A Kid Again - Final Report PDF

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A Kid
Again
INDEX
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PROBLEM
Currently, there is a need to increase public perception in order to build
donor relations and volunteer base.
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Solutions
Storytelling
Web Content and Usability
Marketing
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Social Media and Blogging
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Increasing Awareness and Donors
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Donor Database
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Personas
Susan Bailey
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Stacey and Eric Johnson
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Ted Coatney
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Context Scenarios
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References
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A Kid Again Final Report
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>>STORYTELLING
Communicating what adventures really are and their effect on families is

extremely important. This can be accomplished most effectively by telling
stories. Stories can affect someone the way that statistics never could. A
Kid Again could list off all that the organization does and it may not mean
nearly as much to someone as hearing from one person or family about
their experience. Stories of A Kid Agains success will celebrate the
people that are already involved as well as attract new families and
donors. I will explore some of the best ways to tell stories and the most
effective ways to share them with the people that need to see them.
STORYTELLING
How to Tell a Good Story

Dont just give facts
Think creatively
You need facts to set up a story and give
There are so many mediums through which
background on what is going on, but what
to tell a story. Dont limit a medium based
makes a compelling story is why those
on preconceived notions of what it can
facts matter to an individual person or
accomplish. Maybe one photo and a short
group of people.
caption on social media can tell a story
Start wide and zoom in

You can give facts and information to set up
what is going on at an adventure, but then
better than a three minute video. Maybe a

short blog post will be more effective than
20 posts on Facebook.
you need to zoom in and make it

personal. Zooming in could mean hearing
EXAMPLE
from a family as to why A Kid Again has
meant so much to them, or how this
This is the tape of a news broadcast covering
adventure or an adventure in the past has
the Kings Island Adventure I found on A Kid
helped the family make a lasting memory.
Agains Youtube channel. The broadcast

zooms in and introduces us to a little girl
Start close and zoom out
named Brinly. This news segment illustrates an
Starting off a story zoomed in can be an
effective way to inform about adventures
equally effective way to tell a story and then
through storytelling.
connect those details with the bigger

picture of what is going on.
Think perspective
Stories dont always have to be told from
the perspective of a family attending an
adventure. Maybe a story can be
compellingly told from the perspective of a
volunteer, A Kid Again employee, or even a
worker at Kings Island or the Newport
Aquarium.
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STORYTELLING
Different Mediums
PHOTOS
Positives to using photos to tell stories
Viewed quickly
Shared easily (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, email, etc.)
Produced relatively easily and inexpensively
Can capture ineffable emotion, and tell a story simply and beautifully
Can be used to enhance written stories
Challenges
- The challenge of using photo to tell stories is that not just any picture snapped with an iPhone or
posed for Instagram will do the job of telling a story.
- A photo that tells a story needs to go more than skin deep.

- Make sure your photos reflect the action, emotion and excitement of what A Kid Again is trying to
accomplish.
- Here is a link to a website with some famous photos that tell stories
VIDEO
Positives to using video to tell stories
- Uses visual and auditory senses to engage audience

- Dont need to be professional quality to be effective
- Interactive way for supporters to stay involved and perspectives to learn more
Challenges
- May be some learning involved with capturing and editing video

- Costs involved may include investing in camera equipment
WRITING
Blogs
- Blogs are addressed in an upcoming section and can be a powerful way to connect with
connected and prospective families and donors.
- Consider pairing blogs with photos and video clips.

Newsletters
- A Kid Again sends out a newsletter - this would be a great place to tell stories in writing to engage
with recipients.
- Newsletters might also include other media content or links to media content (photos and video).
>>WEB CONTENT AND USABILITY
Web content and usability work together to create the most important
aspects of the website. A websites content can only be fully appreciated
if the user can navigate easily to it. Likewise, if the content is dense and
hard to understand, the usability will lessen because the user wont be
able to clearly understand where to go.
WEB CONTENT & USABILITY
Content Answer The Questions

The WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN, and WHY.
Who They Are
Where They Are
A website is an essential tool to help get the
Since A Kid Again is a regional organization,
companys name and mission for many
people need to be aware of that as soon as
people to access. A website must clearly
they come to the website (Barr, C. 2010).
show who the company is through branding

but also through the words. Contact
Information - email, phone, fax, address, etc.
- must all be easy to find on the website.
Contact information should be located at
the bottom of a page or in the top right
corner (Barr, C. 2010).
What They Do
A website must communicate what the
company does. It must put this information
at the forefront of everything else.
Accessibility to the mission information is
essential. If people cant find the information
they want fast, they will leave the website
(Barr, C. 2010).
When Events Are

Emphasize the events in a prominent part of
the page, and have easy navigation to an
events page. Keep an updated calendar of
events with accessible links to more
information (Barr, C. 2010).
Why They Do What They Do

Explain the reasoning behind the
organization. Emphasize the purpose of
adventures and highlight the effects it has
on the children and families. Use stories and
words that convey the purpose behind the
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Content Scannable
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Make Information Easy to Scan
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Use Small Paragraphs
Eye tracking visualizations have found that
Online readers get intimidated or lose
users often read Web pages in an F-
interest with long paragraphs of text.
shaped pattern. Starting in the upper left-
Break paragraphs into bite-sized
hand side and going across twice then
sections of no more than four sentences.
down the left. Therefore the most

important content should be placed in
those high traffic areas [see picture
below].
Readers Scan for

Headings
Bold-faced terms
Images
Bulleted lists
Eye tracking images of where the eyes stayed the longest on a page. Two horizontal scans then a
vertical scan. Nielsen, J. 2006 http://www.nngroup.com/articles/f-shaped-pattern-reading-web-content/!
Content Succinct Information

