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America House Research ProjectPepperdine University

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Situation: America House recently went through a change in leadership. A request was made to assess and provide reorganization and revitalization recommendations.

Contract: Provide recommendations to increase membership, event and volunteer participation, as well as maximize web-site traffic.

Observations

Inte

rnal

Exte

rnal

STRENGTHS• Energetic Director• Flexible Facility • Board Members with strong network• Overhead costs are relatively low• Existing programs generate revenue equal to 50%

of operating budget.

Positives Negatives

WEAKNESSES•Undefined purpose•Outdated web-site•Undefined roles and expectations of Board Members and Director•Low volunteer commitment

OPPORTUNITIES• Define purpose• Leverage benchmarking• Identify available grants• Build a community of volunteers• Integrate technology solutions

THREATS•Undefined purpose in the community•Competing non-profit associations•Constraints of the non-profit association structure •Competing non-profit associations on the Board

Recommendations

Quick Wins 30 Days

• Communicate transition plan to Board Members

• Schedule Board Meeting within 2 weeks to define purpose

• Obtain legal and/or tax advice

• Identify mentor • Build relationships with

select individuals• Define resource needs

including in-kind donations

Recommendations

Quick Wins 30 Days

• Communicate transition plan to Board Members

• Schedule Board Meeting within 2 weeks to define purpose

• Obtain legal and/or tax advice

• Identify mentor • Build relationships with

select individuals• Define resource needs

including in-kind donations

Communication60 Days

• Develop a web and technology strategy (Attachment 1)

• Create internal communication plan

• Conduct mini fundraising projects (Attachment 2)

• Develop marketing materials

• Implement membership program (Attachment 3)

Recommendations

Quick Wins 30 Days

• Communicate transition plan to Board Members

• Schedule Board Meeting within 2 weeks to define purpose

• Obtain legal and/or tax advice

• Identify mentor • Build relationships with

select individuals• Define resource needs

including in-kind donations

Communication60 Days

• Develop a web and technology strategy (Attachment 1)

• Create internal communication plan

• Conduct mini fundraising projects (Attachment 2)

• Develop marketing materials

• Implement membership program (Attachment 3)

Community Outreach90 Days

• Develop a volunteer

strategy (Attachment 4)• Develop a comprehensive

fundraising plan (Attachment 5)

• Create external communication plan

• Plan and conduct re-opening event

• Implement technology strategy

Recommendations

Quick Wins 30 Days

• Communicate transition plan to Board Members

• Schedule Board Meeting within 2 weeks to define purpose

• Obtain legal and/or tax advice

• Identify mentor • Build relationships with

select individuals• Define resource needs

including in-kind donations

Communication60 Days

• Develop a web and technology strategy (Attachment 1)

• Create internal communication plan

• Conduct mini fundraising projects (Attachment 2)

• Develop marketing materials

• Implement membership program (Attachment 3)

Community Outreach90 Days

• Develop a volunteer

strategy (Attachment 4)• Develop a comprehensive

fundraising plan (Attachment 5)

• Create external communication plan

• Plan and conduct re-opening event

• Implement technology strategy

• Define 2014-2015 goals• Conduct survey and/or

focus groups to assess AH strengths and gaps

• Implement web-site redesign

• Implement volunteer strategy

• Implement fundraising plan

• Identify support organization for non-profit associations

• Formalize tools to measure membership and volunteer participation

Sustainment120 Days

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WEB & TECHNOLOGY STRATEGY (Attachment 1)

AMERICA HOUSE

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DESIGNRECOMMENDATIONS

We recommend a redesign that is simple and utilizes the following web strategic components:

User Friendly-means keep customers no more than 3 clicks from membership, donations, services, volunteer and contact us.

We recommend the following menu:

In the new design, your site will be accessible on mobile devices, which is a must in todays web strategy. Customers will be able to view your site on their mobile devices, purchase a membership, volunteer and donate via their mobile device.

Lastly, we recommend that the site be available in Multilanguage.

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CONTENT | SEO | SMMCONTENT

RECOMMENDATIONS

Your content must be your own, mission driven and relevant.

Include images of events, people and places.

We suggest that you add the following pages on your site

Contact Us, Donate, Volunteer Sign Up and a blog.

All pages should be updated with new content.

eCommerce: With a paid subscription to Weebly, you will be able to accept donations online.

In web development, it is important that your pages are named according to the event or service, as this helps with SEO (Search Engine Optimization). i.e. http://www.americahouselyon.org/languages.html

Should be named:TOEFL_Prep_Course_Lyon_France

Your domain name is not registered. Must be done ASAP.

