wej web presence proposal

8/2/2019 WEJ Web Presence Proposal

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WEJ PROPOSAL MEMORANDUM

TO: Lu Rocha, Executive Director, WEJFROM: Kimberly C., Ali D., Bridget GreenfieldDATE: November 23, 2010SUBJECT: Application instructions for Chicago Community Trust capacity building

grant

Requested Amount: $10,000

For which program area are you applying? Capacity Building

SUBMITTING THE FINAL PROPOSAL

After WEJ completes the Letter of Inquiry, CCT will evaluate the request andpotentially invite WEJ to submit a full proposal. If CCT requests a full proposal, theywill also provide email instructions about completing it online. Use the responsesbelow to fill out the online proposal submission form, following any additional

instructions from CCT. Following submission, CCT typically notifies Management andOrganizational Development grant recipients of their award within two to threemonths.

The responses below follow specific character count guidelines dictated by CCT. If youwish to edit responses, be mindful of the specified character counts prior tosubmission. Additionally, please see Appendix A for a more detailed project budget.

Project Name: This field was completed in the LOI. Follow CCT’s instructions on whatto type here.Project Summary: This field was completed in the LOI. Follow CCT’s instructions onwhat to type here.

Requested Amount: This field was completed in the LOI. Follow CCT’s instructionson what to type here.

Facility: WEJ holds business meetings and events at 4071 N. Broadway, Chicago, IL,60613, a house owned by WEJ’s Executive Director Lu Rocha. WEJ partners with PilsenAlliance and Juan Diego Community Center to hold classes at those facilities.

Financials (If using a fiscal agent please use financial data from theorganization that is applying, not the fiscal agent):

Year prior to most recently completed fiscal year, i.e., 2008.Revenue amount for year prior to most recently completed fiscal year: $1,252

Expenses for year prior to most recently completed fiscal year: $1,833Surplus/(Deficit) for year prior to most recently completed fiscal year: ($581)Net Assets for year prior to most recently completed fiscal year: $789

Most recently completed fiscal year, i.e., 2009.Revenue amount for most recently completed fiscal year: $0Expenses for most recently completed fiscal year: $522Surplus/(Deficit) for most recently completed fiscal year: ($522)

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Net Assets for most recently completed fiscal year: $267

Current fiscal year budget, i.e., 2010.Revenue amount for current fiscal year budget: $7,500Expenses for current fiscal year budget: $7,625Surplus/(Deficit) for current fiscal year budget: ($125)

Notes to Financials: In 2007 and 2008, WEJ’s fundraising generated $4,057, whichwas spent from 2007 to 2009. In 2010, WEJ received a $15,000 Catholic Campaign forHuman Development grant. WEJ received the first $7,500 installment in Septemberand distributed funds to its partners as accounted for in 2010 expenses.

One Concise Statement Summarizing This Grant Request: WEJ requests$10,000 to create a website. This website will enable WEJ to inform potential fundersand volunteers about their mission to decrease domestic violence by increasingfinancial literacy; network with other groups; sell participants’ goods and services;and provide educational resources.

Executive Summary of Project: Women for Economic Justice (WEJ) reducesgender-based violence by developing economic opportunities for women that lead totheir financial independence. The organization is currently operating without awebsite because it lacks funding and the technological knowledge needed to designand maintain one. Without a website, WEJ does not have a venue to inform the publicabout their mission, network with other co-ops, sell their participants’ goods andservices, and provide educational resources for their participants.

WEJ requests $10,000 to develop its website. A web presence will allow people tolearn about WEJ’s mission and goals, including co-ops and individuals interested insupporting WEJ’s work. With the help of a website, WEJ can further help womenincrease their financial independence and decrease their vulnerability to domestic

violence

WEJ has facilitated four sessions on financial literacy to a group of approximatelythirty women. A component of these sessions is skill-building, which teaches womenhow to produce and sell goods and services. Without a website, WEJ’s participantshave limited opportunities to sell their wares. Participants can increase their customerbase and build sustainable businesses by selling via an online store. The organizationwill also provide on-going online resources for former and current participants tocontinue building financial independence.

A CCT Management and Organizational Development grant would allow WEJ topartner with a company called Non-Profit Soapbox (NPS). NPS’s managers anddesigners will create, design, and host an easy-to-maintain website for WEJ. NPS willtrain the WEJ staff to update and maintain the site. NPS can also include an onlinestore and PayPal donation option. WEJ can determine if they are helping participantssell their goods and services by monitoring the sales through the online store. WEJ willmonitor donations through PayPal.

Through Google Analytics, free web analytics tool that NPS will build into the website,WEJ can evaluate the effectiveness of the website. By tracking activities like page

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views and average time on the site for everyone who visits, the organization willdetermine if they are informing the public about their mission, connecting withpotential supporters, and providing economic literacy information to current andformer participants.

