How HHICC Can Help Not-For-Profits
For more information, click on Websites,
Newsletters, and Emailing
The Hilton Head Island
Computer Club over time has developed a web site that contains
information, activities and access to resources that have been accumulated
through the years. In addition we bring this web site and
current news to our members via email on a weekly basis.
Monthly we send an extensive newsletter which contains more detailed
articles on a wide variety of computer related subjects. This
integrated communications approach is both very efficient and cost
effective. This knowledge and experience has been readily shared with
many not-for-profit organizations in the community.
For a non profit organization, the HHICC Community Service Outreach Program
is both a proactive and reactive community awareness program for organizations
that need computer assistance and are struggling with computer help and training.
Those not-for-profits may lack specific computer knowledge, mass emailing
expertise or web site experience. By analyzing any specific needs,
the HHICC seeks out appropriate club volunteers who have some skills and
are willing to help share their knowledge and expertise.
This Community Service Outreach Program and the HHICC contributions
can directly contribute to the efficiency of your not-for-profit
organization in the community, and perhaps allow new and even more
meaningful activities. Qualifying for this program is easy,
simply fill out this application and provide documentation of your
eligibility as an exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the
Internal Revenue Code and fax to 843 686 4677. More specific details,
and any questions can be directed to Ellie Smith, HHICC Community Service
Director at
n2turtles@hargray.com
WEBSITES
Websites can be very useful to help you market your organization
and to communicate to your clients and patrons. The content of
the web site comes from you, because you know your organization,
your goals, your objectives, your clients and patrons, and you know
what your message should be.
- What Can We Do For You?
- work with you to secure a domain name and a web hosting provider. The fee will be paid by the organization and can be as low as $60/year.
- discuss and develop an initial design, set some guidelines for submissions of content, initially probably as Word documents, with photos in jpg - size and resolution to be determined.
- implement the initial design and perform the necessary formatting for the web, including navigation links.
- What You Need to Do!
- provide a single contact who is a liaison and is
empowered to make decisions about content and
appearance.
- identify the message of the organization, and
identify the content and appearance of the website.
- identify the potential web master (perhaps the same
initial contact), who eventually will learn from HHICC
how to perform routine maintenance and changes.
- When You Need Other Resources!
- Other resources will need to be found/hired when the
skills that HHICC volunteers bring to the task are
exceeded. Usually our volunteers do not have
extensive experience with animated or extensive graphics
design, forms and database interaction and
implementation.
NEWSLETTERS
Newsletters are wonderful way to communicate to your
clients and patrons on a regular basis. There are challenges
with both the production of the newsletter and emailing the
newsletter to the
recipients.
- What Can We Do For You?
- work with your designated Editor to familiarize
him/her with tools to design and layout the newsletter.
- perform the necessary formatting for the newsletter,
including navigation links where appropriate.
- set some guidelines for submissions of content,
initially probably as Word documents.
- help locate and provide photos in jpg – teaching
about size and resolution to be determined.
- provide access to and teach Adobe Acrobat
Professional for finalizing PDF newsletter layout.
- What You Need to Do!
- provide a single contact (Editor) who is empowered
to make decisions about content and appearance.
- identify the message of the organization and content
of each newsletter and a transmittal letter for email
distribution, if desired.
- if the newsletter is to be emailed, the Editor is
responsible for creating and maintaining an electronic
mailing list.
- work with the Newsletter Editor who will learn from
HHICC how to create subsequent issues.
- the Editor will learn all of the skills from HHICC
Newsletter Editor so as to assume full responsibility
for creation of subsequent issues.
EMAILING
Emailing newsletters is extremely effective and cost efficient.
What's required is a current and electronic list of email addresses,
and a process to implement the mailing. We are all familiar with the issues of spam.
To minimize spam, local ISPs have instituted severe restrictions to emailing
from Residential Accounts. There are some alternatives, and some of these are
discussed by HHICC’s Technical Director Bob Rathke’s
Bulk Emailing Basics for
Hilton Head Island Organizations. To consider these alternatives,
discussions between the not-for-profits and HHICC are encouraged.
- What Can We Do For You?
- help you solicit and establish an initial list of
email addresses, preferably using MS Excel.
- share with you the importance of keeping this list
current and up-to-date.
- demonstrate and teach the use of email and software to create
and implement regular mailings.
- What You Need to Do!
- identify a person within your organization to create
and maintain the electronic email mailing list.
- identify a person who will work with HHICC
volunteers to learn how to implement your regular
mailings.