How to Conduct Virtual Nonprofit Fundraisers

Despite the obstacles nonprofit organizations face today, these institutions are still improving the lives of others. However, due to the Coronavirus pandemic, securing funds to continue their mission is a bigger challenge than ever. In so many instances, COVID-19 changed the approach to nonprofit fundraisers. To comply with Coronavirus precautions, some nonprofits created virtual events, like those for runners, bikers, and walkers. Additionally, organizations are holding drop-off food drives, virtual artistic and musical events, and fundraising campaigns of all sorts. Certainly, we believe the power of giving is flourishing, even during a pandemic. So, how can you take advantage of this generosity? What is the best route for your nonprofit fundraisers?

Hosting Virtual Nonprofit Fundraisers

In this article, we share ideas regarding live-streamed virtual fundraising events that result in successful nonprofit fundraisers. In related articles, we list 12 virtual fundraising services that make money and a COVID-19 Guide to Virtual Nonprofit Fundraisers. Packerland Websites and Writer to the Rescue are eager to collaborate!

Hosting a live-streamed virtual fundraising event on Facebook, Zoom, or another streaming platform allows you to interact with your target audience in real time. Live-streamed events bring a personal touch to fundraising that’s not available in other types of donation campaigns. Additionally, cyber-fundraising is cost-effective and accessible to anyone with an Internet connection. You generate excitement for your nonprofit without worrying about the risk of group gatherings or the need for social distancing

With a live-streamed fundraiser, you have a golden opportunity to showcase the good work you do. Show and tell your story through video, featuring speakers in a setting related to organization. Keep it fun. Keep it simple, and transition smoothly from one topic to another.

Sharing Essential Elements with Livestream Audience

Who are you? Tell about your organization’s history, membership, how to become a member
What do you do? Mission, recent activity, major projects
When does the fundraiser begin and end? When will you use the funding?
Where does your organization make an impact? Your home base and the region you cover
Why raise money? How will people make a difference by donating?
How do people donate? This is your call to action – invite people to donate securely online through your website or a crowd funding service. Tell about any matching funds or incentives for donors, like prize drawings, swag, or freebies.

Adding a Personal Touch to Fundraising

A live-streamed virtual fundraising event on Facebook or Zoom brings a personal touch to fundraising. Cyber-fundraisers cost less to plan and host than in-person events. These events not only promote your charitable work, they also affirm how donors are making an impact by giving. For assistance with setting goals, writing outlines and scripts, and creating announcements and marketing strategies, contact Bill at Bill@PackerlandWebsites.com or Joan (AKA, the Wonder Writer) at Joan@writertotherescue.com. For more tips about virtual nonprofit fundraisers, visit “How to Plan and Host a Virtual Fundraiser.”

The Power of Learning: PW Team is Back to School

“Hire someone smarter than I am.” That’s what I tell myself when I recruit employees, and I’m pleased to say that the Packerland Websites team is getting smarter every week. As part of our corporate culture, Packerland Websites provides ongoing company time and tuition reimbursement for continuous learning. Fostering a learning environment on the job helps to motivate and grow employees, while at the same time, improves quality and performance for clients.

Benefits of Learning

Above all, continuing education gives our staff the opportunity to study something worthwhile, add to their knowledge base, and do their best work. Not only are team members learning something new, they also share what they learn with one another, magnifying the impact of a single class. The investment is well worth it, and our customers reap the benefits.

Q&A with the Packerland Websites Team

Check out this Back-to-School Q&A to find out what these tech geeks are learning and the effect it has on website design and customer relations. Let’s turn it over to Packerland Websites developers Tom, Noah, and Miranda. (Click here to read about what Mike is learning.)

Miranda Schlise-Gomez

Q: What have you studied recently?