WEJ’s website will be functioning within approximately three months. NPS’s average

timeline includes two to three weeks for discovery and planning, two to four weeks fordesigning, and two to four weeks for launching and testing. Once the website iscompleted, WEJ will spend the rest of the year maintaining and updating the site withmonthly technical support from NPS.

With a grant from CCT to build a website, WEJ can improve their business operationsand continue to support women in their quest for economic literacy and financialindependence, ultimately empowering them to decrease their vulnerability todomestic violence.

Need/Issue Statement: WEJ works to decrease domestic violence by helpingwomen gain economic independence. First, women take classes to learn budgeting,

checkbook balancing, and other skills. Then, they build sustainable business plans,and finally, they open their own businesses.

Since WEJ focuses on programming and operates with a very small staff, they lack thefunding and expertise to focus on business operations like public relations,networking, and fundraising. WEJ needs operational support, and a CCT grant will helpby supporting the creation and maintenance of a website.

Through a partnership with Non-Profit Soapbox (NPS), a full-service web developmentcompany, WEJ can maintain their website easily and cost-effectively. NPS provides aproject manager and designer to create the site, then security and hosting services,staff training, and technical support. This website will be the first step in building

stronger operations for WEJ, enabling them to continue providing valuableprogramming for women.

Goals Statement: WEJ’s most important short-term goal for the website is toeducate the public about their mission: that by increasing women’s economic literacyand financial independence, WEJ will reduce their vulnerability to domestic violence.

Another short-term goal for WEJ’s website is to connect with other co-ops andindividuals. With such connections in place, the organization can share its curriculumwith other groups and cultivate a funder and volunteer base.

In the next 2 to 3 years, WEJ will use their website to provide participants with ameans to sell their goods and services. By selling via an online store, WEJ’sparticipants can build sustainable businesses that reduce their vulnerability togender-based violence.

As resources grow in the next few years, WEJ’s website will provide on-going,accessible economic literacy information to current and potential participants.Moreover, a website would provide continued support for participants once they leaveWEJ’s classroom.

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Strategies/Activities: Through their website, WEJ will share information with thepublic and their participants. First, the group will inform the public about its goals byfeaturing WEJ’s mission, history, staff, participants, and other key facts on the site.

This “about us” feature connects WEJ with potential donors to raise awareness andfunds. Interested funders will be able to donate money directly on the website via

PayPal. The organization will also provide information about how increasing women’seconomic literacy and financial independence reduces their vulnerability to domesticviolence. Two examples of possible informational resources are downloadable factsheets and scholarly articles.

WEJ will connect with other co-ops through its web presence. People cannot easilyfind information about the organization unless WEJ is searchable online. The site willserve as a point of connection by providing contact details like email addresses andphone numbers for WEJ’s staff.

WEJ will provide participants with a means to sell their goods and services online,allowing them to build sustainable businesses. An online store eliminates the

overhead costs of opening a physical storefront. The online store’s customer basecould also be converted into financial supporters or volunteers for WEJ’s futureprojects.

WEJ will supply participants with on-going resources by offering accessible economicliteracy information on the site. This information will include budget tips, links to otherwebsites, and money management worksheets. Once participants leave WEJ’sclassroom, they may not have access to continued economic literacy support in theircommunities. The group’s website will support them by extending the curriculum totheir communities via the web. Potential participants will also find information about

joining WEJ’s classes and meeting locations, times, and topics.

Workplan/Timetable: WEJ will build a website that meets the stated goals byimplementing the following workplan. The organization has identified its goals for awebsite as: informing the public about its mission; connecting with other co-ops andindividuals; selling its participants’ goods and services; and serving as an on-goingresource for participants.

WEJ would next need to choose a provider, designer, and hosting service to providethe expertise needed to create the site. The group has already selected a providerthat works specifically with nonprofits to design, build, host, and maintain qualitywebsites. This provider, Nonprofit Soapbox (NPS), will give WEJ the functionality,support, and cost-effectiveness it needs to create and manage a website, includingregistering a domain (e.g. www.womenforeconomicjustice.orgor www.wej.org).

Next, WEJ will create the site’s content and determine what structural elements, tools,extra buttons, and functionality will most effectively meet WEJ’s stated goals. See“Strategies and Activities” for specific details on what content the organization willinclude. WEJ may also identify additional content that will support future goals. NPSprovides management support in developing content for the site.

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http://www.womenforeconomicjustice.org/

http://www.wej.org/

http://www.womenforeconomicjustice.org/

http://www.wej.org/



After launching the site with starter content, WEJ will maintain the website by addingnew tools, updating content, adding features like a blog, or building custom pages asneeded. NPS’s monthly fee includes support for maintenance and a user-friendlycontent management system that will allow WEJ to maintain the site on its own.

