Launched SigmaLambdaGamma.com

Last week Atlas Bay and Kalidoscopio launched the new SigmaLambdaGamma.com. Sigma Lambda Gamma is the largest, historically Latina-based national sorority with a multicultural membership in chapters and alumnae associations throughout the United States. The new website enables headquarters staff to more easily communicate with the public and their 3,000 members all over the world. SigmaLambdaGamma.com is built on modern communication and collaboration tools to provided a unique and useful experience for the user.

At the core, this website is built on the WordPress software. WordPress is the most widely used online blogging and content management solution today. WordPress enabled the developers and designers to more quickly and efficiently deploy a quality and reliable product for our client without expensive and lengthy custom software development.

One of the key elements to the new SLG website is the integration with social networking. Users can now share information obtained from the website quickly and easily on their favorite social networking site. Additionally, Atlas Bay has integrated this website with the new Facebook Connect tools to enable website users to easily login and comment on posts.

One of the main pain points with the old website for the headquarters staff at SLG was keeping the website up to date. The old website required headquarters staff to utilize complicated website editing tools and perform manual HTML edits. This method proved to be difficult and the website quickly became outdated.

The new solution allows anyone with basic word processing skills to upload new content, add photos, or add videos in only a few easy steps. Additionally, the new website platform enables more people to participate in editing the website because of the customizable levels of permission. Website administrators can now assign other users limited permission to perform edits or publish new content without risk of unauthorized edits.

While building this website, Sigma Lambda Gamma also decided they would like a complete branding makeover. Through collaboration with Kalidoscopio, Atlas Bay was able to provide SLG with new color schemes and logos to improve and modernize their brand. These new logos and colors are now available for the entire organization to unify the look off all official documents. The new logo will now appear on everything from press releases to clothing and will ensure the brand is always presented consistently all around the country.

Billco Pics by Lacey Haslam

One of the things that most excites me about AtlasBay is the opportunity to approach my favorite businesses with the tools and knowledge to help them communicate with their clients. Last year we were on track to build a website for Billco’s Bar and Billiard’s in Napa. Unfortunately, as the economy started crumbling, Billco’s cancelled their plans for their site. Fortunately, by that point we had already been able to get Lacey Haslam into the bar and capture some great pictures. I figure we might as well post the pictures to show off how well Lacey was able to capture the subtleties that make Billco’s a local favorite.

Non-Profit Marketing and Branding

Like most industries these days budget cuts are a fact of life for non-profit organizations. With the market down, donors are holding back or reducing annual grants and donations to non-profit organizations. To help reduce the effects of these cutbacks it is more important than ever for non-profit organizations to efficiently and effectively utilize every marketing dollar that is spent. Atlas Bay has collaborated with the designers and branding experts at Kalidoscopoio to provide web design, branding packages, and marketing materials for many non-profit originations. Through this collaboration we are able to bring our clients a diverse set of skills ranging from branding to computer programming.

In recent years we have seen the power of the internet. Politicians used websites, social networks, and viral campaigns to raise record amounts of money from individuals across the world. Non-profit organizations have collected millions of dollars from individual donors on Facebook and through PayPal Donations. With traditional funding sources drying up, now is the time to make sure your organization is using these new resources effectively.

One of the most recent projects designed and created by our partners at Kalidoscopio was for Universitarios para el Desarrollo (The Association of Universities for Development). The Universitarios para el Desalrrollo is a joint project between teachers, students, and professionals that promotes development and social responsibility in Argentina. The organization has been active in their mission for nearly 20 years and has helped thousands of young people become better and more productive members of society.

Kalidoscopio was tasked with designing the association’s website to highlight the values, results, and current information about the association, its members, and the communities. Working closely with members of the association’s staff Kalidoscopio designed an attractive and functional website that enhanced the overall brand of the organization.

The overall design of the website focuses a great deal on photos and personal stories. As you can see in the image above the page header is a custom font with three photos showing the user snapshots of the programs. The website features the traditional elements such as a blog, photos, videos, general information, and contact details. The website differs from most non-profit organization websites in one important way: it is always changing.

Powering this website is a content management system that allows any authorization  individual within the organization to post updates, change text content, and more through a simple web interface. Unlike most non-profit organizations with static content on their sites visitors will be enticed to return to this site regularly for important news and updates. Furthermore, visitors can remain constantly connected by subscribing to RSS feeds for updates directly from the organization.

In designing the site, Kalidoscopio chose to feature various personal stories, photos, and quotations from individuals who have been involved in the program. These stories bring a personal touch to the site and really invite the user to get involved or donate to the program.

The last, and perhaps most interesting component of this website is the social networking focus. In today’s get-it-now, instant-feedback world it is important for all organizations to connect to their users. Tools like Facebook and Twitter are quickly become just as important as the telephone or email when it comes to communicating with your customers.

Non-profit organizations that miss the bus on these new tools to connect with their communities, clients, and funders will soon find themselves trailing by more agile and responsive organizations. The non-profit organization industry is an important and competitive one and every organization must constantly improve to stay ahead of the curve.

With the intention of staying more in touch and better connected Kalidoscopio and Universitarios para el Desarrollo decided that it was important to prominently display the organization’s Facebook groups right on the front of their homepage. By encouraging visitors to join these groups Universitarios para el Desarrollo will stay more connected and more responsive and be able to better serve their clients.

If your organization is looking to update their brand, website, or simply to become more engaged with your clients and community give us a call. We would love to help you help others.