WordPress for Nonprofits

Nonprofits of all types and sizes are discovering the power of WordPress. Its cost (as low as free), ease of use and highly customizable functionality make it a great choice for nonprofit organizations. For everything from nonprofit board management to accepting donations through your website, WordPress has nonprofits covered. This session from WordCamp Milwaukee 2014 examined some of the powerful WordPress themes and plugins designed especially for nonprofits, WordPress hosting options available to nonprofits, and other ways nonprofits can get the most out of WordPress in order to meet their mission and specific needs.

This session originally was presented by Kevin A. Barnes at WordCamp Milwaukee 2014 on July 26, 2014.

Transcript

1. WORDPRESS FOR NONPROFITS KEVIN A. BARNES WORDCAMP MKE — JULY 26, 2014
2. STEAL MY SLIDES Presentation at: http://kevv.co/wcmke14/
3. WHO AM I? Nonprofit Experience: •  Active with nonprofits since 1981 •  Have served as a Board Member for two nonprofits (nine years total) •  Digital Marketing Director for The Crohn’s Journey Foundation •  Support Group Facilitator with CCFA
4. WHO AM I? Website / WordPress Experience: •  Hand-coded my first website (for fun) in 1995 •  Created my first website using WordPress in 2004 •  Responsible for website development at Milwaukee marketing agency Creatonomy from 2006 to 2011 •  Developing custom WordPress themes for clients since 2006
5. AGENDA Why WordPress is a Great Fit for Nonprofits Just for Nonprofits — WordPress Tools and Resources Just for Nonprofits — Special Considerations Q & A Appendix: Resources
6. AGENDA Why WordPress is a Great Fit for Nonprofits Just for Nonprofits — WordPress Tools and Resources Just for Nonprofits — Special Considerations Q & A Appendix: Resources
7. WORDPRESS FOR NONPROFITS What makes WordPress such a good choice? •  Cost •  Support •  Scalable •  Easy to Use (plus high adoption rates) •  Easy to Maintain •  SEO Friendly •  Accessibility •  Many Themes and Plugins already exist for Nonprofits •  Customizable
8. WHO’S USING WORDPRESS? Find more at: http://wordpress.org/showcase/tag/non-profit/
9. WHO’S USING WORDPRESS? Find more at: http://wordpress.org/showcase/tag/non-profit/
10. WHO’S USING WORDPRESS? Find more at: http://wordpress.org/showcase/tag/non-profit/
11. AGENDA Why WordPress is a Great Fit for Nonprofits Just for Nonprofits — WordPress Tools and Resources Just for Nonprofits — Special Considerations Q & A Appendix: Resources
12. JUST FOR NONPROFITS: HOSTING Hosting •  Dreamhost = free for U.S. 501(c)3 http://wiki.dreamhost.com/Non-profit_Discount •  Grassroots.org (through Bluehost) = free for Silver or Gold Guidestar Participants http://www.grassroots.org/free-website-tools-bluehost-web- hosting •  WordPress.com = free plan (with restrictions) for anyone (not just nonprofits) http://en.blog.wordpress.com/2013/05/14/nonprofits-on- wordpress/
13. JUST FOR NONPROFITS: HOSTING Your 15-year-old nephew is not a web hosting company Photo Source: steve_cx on Flickr
14. JUST FOR NONPROFITS: THEMES Out-of-the-Box Theme •  Free and Premium Themes •  Must find one that meets your needs “as is” •  Low cost Create a Custom Theme (unique) •  Typically hire a resource(s) for design/ development •  Can get exactly what you want •  High cost Modify an Existing Theme •  Requires basic development skills •  Can turn a “sort of” fit into a “very close” fit •  Moderate cost
15. JUST FOR NONPROFITS: THEMES Where to find WordPress Themes for Nonprofits: •  The WordPress Theme Repository (free themes) http://wordpress.org/themes/ •  Woo Themes (premium themes) http://www.woothemes.com/product-category/themes/ •  Array Themes (premium themes) https://array.is/ •  Theme Foundry (premium themes) https://thethemefoundry.com/
16. JUST FOR NONPROFITS: THEMES A few examples of some WordPress Themes for Nonprofits: •  Theme Canon — Kause Theme http://themecanon.com/themes/kause/
17. JUST FOR NONPROFITS: THEMES A few examples of some WordPress Themes for Nonprofits: •  Organic Themes — Purpose Theme http://organicthemes.com/theme/purpose-theme/
18. JUST FOR NONPROFITS: THEMES A few examples of some WordPress Themes for Nonprofits: •  Websavvy Marketing — Patricia Theme (requires the Genesis Framework) http://www.web-savvy-marketing.com/store/patricia/
19. JUST FOR NONPROFITS: PLUGINS Plugins WordPress Plugin Repository: http://wordpress.org/plugins/
20. JUST FOR NONPROFITS: PLUGINS A sampling of WordPress Plugins for Nonprofits •  Smart Donations http://wordpress.org/plugins/smart-donations/ •  Membership (Pro and Lite versions available) http://wordpress.org/plugins/membership/ •  Nonprofit Board Management http://wordpress.org/plugins/nonprofit-board-management/ •  MailChimp for WordPress (Premium and Lite versions) http://wordpress.org/plugins/mailchimp-for-wp/ •  WordPress SEO by Yoast http://wordpress.org/plugins/wordpress-seo/
