Due Next Thursday

As we approach the creation of the Project Neighbors web site it is a good idea to see what's already out there. This assignment will help you to figure out what kinds of things an their web site might include and will provide inspiration for our own project. In this assignment you will review a website of a similar organization and post it online for the class and our clients to view.

The typical web site for a for profit company is designed to both promote the company and its product, and potentially to actually sell products online. A non-profit web site has a very different focus. There are three major functions of a non-profit web site.

• Publicity--Many non-profit groups use the web and e-mail to publicize their events and activities. Because non-profit organizations operate within tight budgets, they often do their best to advertise using press releases, bank and church marquees, flyers and posters, newsletters, and free or low cost public service announcements on TV and radio. The web can be both an efficient and low cost way to publicize events and activities. At the very least having a presence on th web announces to the world that the organizaton exists.
• Organizational Information/Coordination--Non-profit groups rely on volunteers to do their work. Communicating with volunteers is traditionally done through newsletters, phone trees, and face-to-face meetings. Many non-profit organizations post newsletters and other organizational information of interest to their members and volunteers online. These features are all ones that facilitate communication within the organization.
• Mission Related Functions--The web site may also help the organization achieve its mission and extend its activities online. For instance, a web site might include information and educational materials of use to the clients it serves (as in the case of the Peace Heathen's directory on SCN). It might include a place for the general public to discuss issues related to the organizations mission or it might include links to other helpful organizations.

You will produce a report on the website of a housing/community action organizaiton working with another member of the class. You should divide up the workload so that each of you do an approximately equal amount of work. Since we have an odd number of students I will work with one student. The best approach will be to sit in front of the computer and compose your report together. Our scheduled class time for this week may be enough to complete the assignment but you may have to schedule some out of class time as well. The easiest way to do this one might be to compose the report in Word and then convert it into html.

Here are some issues you should address in the text of your report. There are going to be five sections to your report: Overview, Audience, Features, Design, Conclusion. These should appear as headings in your case report. I have created a template for you to use as you write your report. Copy it into your www docs directory and edit it. You may split up the task of writing the sections of your report among the two (or three members of your group). The following are some issues you should address in your report.

1. Overview: What is the name of the organization? Provide a link to its web site. What place does the organization serve? What is the mission of the organization? What are some of its main activities and programs?

2. Audience: What are the audiences for the web site and how does the site recognize and accommodate those audiences? Audiences might include local people, volunteers, potential participants in organizational events, people from outside of the place the organization serves.

3. Features: What features and services does the site offer? (For instance information about events, a calendar, information, etc.) Consider features and services in the three categories we have established; Publicity, Organizational Information, Mission Related Functions. Organize this section using these categories as sub-headings and describe how the web site does or does not fulfill these functions. Link to examples of some of the features and discuss them. It may turn out that there are features that don't fit into any of our three categories. Be on the watch for these and note them in a section titled "Additional Features and Services" if you find them.

4. Design: What are some of the more innovative, interesting aspects of the site's design? Is it easy to navigate? Is information easy to find? Does it convey a sense of place and how? Is it accessible (does it pass Bobby)? Does it have information in languages other than English? What are some of the bad aspects of the site's design.

5. Conclusion: Sum up your report highlighting the most interesting and effective features of the site, as well as some of the less effective features and flaws. What features might be useful and relevant for the Project Neighbors web site? Also, in your conclusion: generalize a list of five things that you think contribute to a good housing/community developement web site.

Post your report as a web page in your www docs directory of one of your team members using the file name orgreport.html and give me the address. When we are all doen we will reivew and critique each other's reports.

These are the sites that you have to choose from.

Exodus housing http://www.exodushousing.org/comm_index.html

Ocean Inc. http://www.oceaninc.org/

Three Rivers Community Action http://www.threeriverscap.org/

New River Valley Habitat for Humanity (Blacksburg) http://civic.bev.net/hfh/

Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity http://www.tchabitat.org/

Other Sites

Interlakes communtiy Action http://www.interlakescap.com/ICAP/index.htm

Sacramento Housing and Redevleopment Agency http://www.shra.org/Content/Housing/HousingDevelopment/DevAssistTOC.htm

Bikes Not Bombs http://www.bikesnotbombs.org/

Housing and community development network of New Jersey http://www.hcdnnj.org/

Minnesota Housing Partnership http://www.mhponline.org/

Peace Heathen's Crisis Resource Directory http://www.scn.org/crisis/

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