How to Build a Non-Profit Website (Its Cheaper Than You Might Think)

Nonprofits succeed or fail on the strength of their ability to communicate their message and build an audience. Creating a non-profit website plays a key role in helping your organization achieve both of those goals.Building a website is a great way to get the word out about your nonprofit. You can use it to share information and updates, make a persuasive argument, and convince people to get involved. And with the right approach, it will cost a lot less than you might think.If you’re new to the idea of running your own site, don’t worry. In this guide we’ll share everything you need to know to get your non-profit website off the ground. Let’s jump right in! The way you set up and run your non-profit website will obviously be unique, based on your niche, goals, and resources. However, as you begin to plan out your site, there are a few things you’ll definitely want to include.A strong non-profit website should have (at a minimum):A mission statement , telling visitors what you’re all about.Plenty of details on what you do and why it matters.A blog or news section, to keep people apprised of the most recent updates and successes.Contact information, so interested parties can get in touch.Headshots and bios for your organizations key members, staff, or partners.Compelling imagery, incorporated throughout your site.A way to accept donations, if you solicit donations from the public.A Call To Action (CTA) prompting visitors to sign up for an email list, volunteer, donate, or do whatever matters most to your organization.This may seem like a lot, but putting together a site encompassing all of these elements isnt difficult. All you need are the right set of tools, along with a little time and patience.How to build a non-profit website (in 6 easy steps)As a non-profit organization, you likely don’t have a lot of time and money to spare. All the same, you want a website that’s attractive, functional, and easy to u se. The following six steps will take you through the process of creating this type of site quickly and cheaply.1. Choose a platform for your non-profit websiteThe first thing you need to do is select a platform to build your website with. There are many choices, but they largely fall into three camps. You can develop a website from scratch, sign up for a website builder, or use a Content Management System (CMS).Unless you happen to have some talented developers already on board, creating a site from nothing is usually costly and time-intensive. Website builders, on the other hand, and cheap and simple to use. However, they don’t offer much flexibility, nor do they give you much control over your site.A CMS is the perfect middle ground. This type of platform is typically open-source, which means you can download the software and use it to build your non-profit website for free. What’s more, a quality CMS will provide an easy-to-use interface that lets you customize you r site without any technical know-how.For a non-profit site, we’d highly recommend WordPress:This CMS is beginner-friendly and has a large community willing to help whenever you run into difficulties. Most importantly for your non-profit website, it’s free and won’t require you to hire a developer.2. Purchase a hosting plan and domain nameWordPress may be free to use, but building your non-profit website involves a few small costs. You’ll need to register a domain name and select a hosting plan.The domain name is your site’s primary URL (i.e., mynonprofitsite.org). When deciding on a domain name, youre best off naming the site after your organization, or using a short, catchy phrase that summarizes your mission, as in saveourlibraries.org.You’ll also need to choose a Top Level Domain (TLD), such as  .com or .net. We’d highly recommend using .org, as people are still more likely to trust non-profit organizations using this TLD. If yo ur budget allows, however, you may also want to purchase the .com version of your domain name and redirect it to your site.In order to get your site online, you’ll also need to sign up for a hosting plan, which is the engine that powers your site and makes it available to other people Bluehost is a good option when youre just getting started. Another benefit of Bluehost is that it gives you a free domain name, which you can choose during the signup process.Bluehost will also help install WordPress for you, which means that you can get started customizing your website right away.3. Pick out a theme to style your siteBy this point, you should have a basic WordPress site up and running. Now, youll want to give it a design that showcases your non-profits mission. Fortunately, this is a task you can fast track by choosing the right WordPress theme.In a nutshell, your sites theme  controls how your site looks and is visually structured. This means that even if you’re not a designer, you can select the style and appearance you want.What’s more, there are a lot of themes designed specifically for