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Keep It Short
Say much in as few of words as possible.
Be Clear
Convey the message of the organization so that anyone can understand it.
Front-load
Put important information at the front of the sentence or paragraph.
Use Pictures, Videos and Non-text Information
Pictures, videos, and other non-text illustrations or even just white space, allows for
user to take in everything that is happening
Use Headings and Subheads
A. Hierarchy of information is essential for good content usability

1. List from most to least important
- Emphasize proportionally using bold fonts, size, and color

Use Bulleted Lists
Bulleted Lists allow for large sections of information to be broken down and
organized into manageable pieces.
Easy to scan.
More visually pleasing than a dense paragraph of text.
Content For NonProfits

Clear Mission
- A clear mission is one of the most important things for a

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non-profit organization.
Make it clear what your organization does.
Make it clear how donating helps.
Make it clear how real changes/results have happened
through the organization.
Emphasize this on the home
page.
Web Designer, 2013. source
Donations
How donations/sponsors help

- Users want to know fast if the organization is worth their
time.
Emphasize how giving can tangibly help.
- Show examples or testimonials of donations helping.
Follow up with donors
- Send donors up-to-date information about the
organization
Photos and Personal Stories
Stories move and motivate giving.

Focus on the kids that are being helped.
Focus on the families.
Tell their stories.
Use pictures and videos to show the families at events made
possible through donations.
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Usability Essentials
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Mobile Compatibility
Smartphones have increased the number of mobile users.
- The website design needs to be

compatible with all forms of new media
such as tablets and smartphones.
- Quick access through URL codes or

through linking in social media will
increase traffic to the website as well.
Access for All Users (Disabled)

- Access for people with hearing
Monoline Marketing and Media: source
or sight
impairments is important.
- Different steps can be taken to increase the usability of a website for all users.
Good Navigation
- The navigation bar should be easy to scan.
- The main headers should include the most important topics
- The subheads should link to real pages.
- People should be able to easily backtrack to different pages of the website.
- The branding needs to be consistent throughout the different pages.
- No broken links. A link should always lead to something else.
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Opportunities for Improvement
- Good use of headings

- Wording could be
clearer
- Dense paragraphs of
text are hard to read
- The gray font may be
hard for some people

to read
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- Dont underline
unless its a link

- The chapter home
pages should
match the main
homepage
- Too much text,
hard to navigate
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>>MARKETING
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Image Source: http://www.sivantech.com/our-services/social-media-marketing/
Marketing plays an integral role in effectively communicating the value of

A Kid Again to potential donors. As a nonprofit organization, certain
unique challenges stand in opposition to achieving this goal. This section
will give you practical strategies to overcome the obstacles of nonprofit
marketing and how to best use these obstacles to your advantage.
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MARKETING
Strategies for Successful Nonprofit Marketing

Applying for-profit marketing strategies directly to nonprofit organizations may seem
sensible, but for the most part, marketing in the non-profit world is remarkably different.
While for-profit and nonprofit marketing strategies are similar, many differences exist
because of the nature of nonprofit organizations. Several key strategies that apply
specifically to nonprofit organizations include:
Familiarity, Efficiency, Effectiveness
When advertising for A Kid Again, keep in
The greater A Kid Agains perceived positive
mind that generally, mass media advertising
familiarity, efficiency, and effectiveness, the
outlets (advertisements on Facebook,
more likely people are to give. For A Kid
Twitter, YouTube) are more effective than
Again, this means raising brand awareness
personal solicitations.
and demonstrating how A Kid Again

efficiently meets the needs of families of
children with life-threatening illnesses. This
includes telling stories through videos,
posts, and blogs, showing how it meets the
needs and enriches the lives of the families
of children with life-threatening illnesses.
Mass Media Appeals

Nonprofits have a greater impact in mass
media appeals than in personal solicitations.
Mass media appeals tend to give
organizations like A Kid Again more
credibility, making the institution seem a bit
less desperate than personal solicitations.
External Causes
People are more likely to donate when the
need is perceived to be due to external
causes outside the beneficiary's control than
to internal causes under the beneficiary's
control. In advertising, demonstrate that the
kids illnesses are entirely outside of their or
their families control.
Helped Beneficiary Picture

Using pictures of children/families that have
benefited from A Kid Agains help should
result in motivation to give. Pictures of
happy kids are scattered throughout A Kid
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MARKETING
Agains promotional materials, and this
Self-Efficacy
certainly helps demonstrate the
Greater helping behavior results when
organizations effectiveness. However, these
charities persuade donors of their self-
pictures dont necessarily demonstrate
efficacy (power to affect situations) in
specifically how these kids have been
helping than when they do not. Marketing
helped through the work of A Kid Again.
campaigns for A Kid Again should
Picturing the kids and their families during
demonstrate the positive impact that its
an adventure, showing their relief and
work has had on families of kids with life-
contentment at experiencing a time of
threatening illnesses.
respite would undoubtedly help booster not
only a clearer image of the organization, but

also motivate potential donors to give.
Empathy
Greater empathy (and greater selfless
Adapted from
Bendapudi, N., Singh, S. N., & Bendapudi, V.
(1996). Enhancing helping behavior: An
integrative framework for promotion
planning.Journal Of Marketing, 60(3), 33.
motivation) is encouraged when an appeal

for help asks donors to imagine how the
beneficiary must be feeling than when
donors are asked to imagine how they
would feel if they were in the beneficiarys
place. So, through mass media appeals or
social media posts ask donors to imagine
how the kids and families that benefit from
A Kid Again must be feeling as a result of
living with the reality of the kids lifethreatening illnesses.
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MARKETING
YouTube for Nonprofits