Tom: In the past year I returned to Northeast Wisconsin Technical College to continue to improve my skills, namely Database Management and PHP coding. (Hypertext Preprocessor, abbreviated PHP, is the programming language that gives structure and style to a web page.)
Noah: I’ve been working on my JavaScript skills. (JavaScript is a programming language that helps engage a user with interactive elements.)
Miranda: I’ve been getting into the Google family – Google ads, Google analytics, and G Suite.

Q: What is your resource for your studies?

Tom: I’m using Udemy, which is an online educational resource.
Noah: I use the online courses available at edX and also have been reviewing the textbook I read in college.
Miranda: I’m mainly learning via Google, working hands-on with Google ads, Google reps, and Google Skillshop (This is where I earn my Google ads certification).

Q: Why do you want to learn about this topic?

Tom: PHP is the backbone to WordPress, and being able to better understand its functionality will allow me to continue to build quality websites.
Noah: I really would like to add more interactive behavior to our websites to create more visually appealing, custom web pages.
Miranda: I’m learning about Google ad certification for a few reasons. The main reason is to give clients confidence. They know we are doing our best to make sure their ads perform at the top. Another reason is to offer professional digital marketing strategies to more of our clients. We do it right and take this marketing piece off their plates. Finally, for a personal reason, this is something I really want on my resume.

Q: What has been the most valuable part of ongoing education?

Tom: Keeping my brain sharp and keeping current in coding languages.
Noah: Just keeping my brain moving. It’s easy to become stagnant and dig yourself into a rut. Learning new things and refreshing my knowledge keeps my designing and development new and fresh each time.
Miranda: The most valuable part has been the confidence I’ve gained from having new skills. When I was younger, I did not put much value on education. Now I realize how much it affects a person’s overall self-worth.

Q: What surprised you about continuing education?

Tom: How easy it was to jump back into the classroom without feeling awkward about learning next to people half my age.
Noah: How much I enjoy it! It’s not boring, but very valuable.
Miranda: That I would enjoy it!

Q: What is your dream topic to learn about?

Tom: I’m open to all topics. I don’t necessarily have one that I have to learn about.
Noah: Shockingly enough – photography. I took a couple photography classes at NWTC, and I’m only a couple courses short of a Technical Certificate in Photography. It would go hand-in-hand with creating high resolution images for our websites.
Miranda: For websites, I would love to get into more of the front-end design side. In general, I’d love to study psychology. It would be interesting to see how to incorporate psychology into website development and design.

Instilling a Lifelong Love of Learning

Technology is every changing, and the Packerland Websites team is committed to staying up-to-date on the latest and greatest coming down the pike. For all students and staff heading back to school, enjoy your first day – and study hard all year! The Packerland Websites team hopes you develop a lifelong love of learning.

Expert Tips: Make Your Website Load Fast, Look Good, Be Secure

Packerland Websites designer Mike McGraw is constantly researching how to keep clients’ websites loading fast, looking good, and staying secure from hackers. Here, he explains how he achieves these goals and how clients can contribute on their own behalf.

How do I get my website to pop up quickly?

Today’s web users may not have the patience to wait for a slow-loading website to pop up. One study shows that viewers wait only 3 seconds for a website to open, then abandon the search. Increasing load speeds is a fun task to tackle because of its complexity. Lots of factors affect loading time, including internet speed, device, and cache.

Here’s what you can do to make a website load faster

The easiest way to make a website load faster is to size images properly. If you have a 5000 px wide image in a section that is only 2000 px wide, it doesn’t just look bad. Large images load more slowly, increasing the time it takes for a website to open. You can significantly reduce load times by resizing that image. Ask one of our team members for some guidance; we’re happy to answer your questions. Not sure how to resize an image?

How to resize a photo:

Use an image resizing website
Use Paint, a resizing tool available in Windows
Use Preview, a resizing tool available in Mac

How do I provide a better user experience for my audience?

I have been playing around with a ton of different methods/options to really give a website a better UX (User Experience). From simple color changes to really robust animations, the possibilities are endless. I pick up UX ideas and inspiration from seeing the work of other developers, but what helps me most is creating a project myself. I have more than 500 projects saved locally that I have not shared with the public. The best part of these projects is the funny features in them.

