One Fifty One, Inc.
--
The Client
One Fifty One, Inc. is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization headquartered in Douglas, Ga that works to relieve poverty in rural Georgia communities. In its current operations, the organization hosts summer camps at local churches, with campers assisting local families in unsafe living conditions by providing critical structural repairs to homes at no cost to the homeowner.
In an effort to expand operations to other communities, the local summer camp incorporated as One Fifty One, Inc. in 2019. The volunteer-operated 501(c)3 is now faced with the challenge of restructuring the brand to allow for growth from a single-camp operation to multiple local camps operated by the nonprofit.
The Problem
Although the One Fifty One brand has developed a trustworthy reputation in Douglas, Ga and surronding communities through word-of-mouth efforts, the organization’s website falls short of effectively communicating the identity of the brand. Now that the organization has officially incorporated as a 501(c)3, it lacks distinction between the organization (One Fifty One, Inc.) and it’s summer camps programming (Camp One Fifty One).
Additionally, as One Fifty One’s summer camps expand to new communities in South Georgia, the registration process needs to allow for interested participants to choose from multiple locations when registering for camp.
The Solution
In order to create an online presence that accurately represents the newly incorporated One Fifty One, Inc., the organization need an updated website that clearly distinguishes between the nonprofit organization and it’s programming.
As part of this updated website, the summer camp registration process needs to be upgraded in a way that is both user-friendly to participants with data that is easily accessible for the camp’s volunteer-led team.
The Tools
- Google for Nonprofits: Google’s entire business suite is available to nonprofit organizations at no cost. One Fifty One, Inc. currently uses Google for Nonprofits to organize its camp registration data in a way that easily accessible by the entire team. This cloud-based, collaborative setup allows the volunteers that operate the camp to maintain the day-to-day operations of the camp from their respective daily routines.
- WordPress: A WordPress CMS is the best option for One Fifty One, Inc. as it allows for easy maintenance of the website by a team that does not have the technical skills to build their own online tools. WordPress also allows for One Fifty One, Inc. to easily expand their website to include new programs and initiatives as the organization expands.
- RegistrationMagic: RegistrationMagic is a WordPress plugin that allows users to build custom registration forms and integrate them into their WordPress site. In addition to building forms, RegistrationMagic allows users to accept payments, upload documents, and manage their user-profiles. This will help ensure that all registered users have completed all forms, provided required documents, and paid camp fees before holding their spot at camp.
The Advantage
While there are a variety of event management tools on the market that would satisfy the needs of One Fifty One, Inc. These tools are typically licensed via a monthly subscription, often requiring a premium package to meet the demands of One Fifty One, Inc. As a nonprofit organization, every dollar spent on operational costs is money taken away from the mission of the camp. By leveraging single-purchase WordPress Plugins like EventPrime and RegistrationMagic, One Fifty One, Inc. can keep their out-of-pocket expenses low and allocate funds raised to the community.
Also by utilizing WordPress, the organization has the luxury of a site that can grow and evolve alongside the organization. As One Fifty One, Inc. continues to expand and offer new camps and community outreach programs, all while keeping costs low.
Establishing the Brand
In order to establish One Fifty One, Inc. as the newly incorporated 501(c)3, it was important to update the branding to distinguish from the original summer camp branding. This included an updated logo, color scheme, fonts, and a detailed style guide with usage information.
It was important to the board of directors to keep the saw blade and handprint elements from an orginal camp logo. By cleaning up the design and updating the fonts and colors to give it a more corporate feel, the organization has a logo that relates to it’s orginal branding while still being thouroughly distinguished from the summer camps programming.
Colors
Each summer camp has it’s own color scheme that changes from year-to-year. In order to distinguish between camps and the organization it was important to provide the organization with a versatile color palette that interacted well with a variety of bright colors.
In order to accomplish this, a grayscale base was created to be used as the primary colors in all brand elements.
Secondary and tertiary colors were created for accents and contrast with the grayscale base. Colors were selected to be both earthy and industrial to reflect the service and construction based roots of One Fifty One, Inc.
Typography
Following the motif of the industrial roots of One Fifty One, Inc. fonts were selected to be industrial but also modern and elegant. It was important to consider the appearance of the brand in respect to practices like fundraising and community outreach to ensure that One Fifty One’s branding clearly communicated the practices of the organization while not being too niche, running the risk of being off-putting to donors or volunteers.
The Product
The Organzition vs. The Camp
In order to distinguish between the organization and it’s summer camps programming, two distinct “about” sections were created on the site. The primary about page focuses on One Fifty One, Inc. as a 501(c)3 organization, with information about it’s mission, goals, and board of directors. Additionally, a secondary “about the camps” page showcases the operations of the summer camps, the history of Camp One Fifty One, and how to get involved with program. This distinction, while minor, was crucial to distinguishing between the organization and the programs it hosts.