One way to communicate the value of A Kid Again is through its YouTube page. As a
nonprofit organization, A Kid Again has access to special tools through YouTubes Nonprofit
program. Once registered for this program, your use of YouTube has the potential to
become exponentially more effective.
YouTube for Nonprofits has the
potential to integrate two of the
most important facets of any
nonprofit organization: storytelling
through advertising and donating. A
Kid Again could use this platform to
engage donors, potential donors,
and families with videos that explain
how its services benefit families of
children with life threatening
illnesses. With YouTube for
nonprofits, organizations that are legally identified as nonprofit organizations have access to
tools on their YouTube channels that regular users do not. These useful features include:
Donate Button
Viewers can use your channel's Donate
Stream video footage live onto your
button to contribute to your cause
YouTube channel; great for events,
online right from your YouTube videos.
conferences, and reporting.
Call-to-action overlays
Live streaming
Video Annotations
Place a Call to Action on your videos,
Use annotations on your videos to
which viewers can click to visit your
encourage users to subscribe to your
website, donate, or learn more.
channel or click to visit your website.
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MARKETING
Branding Strategy
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A brand is more than an organizations look: its name, logo, and graphic design.
Many nonprofits continue to view brand management provincially, seeing it mainly as a
means to raise funds. However, many nonprofits are beginning to widen their view,
understanding the strategic roles of a brand: driving social goals and strengthening internal
identity, cohesion, and capacity. Brand should be defined as a psychological construct
held in the minds of all those aware of the branded product, person, organization, or
movement. For A Kid Again, its important to develop a strong brand identity so that when
anyone interacts with any facet of the organization - an employee, the website, its Facebook the mission and vision of A Kid Again are self-evident.
SUGGESTIONS
For a nonprofit organization, an interactive form of brand management should
be implemented. For A Kid Again, this means providing resources like sample
text and online templates that all staff can access and adapt to clearly
communicate its mission, strategy, work, and values.
In the case of a nonprofit organization, its difficult to adequately express the
mission and vision with a single slogan. Instead of having one tagline - Giving
illness a giant timeout - try developing two or three more statements that help
clearly communicate A Kid Agains mission and purpose. This way, staff,
volunteers, and helped families can personalize A Kid Agains brand, allowing
them to more effectively assume the role of ambassador for the organization.
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>>SOCIAL MEDIA
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Social media is now the top Internet activity. Americans spend an average
of 37 minutes daily on social media. Due the the large amount of
engagement across social media sites, it is imperative for A Kid Again to
effectively use the social media platforms it has already committed to.
Using social media allows for constant stream of conversation to flow
between donors, volunteers and supporters (Adler, 2014).
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SOCIAL MEDIA
The Different Platforms

In order to effectively use social media platforms, it is crucial for A Kid
Again to learn which platforms offer the most engagement.
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SOCIAL MEDIA FACEBOOK
According to Pew Research, Facebook far exceeds the the other

platforms in user engagement. Using the site to promote a business
or nonprofit requires skills and knowledge beyond simply posting
statutes or sharing articles.
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Embrace Your Nonprofit Identity
https://www.facebook.com/AmericanCancerSociety
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As of December 2013, Facebook released a donation button. This button will hopefully
increase donations. The donation button makes it possible for anyone to give through the
nonprofits Facebook Page (Leffler, 2013). Not only does this feature increase the ease of
usability, it also allows the donor to share their activity of donating with their friends, which
will likely lead to more page views and more donations.
Filling out a Donation interest form through the Facebook Help Page should be considered.
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SOCIAL MEDIA FACEBOOK
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Create The Perfect Picture
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The picture used above by A Kid Again is a great photo. The problem is that when it is
shared there is no brand mark on the photo to point people back to A Kid Again. The
picture used by Make - A - Wish is not any better visually, but the branding is a
needed addition that A Kid Again should consider adding.
Consider Advertising
Advertising will help drive people to the website and encourage them to donate.
Since becoming public in 2012, Facebook has worked towards providing targeted
advertisements. If someone was looking up nonprofits while they were browsing the
internet, Facebook would target that consumer with ads from nonprofits (including A
Kid Again) (Tate, 2014).
Create a Group
Instead of having a group on LinkedIn, a Facebook group would offer an outlet for the
families to interact with one another through sharing stories and medical information.
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SOCIAL MEDIA LINKEDIN
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Switch To A Non-profit Page
Group
Groups are smaller networks on LinkedIn that allow members to interact with
one another.
Page
Company pages are similar to your companys webpage. LinkedIn users can
use your companys page to research and stay up to date about changes and
events at your company.
Advantage Of A Page
A page will work best for LinkedIn because people primarily visit the site to
learn about an organization or look for employment opportunities. A group
would work better on Facebook (see Facebook section).
Gather Volunteers
LinkedIn allows nonprofits the opportunity to post volunteer opportunities for 90%
the normal price of posting job listings. To begin, your nonprofit must first claim and
set up your LinkedIn Company Page and then visit LinkedIn for Nonprofits to post
your volunteer opportunities (LinkedIn Launches, 2014).
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SOCIAL MEDIA PINTEREST
Find a Focus
Pinterest is a female dominated platform, which make them the primary audience.
The age group that make up Pinterests primary base of users also make up the ages
of most of mothers participating in A Kid Again.
Take the Perfect Picture