Here’s what you can do to provide a better UX

Review websites related to your industry to determine your likes and dislikes. Share your ideas with the Packerland Websites team. We can offer our expert advice.

How do I secure my website from hackers?

Hackers are always finding new ways to get into websites. My No. 1 priority when creating a website is to identify security issues before the hackers do. There are a ton of ways they can hack into a site. In response to these threats, our team does its best to lock out hackers while still giving clients a good editing experience. Security is important to us. That’s why we host websites on secure, HTTPS servers (Side Note: HTTPS also improves a website’s ranking on Google.) We also provide additional techie benefits like backups of your website and databases with 30-day retention. Lastly, we do other, boring stuff that just plain makes your website more functional.

Here’s what you can do to deter hackers

The primary way to fend off hackers is to create complex passwords.

Final thoughts from Mike

Mike McGraw

At the end of the day, I am grateful to Packerland Websites for letting me spend every day doing what I love. It has made this position not a job but a place where I can really turn my passion of coding into something more than just a normal, everyday hobby.

I hope you find some value in the ideas I shared. I look forward to learning more ways to keep your website loading fast, looking good, and staying secure. Contact our team for help you need to develop, maintain, and optimize your digital marketing strategies via websites and SEO.

What’s New? Chat Bot & Support Ticket

Working with Packerland Websites just got better. This month we rolled out two new customer relationship tools – a chat bot and an updated support ticket. The chat bot links you to a team member to answer your questions on the spot. The bot offers an easy way to communicate with us during business hours. (If nobody answers, leave a message and someone will respond later.) The other new tool, the updated support ticket, offers more assurances that we received your ticket and are working on your request.

Here’s how the support ticket works. Immediately after submitting a request, you will see a pop-up message that says: “Thank you, your support ticket has been sent.” The pop-up message is a new feature we added to give you peace of mind. The message confirms that your ticket is in our support system.

A follow-up email reconfirms that we received your support request. This email includes the details of your request, showing the issue to be resolved. This is another new feature. Once our team resolves your issue, you receive a confirmation email. This email announces that your support request has been addressed and completed.

Support tickets are resolved within three business days, and tickets take precedence over emailed requests. To access the support ticket, visit the Contact Us page on Packerland’s website and click the Submit a Support Ticket button.

Submit a support ticket

Find the support ticket on our Contact page, at the bottom of our website pages, and in our team members’ email signatures.

We value our relationship with you and continue to seek out new ways to respond to your needs. The chat bot and updated support system are designed with you in mind. The ongoing security, functionality and performance of your website is important to us. These new tools help us to offer the very best in customer service and website maintenance. Let us know how we can update your website to your liking.

5 Big Changes for Prize Winning, Upgraded Website

It feels good to lend a helping hand – just ask the thousands of volunteers in Brown County. Likewise, it feels good for Packerland Websites to lend a helping hand. To recognize the important work of nonprofit organizations, Packerland Websites gave away a free website in its Give Back to Nonprofits contest. The Volunteer Center of Brown County won the contest, and the center’s upgraded website is live.

Volunteer Center Impacts the Community

Volunteers are the heart of a community, and the Volunteer Center matches over 10,000 volunteers with Green Bay-area nonprofits every year. Talk about making a big impact in the Green Bay community! The Volunteer Center wanted an efficient, effective way to share information with volunteers and nonprofit partners. Mission accomplished!

Upgraded Website is Appealing & Effective

“The new website is not only aesthetically appealing but it allows for quicker response times and the ability for people to get the information they need in an efficient manner,” said Ruth Paquin, of the Volunteer Center.Ruth worked with Miranda Schlise-Gomez, one of Packerland Websites’ developers, to create a user-friendly website.