Camp Registration
By utilizing RegistrationMagic, Camp One Fifty One now has a user-friendly registration process that allows users to complete forms, upload relevant documents, and pay for camps all in one easy process.
On the backend, camp staff can quickly look and see basic registration stats, such as the number of registrations, payment statuses, and attachments. The camp can also easily automate email campaigns, make notes about registrants, and edit the responses and status of registrants. Although the need for these kinds of edits are rare, it is extremely valuable to a low-tech camp staff to be able to access and edit this information in a user-friendly way.
Once the registration process is complete, all of the registration data can be easily downloaded in a .csv format and imported into Google for Nonprofits. This allows the camp to seamlessly incorporate their new registration tools into their current week-of workflow, eliminating the need to retrain volunteer staff.
Expandability
Both WordPress and RegistrationMagic make it easy to duplicate forms and redirect registrants to the appropriate form based on what camp location they chose to register for. This allows for the camp to quickly add additional locations to registration process with the confidence that everything will operate smoothly under a tested process carried across all of it’s summer camps.
Reflection
Although completing my capstone project for a master’s degree in the midst of the 2020–2021 COVID-19 pandemic proved to be a challenge, it was a very rewarding experice overall. I feel incredibly luck to work with an incredible client that is doing real work in the community where I was raised. I have learned so much, not only about the technical execution of developing a product like onefityoneinc.com, but also the soft skills required for managing a relationship with a client, managing my time (although this one I’m still learning), and effectively reflecting on the work I’ve done to communicate it to others.
Advice to Future Emerging Media Cohorts
If you’re considering pursuing, or have already decided to pursue, a Master’s in Emerging Media from the University of Georgia, rest assured that you’ve chosen a program that gives you the flexibility and freedom to pursue your interests and make the most of your time in grad school. Although everyone’s experience with EM is unique, there are a few pieces of advice that I think can apply to everyone on their EM journey:
- Work with a team- As someone who decided to work alone on my capstone project, I can tell you with confidence that working with a team is the best route to go. Sacrificing the flexibility of making your own schedule and the freedom and comfort of not having to rely on the competency and work of others is a small price to pay in exchange for a divided workload (because this program is a lot of work. Like a whole lot of work) and the real-world experience of working with others.
- Chose a project that you love- Although this one may seem a bit cliché, making sure you have a project or client you are passionate about will help keep you motivated throughout your EM journey. Although there were a lot of days that the last thing I wanted to do was work on my capstone project, it helped to know I was creating a real solution for a client that I believe in.
- Work with a client- Unless you have an idea for a product that you truly want to take to market one day, find a client that you are passionate about and see if theirs anything they need. Working with a client helps to hone soft-skills that you will need after school, which is invaluable experince in the long-run. Also, having a client with a real problem helps you to step outside of simply being creative and into a world of creative problem solving in a practical application. While this may not sound as fun as creating a brand-new, cutting-edge solution, it is the kind of thinking you will need for the real world.
Acknowledgements
Lastly, I want to take a moment to acknowledge the individuals that helped make my EM journey a success:
Chris Calhoun | Chris is the founder and chairman of the board of directors for One Fifty One, Inc. Although he could have chosen any number of much more qualified individuals to develop the organizations new website, he took a chance on me and gave me one of the best learning oppourtunities of my college career.
Chris Gerlach | Chris is EM/NMI Faculty and my capstone adviser. While I know he is glad to have me out of his hair, I know that I would not have been able to finish my degree without his ongoing support and willingness to help do everything he could to see me succeed. It’s this kind of support that made it possible for me to finish the drill and I am incredibly grateful for it.
Megan Ward | Megan is the administrative director of the New Media Institute and my (now former 😳) boss. If Megan has not recognized my potential and offered me and assistantship with the New Media Institute and TEDxUGA, there is a solid chance I would now have pursued this program and would have missed out on an incredible opportunity to better myself before journeying into the real-world.
Leah Moss | Another incredible NMI Faculty and EM Faculty Advisor, Leah is responsible for helping me craft a schedule that worked best for my EM Journey, although there were a few challenges throughout my EM Journey, Leah was always willing to help me pivot and find the solution that was best for me.
The NMI Team | Although not as directly involved in my EM journey as Megan, Chris, and Leah, I would be remiss if I did not acknowlege the rest of the NMI Faculty; Emuel Aldridge, Kyla John Weatherford, and Kyla Sterling; as well as the incredible team of graduate assistants; Tyler Mazurek, Olivia Sprott, Daniel Copetillo, Dakota Werner, and Phoebe Finch. All of these individuals have touched my EM Journey in so many ways and helped me to become the man that I am today. I can’t imagine working with a better team over the past 3 years.