Doing It Right! United Way of the Concho Valley (San Angelo, Texas)
Almost every United Way’s Web site includes a staff or contact us page. Traditionally, this page includes a list of staff members, sometimes with pictures, and normally with some type of contact information. One United Way that has a friendly, inviting, and welcoming staff page is United Way of the Concho Valley (San Angelo, Texas.)
On the contact us page of their Web site, United Way of the Concho Valley welcomes the viewer with a listing of staff, pictures, contact information, basic background information, and responsibilities. Headlined with “Dedicated Leaders Delivering Program Results,” their contact us page also includes their physical and mailing addresses.
What are they doing right?
First, they have all of the contact information necessary to reach their staff. Put yourself in the shoes of someone visiting your Web site and ask yourself why someone would visit your staff or contact us page? The primary reason is that they have a question or need information and they are trying to figure out who to contact. There are many United Ways that do not list any contact information for their staff. United Way of the Concho Valley makes it easy for someone to contact their staff with a telephone number and extension, as well as an e-mail address. If your United Way does not list your telephone number or e-mail address, you are sending a message to the viewer that you do not want to be bothered. United Way of the Concho Valley does exactly the opposite – they are saying welcome.
Second, they have pictures of their staff. Our research has found that donors are much more trusting when they can see a picture of the people responsible for managing their contribution. United Way of the Concho Valley is not a faceless bureaucracy, they are an organization of five people dedicated to delivering program results. United Ways that do not provide pictures of their staff appear no differently to donors than large bureaucracies like their bank, cable company, or utility company.
Third, by listing their responsibilities, it is easier for donors to figure out who to contact, in order to get the answers or information donors are seeking. For example, if you have questions about the Hope for the Holiday Program, then you contact Carol Harrison because her responsibilities are “oversight of the Front Runner Campaign, Emergency Food and Shelter Program and the Hope for the Holiday Program.” Most United Way staff have titles that are clear as mud to someone outside the organization, so just listing titles like “Community Impact Director” or “Resource Development Associate” does not make things easy for donors.
Staff or contact us pages exist to provide your Web site visitors with the information they need to contact your United Way. United Way of the Concho Valley has all of the information any Web site visitor or donor would need to contact the appropriate person and get the answers or information they need. They even go above and beyond and welcome the Web site visitor or donor with their pictures and responsibilities. The next time you need to update your staff or contact us page, consider how United Way of the Concho Valley has made their contact us page truly useful and welcoming to their Web site visitors and donors. United Way of the Concho Valley, you are Doing It Right!