21. JUST FOR NONPROFITS: PLUGINS Using WordPress with CiviCRM •  WordPress-CiviCRM Member Role Synch Plugin https://github.com/jeevajoy/Wordpress-CiviCRM-Member- Role-Sync •  WordPress-CiviCRM Events Calendar Plugin https://github.com/jeevajoy/Wordpress-CiviCRM-Events- Calendar •  CiviEvent Widget http://wordpress.org/plugins/civievent-widget/ •  Just one example of creating interfaces between WordPress and other nonprofit software applications
22. AGENDA Why WordPress is a Great Fit for Nonprofits Just for Nonprofits — WordPress Tools and Resources Just for Nonprofits — Special Considerations Q & A Appendix: Resources
23. USE WINNING CONTENT Good: 1.  Use nice, iconic images 2.  Feature people 3.  Include success stories 4.  Present a clear Call to Action 5.  Use the best keywords for your cause 6.  Feature endorsements / testimonials 7.  Make it easy to donate
24. MAKE IT EASY TO DONATE
25. USE WINNING CONTENT Mistakes to Avoid: 1.  Ignoring visitors’ questions 2.  Offering too many things on the Home page 3.  Having confusing navigation 4.  Failing to offer offline ways to connect 5.  Having inconsistent design 6.  Keeping your blog on a separate site 7.  Filling the site with jargon
26. DON’T OVERLOAD THE HOME PAGE
27. AGENDA Why WordPress is a Great Fit for Nonprofits Just for Nonprofits — WordPress Tools and Resources Just for Nonprofits — Special Considerations Q & A Appendix: Resources
28. QUESTIONS? Photo Source: Bilal Kamoon on Flickr
29. QUESTIONS? Contact Kevin: •  Website http://www.kevinabarnes.com/ •  Email contact@kevinabarnes.com •  Twitter @KevinABarnes •  Download These Slides http://kevv.co/wcmke14/ •  Let’s Talk Live at WordCamp MKE: I’ll be around for the entire weekend — catch me between sessions.
30. AGENDA Why WordPress is a Great Fit for Nonprofits Just for Nonprofits — WordPress Tools and Resources Just for Nonprofits — Special Considerations Q & A Appendix: Resources
31. RESOURCES A Small Sampling of Nonprofits using WordPress for CMS: •  charity: water http://www.charitywater.org/ •  ASPCA http://www.aspca.org/ •  Greenpeace USA http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/en/ •  Kiva http://www.kiva.org/ •  The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research https://www.michaeljfox.org/
32. RESOURCES A Small Sampling of Nonprofits using WordPress for Blogs: •  Feeding America http://blog.feedingamerica.org/ •  Salvation Army http://blog.salvationarmyusa.org/ •  National Aquarium http://nationalaquarium.wordpress.com/ Find other Nonprofits using WordPress (for CMS and blogs): •  http://wordpress.org/showcase/tag/non-profit/
33. RESOURCES Learn More About other Nonprofits’ Websites: •  Is It WordPress? http://www.isitwp.com/ •  Philanthropedia http://www.myphilanthropedia.org/
34. RESOURCES Website Accessibility: •  WordPress Codex http://codex.wordpress.org/accessibility •  WordPress Accessibility Group http://make.wordpress.org/accessibility/ •  Themes which meet the WordPress Theme Accessibility Audit Guidelines http://wordpress.org/themes/tags/accessibility-ready (Note: The themes in the WordPress Theme Repository tagged with “accessibility-ready” are not the only themes that meet the Accessibility Audit Guidelines, but rather those are the themes that have gone through the actual audit process.) •  WP Accessibility plugin https://wordpress.org/plugins/wp-accessibility/
35. RESOURCES Free Stuff: •  Google Analytics Dashboard Template for Nonprofits http://www.smartcausedigital.com/website-analytics •  Google for Nonprofits http://www.google.com/nonprofits/ •  Grassroots.org http://www.grassroots.org/
36. RESOURCES Some Blogs that cover Nonprofits and Web Technology: •  Nonprofit Blog Exchange (on WordPress.com) http://nonprofitblogexchange.wordpress.com •  Network for Good® Nonprofit Marketing Blog http://www.nonprofitmarketingblog.com •  Kiva’s Nonprofit Communications Blog http://www.nonprofitmarketingguide.com/blog/ •  Nonprofit Tech For Good http://www.nptechforgood.com •  Idealware Blog (on nonprofit software) http://www.idealware.org/blog
37. RESOURCES Great Places to Learn More About WordPress: •  WordPress Codex http://codex.wordpress.org/ •  WordPress.tv http://www.wordpress.tv/ •  BobWP (some premium content) http://bobwp.com •  wp101 (premium content) http://www.wp101.com/
38. RESOURCES Contact Kevin: •  Website http://www.kevinabarnes.com/ •  Email contact@kevinabarnes.com •  Twitter @KevinABarnes •  Download These Slides http://kevv.co/wcmke14/ •  Let’s Talk Live at WordCamp MKE: I’ll be around for the entire weekend — catch me between sessions.