As part of their journey to Tier One status, the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) launched a capital campaign. To support the campaign, the University's Development team wanted an online presence that could serve two purposes: first, to be utilized as a talking point during meetings with potential donors and second, to act as an information hub to keep the public informed of the campaign's progress.
Challenge
How can the University have a website that both informs the public about the progress of the capital campaign while also providing visuals and talking points for development officers who are soliciting donations?
RESEARCH
How can we provide development officers with information that is always current?
I interviewed several development officers and UTSA's vice president of development to determine what type of information they need when they are meeting with donors. During the development stage, we solicited input from several donors to determine if they found any value in the information being provided. I also asked if the design helped create an emotional connection to the university, and encouraged donations.
In total: 7 Interviews + 8 Survey Responses
KEY INSIGHTS
01 High demand for up-to-date information
02 Need for easily edited figures
03 Desire for intuitive navigation
04 Need version with large content for iPad
INFORMATION
"Would love to have access to information that is always up-to-date so I can showcase our progress to donors."
CECE, DEVELOPMENT OFFICER
NAVIGATION
"Sometimes even I get nervous when I'm meeting with high dollar donors. I need easy navigation that is intuitive so there is less of a chance for me to make a mistake and end up on the wrong page."
SEAN, DEVELOPMENT OFFICER
AESTHETIC
"I love the design of the screen on the iPad. It would be great if the images and information were larger so everything was easy to read when I'm meeting with a representative from the university."
JESSICA, DONOR
Who are we talking to?
Because the demographics of potential site visitors was so vast (current and potential students, faculty, staff, donors, government officials, and the general public), my team and I determined that we would initially begin by communicating with faculty, staff, and donors then expand communications as needed. We designed and produced a brand-compliant, visually pleasing layout that provided information in a way that would appeal to those three groups of users.
Solution
I led the University's creative and web teams during the ideation, design, and production of the site. The site's design was visually supported by elements of the University's brand standards that we developed concurrently with this assignment.
Keeping the campaign's fundraising accomplishments up-to-date was very important. To ensure donation numbers were always accurately depicted, we developed a process that the University's web team could utilize to update the dollar amounts on a weekly basis and provide visitors with the most up-to-date information possible.
Results
The site was well-received by UTSA's development officers, as well as, current and potential donors. When all was said and done, the original $150-million capital campaign goal was met earlier than expected. The campaign ended with a total of $180-million being committed to the University.
www: giving.utsa.edu
← prev
next →