Use text in your images
Make sure your graphics are pinnable
Drive Content
Pinterest is not a place to over promote. In addition to sharing original information
make sure to repin as well.
Tag people in your pins so that they know that you are talking to them.
Space out pins. Set up a schedule.
Organize your boards (capitalize on seasons)
Link back to your webpage and Facebook (you already do twitter)
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SOCIAL MEDIA TWITTER
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Promote Events
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Create a schedule
!Tweets should be sent out several times a day. A sudden stream of several tweets will
cause people to unfollow you and not tweeting enough will cause people to unfollow
you as well. Tweet around the same time every day, and send out no more than 10
tweets a day (Dugan, 2010).
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SOCIAL MEDIA INSTAGRAM
Increase donations
Promote your website
Promote text to give campaigns
Promote hashtag fundraising
Promote fundraising events
Thank your donors
(6 Ways Nonprofits, 2014)
Get noticed
Use popular hashtags
Take part in community activities
Give and take (the more time you
give to others the more they will
give to you)
Use creative photo editing apps
Use photos that show who you are
Things Not to do
Share bad photos
Not tagging anything
Having an inactive account
Never liking pictures
Not following anyone in the
community
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(Barnes, 2014)
These pictures provide an example of nonprofits use on

Instagram. While the picture that A Kid Again use is a
good picture it does not tell a story. Pictures should tell a
story and bring viewers to the website.
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>>BLOGGING
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Why Blog
You Have A Story Worth Telling
Drives Traffic Back To Your Website
A Kid Again has tons of stories that go
Sharing the a link to the blogs on social media
unheard. A blog will tell the stories of
will increase traffic back to you website. Which
families involved in the organization.
will lead to increase knowledge of the brand and

donations.
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Use it to create media
Having a blog means you will have stories.
Those stories can be sent to media outlets,
which hopefully will increase knowledge of
the brand and act as free advertisement.
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You Can Thank Supporters
A blog post could be dedicated to thanking
volunteers and highlighting an adventure.
Who Else Blogs
https://twitter.com/TimeOut2014/status/439541522359648256
This is an example of how to use twitter to drive

traffic to a web page. In addition to showing a
picture of a well-known figure (and including the A
What To Blog About
Feed My Starving Children
Stories of families benefitting due to A Kid Again
Invisible Children
Stories of volunteers
Habitat for Humanity
Adventures
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>>AWARENESS & DONORS
This section of the report examines some different ways A Kid Again can
raise awareness of their organization. Some of these suggestions come
from observing the successful efforts of other non-profits. Additionally,
several points on how A Kid Again can increase donations are discussed.
Most of these suggestions focus on online presentation.
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AWARENESS & DONORS
Raising Awareness Through Activities

Learning from Others
A Kid Again could raise public awareness about their organization by sponsoring community
events. These activities would need to be different from the Adventures that A Kid Again
hosts for its families. For these awareness events, the focus should be placed on directing the
publics attention toward a need in its community. While A Kid Again has sponsored several
awareness activities, the organization could still benefit from examining events hosted by
other non-profits.
EXAMPLES OF EVENTS
Benefit Concerts
In looking back A Kid Agains past fundraising
Several benefit concerts have been organized by
efforts, the organization has already sponsored
students from the University of Texas to help
several walks and other events. Our research
support the Make-A-Wish Foundation. These
team would encourage the organization to
benefit concerts have raised as much as $20,000
continue with these kinds of events. We would
for Make-A-Wish. A Kid Again could partner with
also suggest that you increase the amount of
a university, organization, or some other place of
events you sponsor, and also branch out into
business to raise awareness and funds for their
different kinds of events to reach a broader
cause (Murphy, 2008).
community of donors.
Walk Campaigns
Celebrity Endorsements
Some non-profit organizations use walks to
Some non-profit organizations have significantly
raise public awareness about their work. Habitat
raised public awareness through celebrity
for Humanity has organized walks to encourage
spokesmen. Especially popular individuals can
communities to support their cause. Some walks
provide a sense of legitimacy to the cause of an
raise funds as well by finding donors to sponsor
organization (Salmones, Dominguez, and
the individuals participating (Markman, 2013).
Herrero, 2013).
Similar to benefit concerts, walks can be cosponsored with other organizations. The MakeA-Wish Foundation partnered with a marketing
group last April to host a local walk in Texas.
Examples
- Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinsons

Research
- St. Judes Childrens Research Hospital
Many businesses and other organizations would
- Use of celebrities such as Robin Williams,
be willing to sponsor events with a non-profit
Jennifer Aniston, Shaun White, and others in
organization, as it provides great publicity for
their campaigns
both parties involved (PRWEB, 2013).
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AWARENESS & DONORS
Increasing Donors & Donations

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Key Tips from npengage.com
Frank Barry from npengage.com posted some great tips on how non-profit organizations can
increase their donors. Many of these tips may seem simplistic, but their benefits can be
tremendous. Here we have included the most critical points to consider.
Attention Direction
- A non-profits website should encourage a visitor to give immediately. Specifically, attention should
quickly be drawn to where they can click to donate. The goal is to be succinct; show the need and
encourage action (Barry, 2013).
- A great example of a non-profit using this

t e c h n i q u e i s t h e S a v e t h e C h i l d re n
organization. On their homepage, the
imagery clearly suggests that their mission is
helping children. The visitor can then easily
find the donation link soon after that.
- Website organization is a crucial part of how

many donations a non-profit will receive from
visitors (Barry, 2013).
Pictures are Powerful
savethechildren.org, 2013
- Using photos on your website can have a significant impact on the emotions of visitors. Images have
a way of giving credibility to a persons story that words cannot replicate. They make the mission of
an organization seem more legitimate (Barry, 2013).
- One example that Barry examines is

charitywater.org. Their web pages communicate
their work through powerful imagery. It is hard
for the visitors to ignore the need once pictures
are staring them in the face (Barry, 2013).
- While it is indisputable that images of people in

need are powerful, it is important to not use them
in a manipulative manner. There is a fine line
between using and exploiting a persons story.
From our research of A Kid Agains website, it
seems that it makes great use of imagery and is
not mistreating its participants. A Kid Again could
charitywater.org, 2013
however consider placing more emphasis on pictures online.
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AWARENESS & DONORS
Donation Form Organization

