IEATA Nonprofit Beacon - Pixel Lighthouse

Last updated: April 9th, 2023 - 04:02 am

Current situation

Where you are vs. where you’d like to be

Big idea

Educational First Steps is an organization that provides coaching, consulting services, and professional development to early education professionals in the North Texas area.

More detail

As with any locally based nonprofit, IEATA exists to serve the needs of the local people and community. To that end, IEATA provides early childhood education centers with the support, training, and materials required to become nationally accredited—helping hardworking entrepreneurs in diverse communities not only improve the quality of their instruction but also succeed as a business.

Description of main program or focus area

Through its signature Four Steps to Excellence program and other services, IEATA transforms these centers into true preschools, improving education outcomes, preparing children for a successful academic future, and closing systemic gaps in early childhood education and school readiness.

Transition to website

As with any nonprofit trying to better meet the needs of your community, your website has become an area for concern. So far, communicating the nuances of your mission and positioning IEATA as a thought leader in the early education space—at least through your website—has proven difficult. Among the top concerns is the overall site experience. Rather than just serving as a static billboard that visitors can pass by and ignore, you want a website that takes visitors on a journey, helping to draw people in as you enter into the next phase of growth. But going even further: you should have full control over that visitor experience, without any static or hard-coded sections. IEATA will only continue to shift as you grow, and you need a website that you can fully own as the needs of your organization and community develop moving forward.

Elaboration on website problems

Furthermore, you feel like your website isn't being leveraged as the educational tool that it could be. You have a lot of great resources to offer your audiences (from board members to potential partner centers), but they aren’t displayed in a way that makes it easy for people to scan, navigate, or understand. This can make it difficult for people to grasp what you do and how you’re relevant to their lives.

Website better future

As you ramp up your online communications, you want to create a central hub (website) to which you can direct people to learn more and get people taking action. You want a website that finally communicates your unique positioning as not just another organization in the ECE space, but as a thought leader transforming North Texas communities through your unique service model.

Website better future ending

You also want the website to connect the dots between what you do, who it's for, and why it matters. It should clearly and succinctly lay out the path for donors, partner centers, parents, community and civic leaders, as well as clients. And above all, you want a website that encourages those same audiences to take action, whether that be making a donation, applying to Four Steps to Excellence, finding a local ECE center, reaching out to begin a conversation, or anything in between.

Opportunities & Recommendations

How to get there

Summing It Up

To summarize, your current website doesn't effectively communicate IEATA's desired branding, messaging, and overall positioning. By making the website more closely align with the way you speak about IEATA face to face and by expanding the site to more closely speak to the needs of your audiences, you'll get your programs and information in front of more people, create more of a hub that can more authentically convey your mission and impact, and position IEATA as a thought leader in the early childhood education space.

Target Audience

Primary

People who understand the transformational and helping properties of the expressive arts

People seeking educational resources and credentialing

People looking for referrals or facilitator resources

People interested in expressive arts for the non-therapeutic element

Members

Donors

Secondary

Funders

Connect / affiliated organizations

Core ideas, words, & concepts

expressive, inclusive, visionary, knowledgeable, ethical, creatives, community, calming, grounded, warm, holistic healing, multicultural, accessible, in congruence, consistent, person-centered, representation

Sitemap

These are the pages that would appear in the main navigation menu. Under each page, we have listed out the recommended content and page structure to build a cohesive and compelling visitor journey.

Utility Menu

(A bar across the top of each page, above the primary navigation menu)

Phone number
Email address
FAQ
Member Login
Staff Directory
Contact
Social media buttons
[//offsite links like member login, client portal, etc.]

Home

Section containing a clear, descriptive headline regarding IEATA's work, single background image showing the [//IMAGE] or another high-impact visual (not a slider //IF THEY HAVE SLIDER), and a call-to-action to join [//MAIN CTA]
Section that goes into more detail about IEATA's mission and the types of [//COMMUNITY] you work with
Section highlighting your various audiences with buttons linking to the appropriate pages of the site
Section that clearly outlines the issues [//your community faces as they attempt to navigate the system]
Section that positions IEATA as the solution to the above problems, highlighting your [//“beloved community”] approach[//or focus]
Section covering IEATA's current programs OR Section covering “how it works” for IEATA's programs
Section highlighting IEATA's history
Section showing upcoming events
Section containing statistics regarding IEATA's work OR Section containing a testimonial about IEATA OR partners
Section featuring some resources
Section showing the latest 3 blog posts and linking back to the larger Blog page
Section featuring stories from IEATA's community
Section highlighting IEATA's partners
Call-to-action to join the [//MAIN CTA]

Programs

Section touching on IEATA's [//ADJ] approach OR Section covering how IEATA's programs transform [//THINGS], and communities
Section prompting visitors to [//DO NOVEL CTA LIKE QUESTIONNAIRE]
Section listing programs and services by category OR [various sections for each major program] Section outlining how you work with [//AUDIENCE] and linking to the appropriate page
Section containing IEATA's partners or a testimonial about IEATA
Section listing some frequently asked questions about your [//programs]
Section showing your process for new //participants
Section listing 3 resources and linking back to the larger Resources page
Call-to-action to reach out to [//MAIN CTA or begin a conversation]

Subpages in navigation under Programs

Which Programs Are Right for Me? (questionnaire page)
Resources
For [//specific audience]
[//listing of programs]