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CONTENT | SEO | SSMSEO

Your sites meta description, keywords and tags should match and images should be named properly to take advantage of SEO algorithms. i.e., an image from an event is best named: America_House_Lyon_Volunteer_Event_December_2013 The image below is named 9864730_orig.jpg from the following link: http://www.americahouselyon.org/uploads/2/0/9/7/20977316/9864730_orig.jpg

Keywords should include verbiage from your mission, services, events,

and location.

Meta Description: On the backend of your site, through the admin panel,

you have the ability to enter keywords, meta tags and a meta description.

Here is your current meta tags:

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CONTENT | SEO | SMMSEO:

Here is what we recommend for your meta tags:

Keywords:

Volunteer while I visit Lyon, France: Volunteer program in Lyon, France: American organizations in Lyon, France: Internships for American Students in Lyon, France

Meta Description: American House is a nonprofit organization located in Lyon, France. Our mission includes helping students in France locate internships in the United Stated as well as helping students in the USA find internships in Lyon, France. Other services, include………

Social Media Marketing: We found that you have social media presence on Twitter and Facebook and we recommend you add YouTube and LinkedIn. Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn may be access via the same interface that allows updates between sites.. YouTube will allow you to showcase your events and if you follow the same image naming protocols as mentioned below, it will help greatly with your SEO efforts. Utilizing keywords in your social media announcements can also help your SEO efforts.

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CONTENT | SEO | SMMTechnology Recommendations:

Skype

We suggest that you open a Skype account, which is free and very easy to use. It uses Wi-Fi to connect so you will be able to connect with the board, staff and volunteers from any location.

Google Hangout

Google Hangout is similar to Skype and it is also free and easy to use. It too runs on Wi-Fi and may be accessed via any device.

Join.me

Join.me (www.join.me) is an online meeting solution. It allows you to schedule meetings with anyone through out the globe, you will be able to see the participants, share screens and collaborate online.

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• Wine and cheese party

• Small dinner parties – possible guests• American Club of Lyon

• Local politicians

• Local School leaders

• Locally based American companies

• Friday night out – provide entertainment & hors d’oeuvres

• Art show/gallery walk displaying local students’ work

• Networking event

• Education fair

Mini Fundraising Project Ideas (Attachment 2)

• Develop communication plan with potential members• Individual• Partner

• Clarify benefits of partner membership• Investigate potential sources for partner members considering

defined purpose• Contact other associations and request web-site link to America

House web-site• Contact U.S. companies and universities for potential members

(see appendix)• Utilize the forum des associations to promote America House to

both individual and partner members

Membership Development (Attachment 3)

Essential Steps of an Effective Volunteer Program

• Have reasons and a rationale for wanting volunteers

• Identify the role of the volunteer (s)• Recruit volunteers• Screen potential volunteers• Conduct orientation of volunteers• Train volunteers• Supervise volunteers• Retain volunteers• Evaluate volunteers• Recognize efforts and achievements

Volunteer Strategy (Attachment 4)

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FUNDRAISING STRATEGY (Attachment 5)

AMERICA HOUSE

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To help you in your fundraising efforts, we have included excerpts from an online article titled: Ten Nonprofit Funding Models on Stanford Social Innovation Review: http://www.ssireview.org/

1. HEARTFELT CONNECTOR Some nonprofits, such as the Make-a-Wish Foundation, grow large by focusing on causes that resonate with the existing concerns of large numbers of people at all income levels, and by creating a structured way for these people to connect where none had previously existed.

2. MEMBER MOTIVATOR There are some nonprofits, such as Saddleback Church, that rely on individual donations and use a funding model we call Member Motivator.

3. BIG BETTOR There are a few nonprofits, such as the Stanley Medical Research Institute, that rely on major grants from a few individuals or foundations to fund their operations.

4. PUBLIC PROVIDER Many nonprofits, such as the Success for All Foundation, work with government agencies to provide essential social services, such as housing, human services, and education, for which the government has previously defined and allocated funding.

5. POLICY INNOVATOR Some nonprofits, such as Youth Villages, rely on government money and use a funding model we call Policy Innovator.

6. RESOURCE RECYCLER Some nonprofits, such as AmeriCares Foundation, have grown large by collecting in-kind donations from corporations and individuals, and then distributing these donated goods to needy recipients who could not have purchased them on the market.

7. LOCAL NATIONALIZER There are a number of nonprofits, such as Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, that have grown large by creating a national network of locally based operations.

To read the full article, please visit: http://www.ssireview.org/articles/entry/ten_nonprofit_funding_models

FUNDRAISING PLAN

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Your web strategy should include a fundraising campaign that includes the following:Accept Donations Online.A donation button should appear on the following web material/pages:• Emails• Newsletters• Invites• All of your web pages• All of your social media notifications

FUNDRAISING PLAN

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Appendix

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