Barry includes several ideas that relate directly to how online donation forms are organized.
The simplicity and intuitiveness of the forms can make or break a donation.
Keep it Short and Sweet
The shorter that a donation form can be made, the better. It is best to require only the information you
need from your donors. Additionally, the form itself should be as simple as possible. All information
that is not necessary for completing the
donation should be removed, as it only
distracts the donor (Barry, 2013).
Example: Barry points to autismspeaks.org.
On their donation forms, they have eliminated
everything except what the visitor needs to
complete the donation. The result is that the
form is simpler and the donation process
feels more clean cut (Barry, 2013).
autismspeaks.org, 2013
Selectable Donation Amounts

Having preset amounts available, according to Barry, gives the visitor an indication of how much he/
she should contribute. It also provides more convenience for the visitor as they are filling out the form
(Barry, 2013).
A Kid Again already uses preset amounts on
its donation form, however, they appear as if
they were just tacked to the form. The
Livestrong Foundation, in the example given
by Barry, demonstrates that these selectable
amounts can have a very crisp appearance. A
Kid Again could revisit the formatting/style of
these amounts to give them a more
professional look (Barry, 2013).
livestrong.org, 2013
A Kid Again is by no means drastically behind other non-profits in how the donation process is
handled. Barry had many other tips regarding forms that A Kid Again is already putting into practice. A
Kid Again, however, can set itself ahead of other organizations by increasing its use of these tips. Our
team suggests that A Kid Again put more of Barrys tips into practice, and also improve upon the ones
already in use (Barry, 2013)
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AWARENESS & DONORS
Social Proof
Barry indicates that one of the best ways to attract new donors is through media coverage. While
increasing awareness in the community for a cause, it also shows donors the credibility of the
organization. Calling the practice social proof, Barry suggests that media coverage encourages
donors to give because it is obvious that others have already done so. To the potential contributor, a
cause seems more worthwhile if it is obvious that others are also behind it (Barry, 2013).
This social proof is a natural by-product of many of the awareness activities we have already suggested.
By increasing awareness of your organization, you are simultaneously increasing potential contributors
(Barry, 2013).
Honesty as Best Policy

Barry suggests that non-profit organizations be very open with their donors about how contributions
are spent. With the accessibility of information online, it is very easy for donors to find out on their own
exactly how their money is being used. Barry points out that non-profit organizations should willingly
display this information, since it is likely to be found out anyway. Giving this information away by choice
will prove to contributors that the organization has nothing to hide. This honesty will reflect extremely
well upon the organization (Barry, 2013).
Barry again points to charitywater.org as an example. On their site, they allow contributors to see
photos of the specific projects that their money funded. It provides the donors with a sense of
accomplishment, and makes them want to help more (Barry, 2013).
While A Kid Again displays its financial records on its site, it is difficult to find how donation funds are
specifically used. Based on Barrys insight, more donors would be willing to give if they knew exactly
how the organization would be using their money. It is important to donors to know that their help is
making a difference.
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>>DONOR DATABASE
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The Problem
The problem with the current donor database, as weve understood it, is a
disconnect between the functionality of two separate programs. Specifically, that one
system is used for manual entry with a traditional software-based database, while the
other one is a web/cloud-based database integrated with the online donations and
used for group mailings. The problem is that these two systems do not communicate
well together and there is a fair amount of redundancy between their functions.
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The Needs
Some individual needs come to the forefront in selecting the right database solution.
Based on A Kid Agains expressed concerns and current use of the systems as well as
trends in non-profit database usage some needs are:
An all-in-one database system

Low-budget solution
Integrates well with current style of online website donations
Works well for group (email) mailings
Not an overly difficult transition
Since I am not able to know completely what will fit A Kid Agains needs without
working with the current solution or the solutions I am recommending, what I hope to
offer are helpful tips for choosing a database, and in-depth research on several of the
solutions that seem to best meet A Kid Agains needs.
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32
DONOR DATABASE
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!
Common Mistakes in Selecting A Donor Database
Idealware.org posted an article called Ten Common Mistakes in Selecting Donor
Databases (2012) that gives some helpful areas to keep in mind when considering
your goals and the individual aspects of each solution. Some highlights from the
article are:
Find a balance between wishful budgeting (having unrealistic expectations,

high or low) and prioritizing price above everything.
Don't fall into the trap of "hoping the database will install (or implement)
itself."
Don't "fall in love" with individual or superficial elements of a solution. Find