About

Section containing info on IEATA as an organization, its philosophy and approach, and its origin
Section touching on your approach and linking to the full [//Our Approach] page
Section introducing [//executive director or major person] and [//pronoun] background
Section covering IEATA's history and how IEATA got started
Section highlighting [//main program] and how it works
Section linking to the [//subpage] pages
Section highlighting your primary audiences with buttons linking to the appropriate pages of the site
Section listing some frequently asked questions and linking to the longer FAQ page
Section listing IEATA's partners or a testimonial about IEATA
Section containing some stories from [//audience] IEATA has worked with
Call-to-action to join the [//main Cta]

Subpages in navigation under About

Our Approach
Our Team
Board of Directors
Partners
FAQ
Contact
History
Outcomes & Impact
Careers
For Media
Awards
Mission & Vision
Press Kit
Media Mentions
Photo Gallery
Financials & Reporting
[//random community-oriented pages]

Impact

Section with text summarizing role and impact of IEATA
Section highlighting various projects/impacts
Section containing a testimonial regarding IEATA's impact
Section linking to [//PAGE TITLE] to see current impact and work
Call-to-action to join the newsletter

Subpages in navigation under Impact

Projects Funded
Stories

Events

Section explaining the types of events you frequently put on
Calendar showing upcoming events

Get Involved

Section explaining the different ways people can support IEATA
Section directing visitors to the [//TITLE] page
Section covering the ways volunteers can get involved with a link to the Volunteers page
Section highlighting your advocacy and voting efforts
Section outlining partnership and sponsorship opportunities that links to the [//Partners & Sponsors] page
Call-to-action to join the newsletter

Subpages in navigation under Get Involved

Donate
Newsletter
Volunteer
News
Partner with Us
Advocacy
Ways to Give
Support an Event

Donate (//Button)

Section that talks about how IEATA brings awareness surrounding [//FOCUS AREA], why you need support, why you’re a trusted organization, and how funds will be used
Section containing your mailing address (for checks)
Optimized donation form

//landing page

Section about the types of people who benefit as [//audience] (and who doesn’t)
Section outlining how [//service] could change someon's life and [//do good thing]
Section outlining how [//audience support] supports IEATA and [//group]
Section highlighting some [//audience] stories and outcomes
Section listing relevant FAQs and linking to the longer FAQ page
Section featuring a testimonial from a [//audience member]
Call-to-action to become a [//audience] and linking to the Become a [//audience] page

Subpages in navigation under //landing page

Become a [//audience]
[//audience] Stories

Moving Forward

Based on the Nonprofit Beacon, we'll build a brand and website that positions you as the go-to thought leader in the expressive arts space with clear messaging to attract and educate members, donors, or those just interested in the expressive arts. Your website will serve as a beacon to draw in your ideal community, build relationships, and get visitors taking action.

Option 1: Lantern Brand - Brand + Website

$9000*

Project Execution: 10 - 14 weeks

We'll execute the following:

Develop a website that IEATA staff will be able to easily keep updated (no hard coding) so that you're able to make changes as your programs and services evolve and grow.
Create IEATA's brand guidelines so you can build brand awareness and connection with the larger North Texas early education community.
Design the IEATA website to present you as an innovative, high quality, and professional thought leader so you can attract those audiences you want.
Develop a brand message that will speak to donors, partner centers, clients, and other visitors so they will connect with IEATA and take action on the site.
Create an SEO-optimized WordPress website so you can be easily found on search engines. We will use the suggested sitemap as the starting point and use a mix of your provided images and high-quality stock photography.
Construct a visitor journey that presents your organization's brand in a compelling way so that your community gets pulled into IEATA's story and narrative.
Training on how to update and edit your site so you're never beholden to an external vendor when you want to make simple changes.
Write the copy/content for 10 key pages so that your visitor journey remains smooth throughout the major touchpoints.
Create an optimized donation page so that your visitors can easily support IEATA.
Integrate your newsletter with your website so that you can stay in contact with your visitors beyond their initial interaction with the site.
Migrate over previous blog content so that your previous information is still accessible to future visitors.
Set up analytics tracking data so that you can measure website engagement metrics.

Option 2: Lighthouse Brand - Brand + Website + Enhancements

$9000*

Project Execution: 14 - 18 weeks

We'll execute the following:

Design and develop an interactive map showcasing where [//AUDIENCES] are located so that website visitors can see your reach.
Ecommerce integration so that your visitors can support IEATA by buying [//THING].
On-demand ecommerce setup so that you can sell merch without having to deal with inventory and shipping.
One-off “donation” product creation so that your supporters can purchase specific “items” to support the cause.
Develop a content wireframe with suggested structure for the [//EXTERNAL SITE]. (Note: We don’t work with [//WEBSITE PLATFORM] and you would be responsible for implementing these changes.)
Write 4 in-depth, SEO-optimized resources based on the needs of your community so that your website positions IEATA as the go-to expert for all things [//FOCUS AREA].
Create an automated 3 to 5 email newsletter onboarding sequence so that new subscribers receive a series of emails to help fill in the blanks on IEATA's mission, work, and value.
Design 2 visualizations to provide a graphical representation of the scope of the problem so that visitors can more quickly and easily understand the nuances of your mission.
Add a multilanguage option to the website so that visitors can switch between [//LANGUAGE] (and/or other desired languages) as they browse the site. (Note that this does not include translation of content; IEATA would need to provide the content translated into the desired language(s).)
Create an interactive timeline covering IEATA's history so that visitors can more easily understand IEATA's origins and backstory.

*Payment terms: We request 50% upfront payment to schedule your project and hold your dates. The remaining balance is due 45 days after the start date of the project or after final approval but before final assets are delivered, whichever happens first. We accept payments via credit card and ACH.