Finally, WEJ will need to evaluate the site for effectiveness. WEJ will determine what

content is most effective, what needs adjustment, and how to optimize the site for allusers. Using Google Analytics, a free web analytics tool that NPS will build into thesite, WEJ will see page views, clicks, usage patterns, trends, referral sites, and awealth of other information that will provide a holistic evaluation of the site. Withthese visitor statistics, WEJ will continue to improve the site’s effectiveness inmeeting WEJ’s goals.

WEJ will implement this workplan over one year. According to NPS, the group’swebsite could be up and functioning in about three months. NPS allots two to threeweeks for discovery and planning, two to four weeks for designing, and two to fourweeks for launching and testing. NPS’s project manager will keep this timeline onschedule. After the initial three months, WEJ will spend the remainder of the year

maintaining and analyzing the website for effectiveness.

Organizational Capacity/Prior Experience: WEJ Executive Director Lu Rocha hasworked with community women’s organizations to establish domestic violenceprograms. She has advocated for survivors of domestic violence for more than 13years. She also teaches classes about gender-based violence at DePaul University.She founded WEJ to address economic justice issues faced by survivors of domesticviolence. The Board has experience in urban planning and policy, communitydevelopment, and advocacy for victims of gender-based violence. Their collaborativeefforts have dictated WEJ’s mission and goals. However, Rocha and the Board lack thetechnical knowledge to create a website.

To reach these goals, WEJ will partner with NPS to create a website that will allowthem to unite with other activists, advocates, and academics. The organization hasdeveloped a financial literacy curriculum, facilitated financial literacy sessions, andestablished a community collaborative to promote their goals. With a website, WEJcan continue to grow.

Impact Evaluation: The impact of the project will be: WEJ will inform the publicabout their mission, network with other co-ops, sell their goods and services moreefficiently, and provide resources for participants.

Outcome 1: A website will raise awareness about the link between economic literacyand domestic violence. It will also serve as a public relations tool for WEJ.Measure 1a: Using Google Analytics, WEJ will monitor the frequency with whichvisitors download specific information from the site. In the web development process,the organization will set page view and usage goals.Measure 1b: Within the first year, WEJ will accept at least $500 in financial supportvia their website’s online donation portal.

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Outcome 2: With their website, WEJ will network with other co-ops. By establishingthese connections, WEJ will open new markets for selling participants’ goods andservices and find new models for continued growth as a co-op.Measure 2a: Within the first year, WEJ will connect online with at least three otherco-ops and demonstrate these connections by linking to these co-ops on theirwebsite.

Measure 2b: Within the first year, at least three other co-ops will link to WEJ’s site,driving traffic through referral. WEJ will use Google Analytics to evaluate what othersites link to theirs.

Outcome 3: Participants will sell their goods and services more efficiently via anonline store. Potential customers can search for WEJ goods and services online.Pictures of the products will be on the website.Measure 3a: Participants’ customer base will expand beyond their communities toother cities and states. This expansion will be measured through purchase orders andthe overall sales profit.Measure 3b: Participants will build a sustainable business via the online store.Balanced budgets by participants will demonstrate this sustainability.

Outcome 4: A website would provide educational economic literacy resources andoffer continued support for WEJ participants outside of the classroom.Measure 4a: Using Google Analytics, WEJ will monitor the frequency with whichvisitors download specific information from the site to determine what informationusers find most useful. WEJ will set page view and usage goalsMeasure 4b: After one year, WEJ will survey participants about their usage of thewebsite. This survey will not only show whether participants are using the site, but italso what content they find most useful.

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Appendix A

In addition to the design, security, and hosting services, NPS also offers initial staff

training and continued technical support for their clients. Their basic plan includes

three hours of email support per month with the option of phone support for an

additional monthly fee. NPS’s prices are found below, and their Web site iswww.nonprofitsoapbox.com.

Service Price

Setup

(project manager, default template, 2 hours of training

on how to update the site, assistance with launching

the site)

3500 (one time)

Monthly subscription

(hosting, updates to Soapbox, security upgrades,

emergency support, 3 hours of email support per

month)

99 (per month)

Optional custom design

(design strategy session, two unique design ideas, a

final design)

5000 (one time)

Optional phone support 199 (per month)

First year total cost with custom design and

without phone support $9688

First year total cost with custom design and phone

support$12076

Continuing yearly cost without phone support $1188

Continuing yearly cost with phone support $3576

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http://www.nonprofitsoapbox.com/

http://www.nonprofitsoapbox.com/

wej web presence proposal

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