what meets the most of your needs within your budget.
Don't think that you can leave the database to fend for itself. Know that it will
take effort and man-hours to keep it current and meeting your companies
needs. A good solution will make this easier.
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!
Suggestions When Choosing a Donor Database
Looking for a database solution can be a daunting task if youre not an expert in the
software. There are numerous options with a large variation of pricing tiers and
feature sets. Ive scoured several articles looking for helpful tips in selecting a
solution. Idealwares 2013 Donor Management Guide is one of the most useful
resources I found, in all of my research, for every part of selecting a database. Its 161
pages of expert advice, software reviews, and comparison charts of the top choices,
several of which Ive included in this report. The report gives a list of specific
suggestions for how to go about choosing a database and I will try to pull out some
of the most useful information for A Kid Again.
33
DONOR DATABASE
!
Idealware emphasizes not over-prioritizing price. They state that, saving
money is important to every nonprofit, but a few hundred dollars shouldnt
dictate your fundraising future (p. 30).
Understand your own donor processes, As well as identify your

communication priorities. There are lots of good systems, but better
understanding your own needs can help you find the system thats best-suited
to you. This is something only A Kid Again or specifically the person put in
charge of spearheading the management of the database solution can do.
Know how you currently use what you have to know better what to look for in a
new solution.
Another important tip is to estimate your numbers now and in the future.
Most of the top options available are price scaled based on the number of
entries that you have. Keep this in mind for the time of purchase as well as a
projected growth number to know whether a particular solution will be
affordable in the long run or end up costing you over what you can afford.
Weigh flexibility vs. complexity. Sometimes a cheaper option with less

complexity can do better for you if you already know what your needs are,
then there's no point in overpaying for features you dont need.
Another thing to keep in mind is that nearly every database solution offers
some sort of demo or free trial, usually letting you try out the system for
somewhere between 2 weeks and 30 days. These can be an extremely helpful
way to find out if a database will meet your needs. Hands-on with a solution (as
well as interaction with a company representative) is much better than simply
!
!
reading feature lists and reviews.
34
DONOR DATABASE
Top 5 Recommendations
Ive narrowed down what I think to be the 5 best recommendations based on price,
reviews, feature sets, and ease of use. These are merely my researched suggestions
and I highly suggest trying out demos and talking with experts from each company
that you think looks promising to make your own determination. at the end of my
recommendations I included several charts that you can consult from Idealware.orgs
Consumer Guide to Donor Management Software that compare the top 11 solutions
in a number of important areas as well as a price chart comparison.
eTapestry
An online-hosted system
Offered through the same company as the current web database (Blackbaud),
which may make it an easier transition.
comparatively affordable for smaller non-profits, but can get expensive with
lots of records.
$1,188 annually for 1,000 entries or less
$5,964 annually for 20,000 entries
Need to have an idea of the growth of your nonprofit donor records to know if
it would be worth the investment.
Listed as having a moderate ease of use for novices.

Very configurable data entries.
A good online payment integration.
In looking at the top solutions, eTapestry jumps out as one of the top options. It is not
the cheapest option of the 5 solutions Im presenting, but it is one of the most
affordable solutions from Blackbaud, who holds arguably the highest reputation of
excellence in database software. Several sources called it a cheaper alternative to the
Raisers Edge software, one of the most powerful but expensive options available.
35
DONOR DATABASE
DonorPerfect Online
An online-hosted system
More powerful offering of features than eTapestry, but a generally higher base
price.
A very configurable system for individual business needs

Many of the better features that may be needed cost extra. Make sure to know
what youll need upfront to get an accurate price
For the most basic offering with limited features

$6,179 annually for 20,000 entries. (same price for full features at this tier)
Some of the highest ratings. Top 5 from several sources and one of the highest
consistent ratings in idealwares Consumer Guide
!
DonorPerfect Online seems to fall about the same level as eTapestry with
slightly higher marks from idealware. Not a cheap solution, but one that gives a good
level of configuration and power at the base level. Some of the important features
that A Kid Again may need, such as website payment integration, may require extra
modules at additional cost. This must be kept in mind when considering this as an
option.
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36
DONOR DATABASE
DonorPro
http://www.towercare.com/fundraising-software
More expensive in its lower tier than other options, but comparatively more
affordable with more entries
Strong functionality in many areas

Ratings very close to DonorPerfect
!
In talking about DonorPro, idealware has said DonorPro has strong functionality in
every category we reviewed. Its particularly strong in support for pledges, accounting
controls, mail merging, and reporting. DonorPro, is again, a pricier option but with
high credibility and a range of powerful options it is an option worth giving
consideration.
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!
Salesforce Nonprofit
http://www.salesforcefoundation.org/nonprofit/
An online hosted system

Extremely affordable to start (free without integrating apps from the
AppExchange), but harder to learn and may require more complex and
expensive customization to meet all needs
A high level of customization is offered

Web payment integration would require additional cost and choosing a third
party transaction provider
!
37
DONOR DATABASE
Salesforce jumps out to me as meeting the budget need right off the bat. Although it
starts out cheap, some of the important aspects of the data would require extra cost
by paying for add on apps. Salesforce is extremely customizable, but the catch is that
it may be overly complicated. It will likely take either someone with decent
knowledge of technical software or working with a Salesforce representative (likely for
a fee) to set up the system to meet all of the necessary needs. I would suggest
contacting a representative with a clear idea of what needs to be met with a database
solution to get an accurate cost summation. My guess is that it will still come out less
than most, if not all, of the other solutions. I recommend this as most likely the best
solution to meet the the most of your needs.
!
NeonCRM by Z2 Systems
http://www.z2systems.com/
An integrated online system

One of the cheapest options
$600 annually for 1000 entries or less
A wide range of features that meet many of the needs