“Miranda was great to work with,” Ruth said. “She was knowledgeable, creative, and responsive to our needs. Our new website had a lot of components to integrate from our old site, and she formulated ways to do this efficiently.”

5 Big Changes for the Upgraded Website

Here’s a closer look at the Volunteer Center’s upgraded website.

Modern Look – Visually appealing pages invite visitors to browse and take action. To modernize the front page, Packerland Websites changed the small image rotator into an eye-catching full-screen image.
Well-Organized Pages – User-friendly site navigation helps visitors find what they need with ease. Packerland Websites streamlined site navigation in several ways. First, we removed nonessential pages from the website’s main navigation page. Next, we formatted the nonessential pages as posts. Finally, we categorized the posts to make them easy to find.
Faster Load Speed – A website that opens quickly serves as a welcome mat for visitors. Essentially, a quick-loading website says, “Come on in. We’re happy you’re here!” To ensure the website will load as fast as possible, Packerland Websites hosts the website on a fast, local server. Additionally, we optimized photos and streamlined site navigation for a quick upload.
Upgrade website to WordPress – WordPress is the platform of choice for Packerlands’ websites. Previously, the Volunteer Center had little control over site files and content on Wix. With WordPress, the center owns its site files. Files are readily available for backups, moves, and changes. After being trained by the Packerland Websites staff, the Volunteer Center has the know-how and freedom to shape its website.
Improve Brand Presence by Blogging – The Volunteer Center uses its blog to tell its story, thereby branding and advertising its organization. Blog articles are shared on the organization’s social networks, and the links lead back to the upgraded website. This increases website traffic. As a result, more people will know about the Volunteer Center and how it helps the community.

Creative Way to Promote Volunteerism

“Being a small nonprofit, we understand the need for effective branding and awareness,” Ruth said. “Packerland Websites has been instrumental in providing us a creative and visually appealing outlet to assist our partners.”

Packerland Websites’ owner Bill Koehne said the upgraded website has far-reaching impact. Because the Volunteer Center works with 180 nonprofits, the new website creates a ripple effect.

“We’re not just helping a single nonprofit organization but also a community of nonprofits. That’s exciting for us,” Bill said.

Re-Zoom Your Brand

Some of us only have one or two monitors. Here’s Bill’s desk. Four monitors!

As the COVID-19 pandemic shifts work online, Zoom and other video conferencing platforms are becoming the new office. Social Distancing and Safer at Home policies are changing our work practices. Video conferences and online chats have become the go-to communication choice.

Communicating at a distance

Packerland Websites recently adopted Zoom as its communications platform to connect with co-workers and clients. Zoom is one of the few companies on the stock market that is increasing in value. Shares nearly doubled since the beginning of the year. That gives you an idea of how popular it’s become.

A great way to use Zoom is to build it into your website versus an email invite. As a result, Zoom becomes more than just a way to communicate. Additionally, you’re branding your business. Today, customers are less likely to visit you in person and more likely to participate in an online conference. What is the best way to retain brand identity and client experience at a virtual meeting?

Virtual Conferences Via Your Website

Scroll to the bottom of the Home page to view Conference Room 1-4

Reinforce your brand

Here’s what we did at Packerland Websites. In the footer of our website, we created buttons for Zoom Conference Rooms 1, 2, and 3. The conference rooms are interior pages of our website with simple instructions explaining how to connect with us. Clients meet with us virtually via the Zoom app or their browser.

We reinforce our brand by bringing customers to our website for a virtual visit. Clients are ushered into a conference room, similar to how they would enter a conference room at our office. Clients feel like they’re visiting our company and, in the process, become more familiar with our brand. Integrating Zoom into our website allows us to connect with clients and co-workers. Additionally, we’re reinforcing Packerland Websites’ brand presence by drawing clients into our world – through our website.

