NGOs have two main goals: to gain massive support and to
catalyze changes in their field of interest. Gaining the interest and trust of
the general public is mostly achieved through positive public relations and
coverage of the NGOs recent events. A developed website can act as the perfect
portal through which these components can be viewed. People want to see what
the NGO is doing, how they do it, mission-legitimizing factors, and
verification of interests. Once these have been established in the minds of the
public, more support will be achieved through increasing media interest,
causing more donations and verification, and finally, resulting in the full
support the NGO needs to begin making changes.
A successful NGO website needs to first relay the activities
and projects already underway within the organization. There should be pages
devoted to each of the following: Public Relations (PR), Funding, Staffing,
Project Management, and Legitimacy. These components are designed to reach
audiences whom already support or are potential supporters of the cause, and
their goals are to convince the public that the NGO is valid, reputable, and
worthy of support[1].
When developing the website, there should always be
distinctive characteristics that make the NGO stand out from other competing
NGOs, and are easily recognizable. A custom logo with graphics, accompanied by
consistent font styles, headers, footers, and page schemes are vital towards
maintaining uniformity[2].
An ‘about us’ page will represent the NGO’s history, mission statement, and
current activities. This will give viewers a general idea of what the NGO
stands for. A ‘donation’ or ‘become involved’ page will be useful for
supporters to see how they can help directly as volunteers or donate
financially. A strong emphasis on PR, accompanied with pictures, stories, and
letters is essential, as well as a ‘press’ page. The press page should provide
media contacts, press releases, and current events to establish verification
that the NGO is, in fact, real. Finally, for all stakeholders involved, it is
important to include a ‘publications’ page of the website. This page should
contain financial statements, annual reports, briefing reports, alerts, etc.,
and should relay a sense of legitimacy and transparency.[3]
Brought to you by Anwar Muna.
[1] http://lib.nmsu.edu/instruction/evalcrit.html
Retrieved: 19.02.2012
[2] http://kathyschrock.net/abceval
Retrieved: 19.02.2012
[3] www.doctorswithoutborders.org
Retrieved: 19.02.2012
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