Strong functionality for Web integration and online payment processing
Not a lot of negative comments
Idealwares comparison chart gives this system high marks in web and email
integration and good to fair marks for most of the normal donor database functions.
For a much cheaper option than DonorPerfect or eTapestry, this is a solution worth
trying a demo or speaking with a representative about.
!
!
!
38
DONOR DATABASE
!
Chart of Recommendations
Chart taken from the 2013 Consumer Guide to Donor Management Systems from
idealware.
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39
DONOR DATABASE
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Pricing Comparison Chart
Chart taken from the 2013 Consumer Guide to Donor Management Systems from
idealware.
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40
>>PERSONAS
Susan Bailey
from FreeDigitalPhotos.net by stockimages
Susan, at 37-years-old is the senior marketing specialist for a mid-sized

manufacturing company. She graduated from the Ohio State University in 1999 with
a bachelors degree in Marketing. Susan worked her way through college by
nannying 20 hours a week.
After graduation, Susan always planned to start a family but instead, poured herself
into achieving career success. Consequently she has not found time to her own
family yet. Since Susan does not have children of her own, she enjoys spending time
with her sister Cindys two children, Connor (10) and Lauren (5).
Cindy also had a daughter, Chelsea who would have be eight. However, Chelsea
developed lung cancer at age six and passed away two years later. In order to help
take Connor and Laurens minds off of the difficult circumstances that their family is
going through, for time to time she will take them out for fun.
41
Personas
The Johnsons
from FreeDigitalPhotos.net by photostock
Eric and Stacey Johnson may appear like your typical suburban family, Eric (34) holds
a steady job at JPMorgan as a financial advisor. Stacey (32) left her job as a nurse
after giving birth to her first child. Now, Stacey is a stay-at-home mother caring for
her three children Cooper (7), Kelly (5), and Daniel (3). For a normal family, Erics
salary would enough to care for his family.
However, a year ago, Kelly was diagnosed with stage 4 neuroblastoma. The medical
bills are rising and putting a strain on the families dynamics. Stacey, an avid
Facebook user, joined a Facebook support group for families who have children with
life-threatening illnesses.
42
Personas
Ted Coatney
from FreeDigitalPhotos.net by graur razvan ionut
Ted Coatney is a 21-year-old college student at Cedarville University. Ted has grown
up fascinated by technology and always has the most up-to-date gadgets. Ted is an
avid social media user, and has quite a few followers on Twitter. Wanting to use his
love for technology and people, Ted decides to major in Communications and
Marketing at Cedarville.
Ted is from the Cincinnati area and is looking for an internship before his senior year
near his home. In particular he is looking for an internship for credit that will help him
develop some of his writing skills as well as social media skills.
43
Context Scenarios
Scenario A
Susan takes a trip with Connor and Lauren to
Kings Island for the day. While waiting in line
for Congo Falls, Susan notices a group of
children and adults walking around in white tee
shirts that say A Kid Again in big letters. She
observes that several of the children appear
sick. One girl, who looks to be about 7, in particular, does not have much hair on her head,
but she does have a big bright smile. Upon seeing the little girl, Susan has to quickly wipe
away a tear because the little girl reminds her of Chelsea.
Once Susan gets home after have a wonderful summer day of riding rides with her niece
and nephew, she can not get the image out of her head of the cheerful little girl who
appeared to have cancer. So Susan searches online for A Kid Again. After reading the
about page and not being overwhelmed by large gray text boxes, Susan decides that she
wants to donate in order to help little children give their illnesses a time out.
Scenario B
Facebook recognized that Stacey joined a
group for moms of ill children and started
strategically placing ads. Stacey usually
ignores the ads on the right hand side of her
Facebook page, but for once something
caught her eye. A child in a wheelchair with a
giant smile spread across his face the
picture had the slogan Giving Illness a Giant Time Out written on top.
Stacey clicked on the ad and was brought to the A Kid Agains Facebook page. Scrolling
through the page she sees a link to a story about an Adventure to Newport Aquarium.
Clicking on the link, she is brought to A Kid Agains webpage where she is able to learn
more about the organization and enroll her family.
44
Context Scenarios
Scenario C
Ted finds a posting on a public LinkedIn
page for a social media intern at a local
organization called A Kid Again. He goes to
its website first and sees what social media
platforms it uses. While Ted was able to
access the Facebook page easily by clicking
the icon, it seemed the page lacked a clear focus. It frequently updated it posts,
but it didnt draw people to the website or encourage them to donate. It also was
unclear as to what A Kid Again actually did. Next Ted went to Twitter and saw that
they frequently tweet. After reviewing the other social media sites, including the
active blog, Ted decided that this internship would be a great opportunity for him
to not only be able to give back to the local community but also hone his social
media and writing skills.
45
>>REFERENCES
Web Content and Usability
Barr, C. (2010). The Yahoo! style guide: the ultimate sourcebook for writing, editing, and creating
content for the digital world. New York: Yahoo!/St. Martin's Griffin.
Burns, M. (2014). Retrieved April 24, 2014 from http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/inspiration/
remarkably-designed-donation-pages/
Marketing
Bendapudi, N., Singh, S. N., & Bendapudi, V. (1996). Enhancing helping behavior: An integrative
framework for promotion planning.Journal Of Marketing, 60(3), 33.
Kylander, N., & Stone, C. (2012). The Role of Brand in the Nonprofit Sector. Stanford Social Innovation
Review, 10(2), 36-41.
Social Media and Blogging

