A Portrait of Non-Profit Web Success: The Georgia Aquarium

Alright, so superficially the Georgia Aquarium may not have that much in common with your typical non-profit. It's huge, sells a product and was bankrolled by a billionaire. It may seem a universe away from your typical non-profit but the goals are actually the same.

The aquarium wants to build and establish relationships with high end donors, reduce staff overhead and waste, and streamline business processes all with a pretty close eye on the bottom line and providing as much funding for programming as possible.

Computer world just ran an excellent breakdown of the effectiveness of the Georgia Aquariums website and market presence that I think would be of interest for all non-profit professionals. The web isn't something to be scared of, it is a powerful tool to be embraced.

A few key points:

• The level of customization was quite minimal requiring the creation of 2 custom xml interfaces to integrate items.
• The use of the website has tapered off after the aquarium opening. This is due to the frequent sellout dates when the aquarium first opened that are much less frequent now.
• There is a clear and distinct plan for growth through the website
• The business philosophy prioritizes "The Web site is a very big priority for us, everything we do, we want to put on the Web site first.” Jeff Swanagan CIO Georgia Aquarium
  

Web Link:
Computer World Article