Strengthen your online presence

Integrating Zoom into our website allows us to connect with clients and co-workers. Additionally, we’re reinforcing Packerland Websites’ brand presence by drawing clients into our world – through our website. The COVID-19 pandemic has created obstacles and opportunities for businesses. Considering today’s Social Distancing and Safer at Home policies, now is the time to strengthen your online presence.

Interested in integrating an online communications platform into your website? One that reinforces your brand? We can help. Contact us for details.

Why Social Distancing is Bad – Seriously

My husband, Bill, the owner of Packerland Websites, never liked the term Social Distancing. He thinks it should be called physical distancing instead. As an outgoing extrovert, he doesn’t like the thought of being distant from anyone. Here’s his suggestion: Change social distancing to socializing at a distance.

Worried about the Coronavirus?

Life is far from normal, and everyone is affected by the Coronavirus in some way. Additionally, we are dealing with a lot of uncertainty. Not only are we worried about catching COVID-19, we’re also concerned about job loss, personal finances, the economy, the future… That’s a lot to handle alone, but it’s easier to deal with these worries when family and friends support you.

Stay Social

Bill’s advice is to stay social. Connect with family and friends with a phone call, text, Facebook Messenger or Portal, Snapchat, online games, etc. In your social circle, include grandparents, neighbors, and others who might need a friend. By sharing a conversation and a laugh, you reduce the risk of isolation, boredom, and loneliness.

Working Remotely, Yet Still Connected

We’re following the rules and physically distancing ourselves from others. For example, members of the Packerland Websites’ team are working from home. While we’re physically distant we’re also making an effort to stay connected. Currently, Bill is in an online video conference with Packerland Websites’ employees.

Social Distance as a Family

Our son, Will, is an epidemiologist (How many parents can say that?) and is part of the City of Philadelphia’s response to the Coronavirus. He says it’s an exciting but stressful time to work in public health. He answers a lot of questions from the public and has been our expert on COVID-19. Will joined our family’s video chat on Friday night and suggested we chat more often. We all liked the idea.

Stay Connected

In many ways we can work and socialize at a physical distance yet stay connected. Maintaining social relationships contributes to a positive attitude during these challenging times. So, make someone’s day by sending a letter or sharing a story, photo, joke, or words of encouragement. Be social!

Coronavirus = Business as Unusual

Man participates in video conference due to Coronavirus lockdown

At Packerland Websites, we received calls and emails from churches, restaurants, and businesses asking us to add notices to their websites due to the Coronavirus. We understand the storm of activity and challenges the Coronavirus creates for business owners.

During this time of crisis, having an effective website working for you 24/7 can help you stay in business. Packerland Websites will give the highest priority to website clients requesting changes due to the Coronavirus outbreak. Additionally, we are currently waiving any fees for basic Coronavirus notices posted to customer websites. Send your requests via the Packerland Websites’ Support Ticket page.

Conduct a Website Review

In this new era of social distancing due to the Coronavirus, websites are more important than ever. Customers are going to visit your business in person less often. Instead, they’re more likely to gather information via the internet. That’s why we encourage you to do a website review.

Does your website effectively:

Tell your story
Display and communicate your brand
Provide details about your products and services
Offer a user-friendly experience that motivates
the audience to respond
Contain up-to-date and accurate information that
relates to your audience

Do you need help rewording (contact Writer to the Rescue ) or adding pages (Contact Packerland Websites)?

Sell Your Products Online

Have you considered adding a store so clients can purchase products online? An online store built by Packerland Websites is:

User-friendly
Mobile responsive
Ready in a matter of days
Extra secure
Easy to manage and maintain

These online stores offer inventory management services and can calculate shipping costs and sales tax. Multiple delivery options are available. You can ship products to customers and/or offer pick-up or delivery services.

Coronavirus Precautions

What other changes might you want to consider on your website? Let your customers know that your business is open. Let them know of any precautions you’re taking to reduce the spread of the coronavirus. Reassure customers that it’s safe to do business with you.