non-profit sites. This means the style, layout, and elements are customized to match the needs of organizations like yours. Some even come with multiple templates or demo pages, each designed to match a particular type of non-profit organization.You can choose from many free options in the WordPress Theme Directory, merely by searching for themes with the keyword â€Å"non profit† (or â€Å"nonprofit†):If you have the budget, you may also want to check out some premium non-profit themes  as theyre often a little more flexible. General business themes often work well, too.4. Build your site’s basic pagesOnce you’ve installed your chosen theme, you’ll want to take some time to customize it. This means adding your own imagery and branding, as well as tweaking the style and design to fit your organization. How you do th is will vary by theme, but the best place to start is by visiting the WordPress Customizer via your sites dashboard:Next, youll want to create the basic pages that will make up your website. Building a page in WordPress is straightforward, and your theme will probably give you plenty of demo content to work with. At a minimum, you’ll want to include the following pages:A home page that lets visitors know what your organization is all about (preferably with a strong mission statement and lots of visuals).An easy-to-find contact page, with multiple ways to get in touch.One or more pages providing information about what your organization does and why it matters.An archive page to host your blog or news updates.A page featuring your organization’s key members or partners, with headshots and bios if possible.Of course, don’t forget to add in that vital CTA. This could be a donate button, a newsletter sign-up form, or a volunteer application. Just make sure it’ s prominently placed and stands out from the rest of your site.If you want a little bit more flexibility over how your pages look, a WordPress page builder plugin will let you design your pages using a visual, drag-and-drop editor.5. Consider a donation pluginWe mentioned that word plugin above. Whereas themes change how your site looks, plugins help you add functionality to your site.You can find plugins for all sorts of things, but one of the most helpful for a non-profit site is a donation plugin. These plugins will help you accept donations and run fundraising campaigns. Beyond that, they will also help you manage donors, including an easy-to-access database, as well as the ability to generate the tax forms donors need.One of the most popular donation plugins is the GiveWP plugin: GiveWP Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform Author(s): GiveWPCurrent Version: 2.5.9Last Updated: October 15, 2019give.2.5.9.zip 96%Ratings 1,315,902Downloads WP 4.8+Requires If youd like t o learn more, we have an entire post on how to accept donations on WordPress.6. Optimize your site for search enginesLast but not least, youll need to consider how people will find your non-profit website. Primarily,  this will happen through search engines, which means carrying out some  Search Engine Optimization (SEO).This is essentially a collection of techniques to help your site rank highly in search engines. What’s worth noting is that for a non-profit website (particularly for a smaller, locally-based operation), ‘local SEO’ will likely play a significant role. This involves optimizing your site to show up in searches by people who are physically nearby.To get started with optimizing your site, we’d recommend first installing the free Yoast SEO plugin on your site, and learning how to use it: Yoast SEO Author(s): Team YoastCurrent Version: 12.3Last Updated: October 15, 2019wordpress-seo.12.3.zip 98%Ratings 200,063,756Downloads WP 4.9+Re quires This simple, yet powerful tool will help you cover the basics of solid SEO. In addition, its developers also offer a comprehensive series of articles on local SEO, with plenty of practical advice.While SEO can be a complicated subject, you dont need to be a master to benefit from it, and even learning just the basics will pay big dividends for your organization.ConclusionFor many nonprofits, success depends largely on their ability to attract attention and build a following online. Your non-profit website will play a key role in that process, serving to both inform your audience and encourage them to take action.Putting together a non-profit website that’s both stylish and functional is surprisingly easy. You’ll just need to:Choose a platform for your non-profit website.Purchase a hosting plan and domain name.Pick out a theme to style your site.Build your site’s basic pages.Consider whether you need a donation plugin.Optimize your site for search engines. Do you have any questions about how to build your non-profit website? Ask away in the comments section below! * This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links and then purchase the product, well receive a small fee. No worries though, youll still pay the standard amount so theres no cost on your part.