Adler, E. (2014). Social media engagement: the surprising facts about how much time people spend
on the major social networks. Business Insider. Retrieved April 23, 2014 from http://
www.businessinsider.com/social-media-engagement-statistics-2013-12
Barnes, C. (2014). Six big mistakes non-profit organizations are making on Instagram. Retrieved April
23, 2014 from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chris-barnes/6-mistakes-nonprofitinstagram_b_4533014.html
Dugan, L. (2010) Why you need to create a tweet schedule now. Media Bistro. Retrieved April 23, 2014
from http://www.mediabistro.com/alltwitter/why-you-need-to-create-a-tweet-schedulenow_b1514
Leffler, L. (2013). Transforming philanthropy: giving back with friends on Facebook. The Huffington Post.
Retrieved April 23, 2014 from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/libby-leffler/transformingphilanthropy_b_4453215.html?1387220916
LinkedIn launches volunteer marketingplace for Nonprofits. (2014). About.com. Retrieved April 23,
2014 from http://nonprofit.about.com/gi/o.htm?zi=1/
XJ&zTi=1&sdn=nonprofit&cdn=b2b&tm=1136&f=20&su=p554.24.342.ip_&tt=2&bt=9&bts=9
&zu=http%3A//nonprofitorgs.wordpress.com/
Tate, R. (2014). Facebook just proved its the future of mobile advertising. Wired. Retrieved April 23,
2014 from http://www.wired.com/2014/04/facebook-ad-clicks-skyrocket/
6 ways nonprofits can use Instagram for fundraising. (2014). Retrieved April 23, 2014 from http://
www.nptechforgood.com/2014/02/06/6-ways-nonprofits-can-use-instagram-for-fundraising/
46
Increasing Awareness and Donors

Autismspeaks.org (2014). Retrieved from
https://secure.autismspeaks.org/site/c.8hKPL7NMLpJ4G/b.8844069/k.C240/Donate.htm?
utm_source=autismspeaks.org&utm_medium=button&utm_content=donatenow&utm_campaign=waysgive&msource=waysgive
Barry, F. (2013). 15 techniques used by top nonprofits to boost donor acquisition and online
fundraising results. Npengage.com. Retrieved April 24, 2014 from http://www.npengage.com/
online-fundraising/boost-donor-acquisition-online-fundrasing
Charitywater.org. (2014). Retrieved April 24, 2014 from http://www.charitywater.org/projects/solutions/
De los Salmones, M., Dominguez, R., & Herrero, A. (2013). Communication using celebrities in the nonprofit sector: Determinants of its effectiveness. International Journal Of Advertising, 32(1),
101-119. doi:10.2501/IJA-32-1-101-119
Livestrong.org (2014). Retrieved April 24, 2014 from https://www.livestrong.org/donation/
Markman, J. (Ed.) (2013). Habitat for humanity walk builds awareness about need for affordable
housing. braintree.patch.com. Retrieved from http://braintree.patch.com/groups/volunteering/
p/habitat-for-humanity-walk-builds-awareness-about-need7547949254
Murphy, K. (2008). Texas spirits raises money and awareness for make a wish. Texas Advertising and
Public Relations. Retrieved April 24, 2014 from http://advertising.utexas.edu/news/texas-spiritsraises-money-and-awareness-make-wish
Seven marketing group "walks for wishes" to help raise awareness for the local make a wish
foundation. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.prweb.com/releases/2013/4/
prweb10622351.htm
Savethechildren.org. (2014). Retrieved April 24, 2014 from http://www.savethechildren.org/site/c.
8rKLIXMGIpI4E/b.6115947/k.8D6E/Official_Site.htm
Donor Database
A consumer's guide to donor management systems. (2013). Idealware in partnership with NTEN.
Retrieved April 24, 2014 from http://www.nten.org/research/2013-consumers-guide-to-lowcost-donor-management-systems
Weiner, R. (2012). Ten common mistakes in selecting donor databases (and how to avoid them).
Retrieved from http://idealware.org/articles/
ten_common_mistakes_in_selecting_donor_databases.php
47

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Web Content and Usability

Social Media and Blogging

Increasing Awareness and Donors

Stacey and Eric Johnson

A Kid Again Final Report

Communicating what adventures really are and their effect on families is

A Kid Again Final Report

How to Tell a Good Story

You need facts to set up a story and give

There are so many mediums through which

background on what is going on, but what

to tell a story. Dont limit a medium based

makes a compelling story is why those

on preconceived notions of what it can

facts matter to an individual person or

accomplish. Maybe one photo and a short

caption on social media can tell a story

Start wide and zoom in

better than a three minute video. Maybe a

you need to zoom in and make it

from a family as to why A Kid Again has

meant so much to them, or how this

This is the tape of a news broadcast covering

adventure or an adventure in the past has

the Kings Island Adventure I found on A Kid

helped the family make a lasting memory.

Agains Youtube channel. The broadcast

Start close and zoom out

named Brinly. This news segment illustrates an

Starting off a story zoomed in can be an

effective way to inform about adventures

equally effective way to tell a story and then

connect those details with the bigger

A Kid Again Final Report

- A photo that tells a story needs to go more than skin deep.

- Uses visual and auditory senses to engage audience

- May be some learning involved with capturing and editing video

- Consider pairing blogs with photos and video clips.

A Kid Again Final Report

>>WEB CONTENT AND USABILITY

A Kid Again Final Report

WEB CONTENT & USABILITY

Content Answer The Questions

Where They Are

A website is an essential tool to help get the

Since A Kid Again is a regional organization,

companys name and mission for many

people need to be aware of that as soon as

people to access. A website must clearly

they come to the website (Barr, C. 2010).

show who the company is through branding

When Events Are

Why They Do What They Do

WEB CONTENT & USABILITY

Eye tracking visualizations have found that

Online readers get intimidated or lose

users often read Web pages in an F-

interest with long paragraphs of text.

shaped pattern. Starting in the upper left-

Break paragraphs into bite-sized

hand side and going across twice then