“We are very happy – yesterday we received our first new donor of € 1,000 annually! Already a success 😉 .” A day after the release of their new website, Kirstin Poot, head of Marketing Communication and Fundraising at the Zuid-Hollands Landschap, sends an enthusiastic email to the us media team. The ZHL website is the first of a series of ’landscape websites’ that us media is designing and building this year, based on the NGO suite.
great step forward
Kirstin cannot confirm whether the new donor actually made his generous donation due to the new design or the user-friendliness of the brand new site. “I think it was more of a funny coincidence, but I thought it was nice to report it anyway,” she laughs. “The team at us media has taken us a great step forward, there’s no doubt about that. The new site has greatly enhanced our ability to engage and serve our visitors, so I’d like to give the team full credit for that .”
The team at us media has taken us a great step forward, there’s no doubt about that
working together
After a tender process, ZHL chose us media as technology partner for the new website in the summer of 2021. Colleague organizations Geldersch Landschap en Kasteelen (GLK) and Utrechts Landschap (UL) followed soon after, and when Flevo-landschap was due for renewal, Flevoland also opted for cooperation with us media. Kirstin: “We operate as independent organizations in different provinces, but it certainly benefits us to work together for our websites. Just think of the development of certain functionalities that we all use, such as the offer of cycling and walking routes and registration for excursions.”
always up-to-date
According to Kirstin, when ZHL chose a new online partner, it was the possibility to benefit from the ngo-suite - the scalable forms and fundraising platform from us media - the deciding factor. “For us, this is the way to make the most of the power of collaboration," says Kirstin. “There is knowledge exchange and improvements in the NGO suite are immediately implemented for all users, so we are always up-to-date in terms of technology.”
flexibility and control
Other important advantages, as far as Kirstin is concerned, are the flexibility and control that the platform offers. “In recent years, we have also seen a clear shift to online in the charity sector, the number of donations we receive via the website has grown exponentially. That makes it extremely important for us to be able to handle web content flexibly, to create forms and launch our own campaigns. A few months after the launch of the site, that goal certainly seems to have been achieved. “I do regular check-ins within the organization and always find a happy online marketer and webmaster - they find it very pleasant to work with the new site.”
In recent years, we have also seen a clear shift to online in the charity sector, the number of donations we receive via the website has grown exponentially
atypical charity
us media developed the NGO suite specifically to help non-profit organizations take advantage of all digital opportunities to achieve their goals; whether they are committed to human rights, poverty reduction, aid and education for vulnerable children, or nature conservation. “As nature organizations, the Landscapes also belong to the charity clubs, but we are a bit atypical,” says Kirstin. “In addition to donations, there are also transactions, so two-way traffic. I often call it our ‘VVV section’: walking and cycling routes, excursions and overnight stays that you can book and buy online.” The Landscapes websites therefore require functionalities that (most) other NGO suite users do not need, such as a calendar, ticketing system and route maps. “us media had to develop an interactive map with walking routes especially for us, which was quite a job,” says Kirstin. “But because GLK and UL also required such functionality, we were able to divide the development hours and with that it became feasible.”
choices
The three landscape organizations have also examined and considered the possibilities for ticketing excursions. Kirstin: “It’s just really nice to be able to talkwith people from a club that works with the same proposition and in the same market, but is not a competitor. “We’re thinking about this tool, how do you feel about it? or are we using an existing plug-in?’ us media advised and helped us every step of the way. Together we sorted everything out, listed the pluses and minuses and ultimately made choices that we fully support.”
us media advised and helped us every step of the way
it’s possible!
More flexibility, more control and more cooperation: the new website has already succeeded. More nature is the next step, because that is very much needed in crowded South Holland, according to the new ZHL campaign More Nature? It’s possible! Kirstin Poot is optimistic. “The new website offers so many possibilities to bind donors to us; that will certainly not be the problem.”
Utrechts Landschap: confidence in our collaboration
Floor Hufner, head of Public & Relations at the Utrecht Landscape, also says that he is very happy with the new website. “We get a lot of reactions from people who think the site is very beautiful and user-friendly. That’s great to hear, and even nicer is that it also works so much better for us from an internal point of view. A connection has now been made with the CRM, which means that we can, for example, set up fundraising in a very targeted and automated way. Communicating a different message for each target group has now become very simple, which is important to us.”
pressure cooker
A multidisciplinary team from us media worked on the new online platform of the Utrecht Landscape. “It was a very pleasant collaboration. The team remained focused and critical of their own work at all times, even when we exerted quite a bit of pressure to meet the deadline. We were in a pressure cooker together and it was nice to notice that us media could join in. We do not have developers and technical knowledge in-house, but due to the explanation of the developers of us media and the pleasant communication with Casper, I always had the confidence that they understood what we needed and where the priorities were.”
Geldersch landschap & kasteelen: collaboration between landscapes has many advantages
“It had great added value for us that us media often works for charitable organizations,” says Ellen Hendix, head of marketing, communication and fundraising at Geldersch Landschap en Kasteelen. “Our core processes hardly needed any explanation. The importance and use of fundraising forms, how that relates to your database, the way we want to use storytelling - at us media they immediately understood this. Moreover, all that knowledge and experience is contained in the NGO suite, so we are happy to make use of it. I always find it a plus when a supplier facilitates knowledge sharing between customers and relations, and when what has worked for one customer is also available for other customers. If it makes you stronger together, that has many advantages.”
control
“A new website like this takes a lot of work…. We had to deal with different user- and target groups, complex technology, design aspects, hosting issues, photo tools, linking to a CRM system… A complicated process. It was reassuring to us that it was managed very well by us media. There was a constant feel of control on the process. Even now that we have entered the management phase, it feels like a real partnership.”