Here’s an example. At Packerland Websites, we offer a screen-sharing option as an alternative to face-to-face meetings. Our website developers can be miles away from clients and still conduct trainings, website reviews, and more.

Contact Us

To learn more about how to respond to the Coronavirus outbreak via your website, contact Bill at Packerland Websites, Bill@PackerlandWebsites.com or 920-826-5601.

How long until my website ranks?

I often get asked the question: How long does it take for my website to rank on a search result page? What the client really wants to know is, When will I begin seeing results? Unfortunately, there’s no solid answer. According to Google, it takes roughly three to six months, but the time depends on a number of factors. Ask yourself these questions:

How long has my website existed ?
What is the quality of the content?
Am I using Search Engine Optimization techniques?

Search Engine Optimization, abbreviated SEO, is a way to rank higher on a Google search or another search engine list. It all boils down to three factors: onsite SEO, offsite SEO, and the website’s relationship with Google.

On-site SEO

On-page SEO refers to the writing and images on a website’s pages, plus descriptions and tags added by the designer. If you have a business page, consider using specific keywords that are associated with your industry and location. Visitors surfing the Web will locate your website more easily.

Off-site SEO

Off-site SEO refers to indicators outside your website that affect your ranking. A backlink is one example. Backlinks provide an online path for visitors to find your webpage. When you publish an article, video, or company update on your site, consider ways to cross-promote. For example, post the URL on Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn. The audience can follow the link to your webpage. Backlinks represent a vote of confidence. One site affirms it’s worthwhile to link to content from another site. This positively affects a site’s ranking position on search engine result pages.

Be Google Friendly

I like to tell people to make friends with Google. We can help you (or you can) create a business profile in Google My Business and appear on a Google Map. Verify your business name, address, and phone number to educate Google and other search engines about your products, services, and location. Your website educates a human audience about the benefits of working with you. Additionally, it educates Google and other search engines to attract visitors to your website.

Contact Us

To learn more about ranking, design, and SEO services available through Packerland Websites, email Bill@PakerlandWebsites or call 920-826-5601

SEO Strategies That Work

SEO Search Engine Optimization Strategies

Have you thought about your website lately? Too many people build a website and forget about it. As a result, they’re not achieving their top marketing goals. Consider this: A well-developed website is the only marketing tool working 24/7. Additionally, a website is often the first impression for potential customers. Therefore, it’s smart to make your website work more effectively.

If you’re a Packerland Websites client, you already have a great website. Your website is attractive, mobile responsive, and secure. Now it’s time to put your website to work. How can you help your website rank higher organically in searches? The answer is SEO, Search Engine Optimization. SEO strategies make some business owners’ eyes glaze over, so we’ll get to the point.

Value of Search Engine Optimization

Rank higher on Google searches
Get found online easier
Attract more visitors to your website
Convert more leads

On-site SEO Strategies

Essentially, SEO makes your website perform better. Consider the two types of SEO: on-site and off-site. If Packerland Websites built your website, the onsite SEO is already in great shape. We build websites with SEO-focused content, navigation, and design elements. Next, we add site maps and META tags to describe the website to search engines. In contrast to on-site SEO strategies, off-site SEO strategies affect how the Internet views the “health” of your website.

Off-site SEO Strategies

Off-site SEO is affected by:

Consistent, accurate listings of your business across the Internet
Incoming links from directory listings to your business
Directory listings that are owner-verified
Photos, keywords, and descriptions included in directory listings
Increasing and monitoring reviews in directory listings, including Facebook and Google
Google Maps, YouTube videos, and expanded content writing

Internet Health Check-up

So, how well is your website working for you? How healthy is your Internet presence? Check out our free online business scanner to see how your business appears on over 50 primary directories on the Internet. Then, take the next step and call Bill at 920-826-5601 for a free SEO consultation. Above all, Packerland Websites is an SEO specialist you can trust. We’ll help you develop the successful SEO strategies you need to rank higher in Google searches and get found online.