdWords-Campaign.aspx, on 7 November 2013
Turner, J. (2012), “ Website Usability Checklist and Usability Guide,” retrieved from http://www.expertusability.com/website-usability-checklist-and-usability-guide/, on 7 November 2013
Van Diest, A. (2011), “Taking Five Website Staples to the Next Level.” Beyond the Basics.
Van Diest, A & Uchneat, J. (2008), “Nonprofits’ Next Step Forward on the Internet – Internet-enabled Innovation.” Blackbaud Interactive.
Zottola, A., & Parr, R. (2013), “Minimize Your Risk When Allowing User-Generated Content On Social Media,” retrieved from www.thenonprofittimes.com/news-articles on 8 November 2013
Web. The Web. The Web. 24 Nov. 2015. “Homepage Points Of Pride.”
For example, since they are not organized to pursue profits, nonprofits are more worthy of trust and therefore more reliable. Moreover, nonprofit comprise vast and growing sector of the national economy, and they are a vital partner with government to provide a wide range of social and human services. The American public will continue to value and support the nonprofit sector as long as it satisfies recognized needs not addressed by government or the for-profit sector. During the years, nonprofits sector provided historically valued services that public and private sectors failed to provide, and promoted new ideas, theories and policies to society. And finally, effective and appropriate use of technology is critical to maintaining a nonprofit organization 's accountability and relevance. A nonprofit should manage information with regard for confidentiality, safety, accuracy, integrity, reliability, cost-effectiveness, and legal compliance. A nonprofit should take the opportunity in incorporating the appropriate technology into its work to improve its efficiency, efficacy, and accuracy in the achievement of its
Goodwill International is a not-for-profit organization whose main objective is to offer job trainings, employment placements, and other community-based projects to individuals with disabilities. The organization also extends its services to veterans who include people who lack the necessary job experience, education, or face challenges in securing employment. The non-profit organization is financed by a chain of retail thrift stores, which also operate as not-for-profit entities in places where they are situated. Goodwill is constituted by a system of 165 community based independent organizations operating in 15 countries, including the United States, Brazil, Venezuela, Uruguay, Panama, and Canada among others. The organization uses the most part of its revenues to provide training, employment, and other relevant support to its dependants who are currently more than 6 million. This paper assesses Goodwill International based on key concepts such as volunteerism, accountability, strategic planning, and fundraising in relation to its mission, vision, and purpose. In addition, the paper suggests several recommendations that could bring various benefits to Goodwill if implemented.
One important guideline that organizations need to follow is to tell a story through their social media platforms. Patel says, “Waggner Edstrom’s report on digital persuasion found that more than half of survey respondents have been inspired to take action when they engage with a cause after reading a story on social media. It’s not enough to simply exist on a platform: nonprofits have to produce stories and visuals that their audiences connect to in order to succeed” (Patel, 2013). It does not help nonprofits to have a Facebook page or a Twitter account without doing anything with it. They must tell a story and not just have posts asking for money. Boies also points this out by saying, “Don’t simply ask your community for their hard earned-money, show them who and what will benefit from their donations” (Boies, 2013). Organizations have to explain and convi...
Running into barriers while attempting to locate and navigate services for developmental disabilities are not because you don't want to help your child, or don't care - chances are, you are facing a wide rage of emotions. Some barriers that take an emotiona...
Web. The Web. The Web. 9 May 2012. Lipking, Lawrence I, Stephen Greenblatt, and M. H. Abrams.
Johnson, T. (2011). S.P.I.D.E.R. A strategy for evaluating websites. Library Media Connection, 29(6), 58-59. Retrieved from http://web.b.ebscohost.com.proxy.devry.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=a1fe208a-6fb8-4e68-8191-7ef041e2d483%40sessionmgr111&vid=25&hid=113
Zoomerang; survey: Non-profit organizations not yet adopting new technologies. (2011). Marketing Weekly News, 3149. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/851963328?accountid=13211
The Web. The Web. 29 Nov. 2011. http://css.snre.umich.edu/css_doc/CSS01-06.pdf>.
... “The Nonprofit Sector: For What and for Whom?” Working Papers of the Johns Hopkins Comparative Nonprofit Sector Project, no. 37. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins Center for Civil Society Studies, 2000
The Web. The Web. 18 Nov. 2013. HU, Vicky (2005). The 'Standard'.
Ed. Edward N. Zalta, Ph.D. Winter 2011 Edition ed. Web. The Web. The Web.
Shippensburg University Journal. Sept. 1, 1997. Web. The Web. The Web.
Throughout U.S. history the nonprofit and government sectors have addressed needs that are not being met by the marketplace through the provision of a variety of social goods and services ranging from health and human services to environmental conservation. In response to increased demand for these services, the number of nonprofits has grown by 59% over the past 20 years (Powell and Steinberg, 2006; NCCS, 2010). There are now over 1.5 million nonprofit organizations in the U.S. which account for 5 percent of GDP, 8.1 percent of the economy’s wages, and 9.7 percent of jobs (Wing, 2008). Over the same time period, government social programs also rapidly expanded in number and per capita cost (OCED, 2010) .