Nonprofit Websites Earn Webby Awards

The Webby Awards, presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, are a lot of fun. The award is the website equivalent of the Tony for theater and the Oscar for film. Three nonprofits that won 2008 awards last week caught my eye as great examples for all of us in the nonprofit world to study.

The first is directed at the youth market and addresses relationship abuse among teens. It is love is respect.org. This site is totally interactive and highly visual. Highlights include video, a "teen dating bill of rights," live chat, a toolkit for activism, and a peer-run abuse helpline. The site is very web 2.0.

The second nonprofit site is Katrina, An Unnatural Disaster. This organization and website is out to never let us forget that the Katrina disaster continues and will for the foreseeable future; and how it represents fundamental problems in our society around the issues of poverty, racism and government shortcomings. With moving photos, videos, and featured stories, the site aims to keep us from lapsing into apathy until the next "unnatural" disaster occurs.

Invisible Children.com is also clearly youth-directed, and is the "edgiest" and visually creative of the websites. It is the moving story of the plight of children in areas where armed conflict and injustice rage. It was started by three young filmmakers who created a documentary about the child soldiers of northern Uganda. The making of the film spurred these social entrepreneurs into setting up a nonprofit to combat such inhumane practices. The website is video- and photo-intense and uses stories and images to move viewers to action.

A lesson that emerges when looking at these websites is how much the designs are influenced by the target audience as well as the gifts of those who created the organizations they represent. The first is for and about teenagers and has a very social web feel and look. The second is directed at a more general audience but is influenced in its gritty design by the nature of its subject matter: racial inequality. The third is the product of young people interested in global issues and skilled in the visual arts. They seek like-minded young people who appreciate the cutting edge nature of their endeavor and how they present it.

What does your website say about your organization? About your audience? About your mission?

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