CELTA Language Task Essays

CELTA Language Task Essays CELTA Language Task Essay CELTA Language Task Essay I have chosen an authentic article, for it gives students taste of real language in use, and provides them with valid linguistic data for their unconscious acquisition (Swan 1 985, p. 85). Furthermore, an authentic text provides learners with opportunities to experience language as it is used beyond the classroom (Nana 1999, p. 80) as opposed to scripted texts. Thus, an authentic text proves to be more essential to LET for it should engage and challenge students at this level. Believe there are no words that are crucial to an overall understanding of the article. Ere with Harmer (2001 , p. 272) with reference to pre-teaching: by giving them some or all those words, we deny them a chance to practice tackling authentic texts. Nonetheless, I would elicit some lexis to make sure the students have understood the text and managed to guess the meaning from the context. This however would be done ATA later stage of the lesson. Lead in/prediction: At the beginning of a typical English languag e lesson it is good to lead-in by activating the students schema, which is their pre-existent knowledge of the world (Cook, 69, 1989). By encouraging students to use what they already now, the opportunity for language learning is maximized. I would begin by displaying the main picture and the heading of the article, then ask the class to work in pairs. The students would be asked to predict what the topic of the newspaper article is (Appendix 1. 0). This is a very student centered activity which creates interest in the content of the text and activates schemata. Once the discussions quiet down, class feedback would be gathered. To ensure the students read for gist in the next activity, would only flag up three predictions on the board for the students to verify. This stage will leave the dents with a good reason to read (Harmer, p. 288). Skimming (Reading for gist): would ask the students to skim read the article (Appendix 2. 0) and ask them to discuss in pairs whether the predictions they made earlier were correct or not before doing a class discussion. However, to ensure that students gist read only I would give learners 3 minutes, so that they do not read the article intensively. This task is used to develop the students sub-skill Of reading for gist, or skimming (Scrivener, p. 185). Also to make students better readers, it is important to raise awareness that its not always essential to understand very word, as this could cause students to use their dictionaries and pause from reading (Scrivener, p. 153). Reading for further detail (Intensive reading In order to develop the sub skill of reading for further detail, set a series of true/false questions (Appendix 3. 0). The activity will test whether the student! Gained maximum information from the text (Harmer, p. 70). The true and false activities can fall both into reading for specific information and reading for detail, therefore it is very important to formulate appropriate questions, which will require the learner to read to find further detail as opposed to pacific piece of information. In order to have the students focus, they would work on their own, underlining the excerpts of text where they found an swers. Once done with reading and answering true/false statements, the students peer check and discuss their answers among themselves, referring to the highlighted text. Bellyacher quoted in (Alison, peg. 102) states that if there is a climate of trust and support in the classroom, then the students ARP more likely to contribute. One way of developing this is to allow pair checking of answers before open-class checking answers, the students will then be ore likely to contribute during the open class discussion. This promotes communicative language teaching. Furthermore, this would give me an opportunity to monitor student discussions. Once the conversation naturally quiets down I would gather whole class feedback. Nominating a student and also asking them to expand on their reasoning, as well as asking further questions or even getting their personal views. This is an important stage of the lesson, as Scrivener points out a lesson without feedback is teaching dhal proceeds forward without reference to what impact this is having on the g. 73). This is to show their engagement with the text, as opposed to simply answering true/false statements. This could be done with some follow up questions, as Harmer (2007, peg. 75) says, we should always ask the students where in the text they have found the answer, as it provoke a detailed study of the text. Post-reading free discussion The last activity is a free discussion, which would allow me to monitor further for any errors in meaning, form or pronunciation (MAP) while the students discuss their own opinions on these inventions in groups of four. Would first vie an example in the form of my own opinion to present the language in context and encourage students to express their thoughts on the topic. The purpose of the post reading task is to allow the students to utilize the studied vocabulary. I would then gather feedback from the class, nominating group members to summaries what their team has discussed, whether they agree with the creators or not. Having the chance to monitor two major discussion in the class, should at this stage have gathered some errors that the students have made, either with meaning, form or pronunciation. I have left his to the end, as interrupting student discussions to correct an error could be embarrassing, and would disrupt the flow of the lesson. Whereas, towards the end of the lesson it is easy to grab class attention and go through some of the errors together, eliciting the correct MAP from the students, in order to give them a chance to correct their mistakes and fossil the correct form. Reading like listening are receptive language skills and developing these skill: is key to increasing student comprehension and appreciation of the English language. Thus, a well-structured lesson which follows the SEA (Engage, stucco ND activate) stages is essential to the learners development.

Analyze the physiological and psychological reactions to stress Essay

Analyze the physiological and psychological reactions to stress - Essay Example No matter what the intensity of stress, its victim reacts to it physically and emotionally. This paper is going to elaborate: Physiological reactions to stress include high blood pressure, gastrointestinal problems, fluctuations in the chemical composition of body fluids, insomnia, addiction to smoking or alcoholism, and other illnesses. Individuals are apt to show different levels of these physiological responses to a particular stressor (Koslowsky, 1998, p. 90). When an individual is undergoing a stressor, such as, being jammed up in traffic when an exam is going to start in a few minutes, an increased heart rate occurs as a stress-response due to the discharge of certain hormones, like adrenaline and cortisol, into the blood. The individual’s respiratory system takes in extra oxygen. Blood gets thickened and is directed more toward imperative muscles which become tightened in preparation for some unexpected action. When the individual comes out of the stressor, heart rate reduces allowing blood to come to its normal constitution and hormone level gets down to normal. All of these physiological stress-reactions are not independent. These depend on psychological responses, that is, orders given by the nervous system or the sensors of the body. When an individual senses that he is in stress, his brain sends orders through neurons or nerve cells to different parts of the body which brings about changes in the physiology. The individual jammed in traffic senses that he is in great stress, his nervous system accepts these signals and passes them over to the neurons which make the body function accordingly. He tends to be irritable and there is an intense startling response. Another psychological reaction is suffering through nightmares and repeated thoughts or flashbacks about the stressor. Under a stressor like the death of a relative, the psychological responses may include getting shocked,