Website Analysis

By Martha Fitt

5/6/2010

Site Chosen
Dime Child (Demanding Intelligence through Mentoring and Education)
www.dimechild.org

Business Model
The Dime Child foundation’s business model is to provide educational resources and services to at-risk students (both male and female) in the hopes of providing a more promising future. It offers programs emphasizing education, mentoring, leadership, social and moral values via central a brick and mortar location, an online radio station, and several enriching events in the Chicagoland area.

Value Proposition
Dime Child offers a value to its members by offering free events and services to students of low income households aging from 12-21, who may have otherwise been unable to attain those experiences. It is one of only a handful of organizations in the Chicagoland area which offers those services free of charge to the target market.

Competition
One major competitor for the Dime Child foundation is the Boys and Girls Club of Chicago. The organization serves over 13,000 youth per year, approximately 60% of which exists in the 12-21 year old age group. It also offers services and events in several locations throughout the Chicagoland area for a small fee, and accepts online donations. Other competitors in a similar market include Friends First, T.E.A.M., and The Springboard Foundation.

Channels
The brick and mortar metropolitan Chicago location as well as the WDCR Dime Child internet radio station (http://www.jamalsmallz.com/flash_mp3_player/splash.html) are the two main channels of the Dime Child foundation. Donations are primarily accepted via postal mail, and photo galleries as well as upcoming events are some of the items that may be viewed via their website.

Intended Customers

  • Brick and Mortar Participant: The typical member of Dime Child is either the student or the volunteer. As the students consist of low-income, high-risk households, they may not have access to or high-level technical proficiency in internet browsing. Hence, along with volunteers they will typically utilize the on-site facility. Volunteers, students, or casual browsers may utilize the website to view pictures, link to the online radio station, read about the foundation, get contact/address information, or find out about upcoming events.
  • Internet Radio Listener: The online radio listener will typically be a student, parent, or volunteer interested in gaining insight, support, and/or guidance. They will have access to the internet and be of mid-level computer knowledge with recreational interests, and can be of any location including outside the Chicagoland area.
  • Website Browser: A visitor to the Dime Child website may be a mid to higher-level computer user, either browsing the site to learn more about the foundation or fulfilling another purpose. They may be browsing the picture gallery, reading about the foundation, reading biographical information about founders and supporters, accessing the online radio station, and/or getting contact, address, or donation information.

Attracting Consumer Interest
Dime Child attracts interest and donations via their various events. The foundation, for example, hosts annual fashion dinners. They also offer cultural excursions, job shadowing and other field trips for the youth. Another main channel, the online radio station broadcasts to listeners who may not be located near Chicago but may still be interested in guidance, entertainment, or donating to the cause. Dime Child has also teamed up with larger organizations to advertise their services, such as The Springboard Foundation (www.springboardfoundation.org) and Idealist.org (www.idealist.org). It also maintains a Facebook page for further interaction and blogging capabilities (www.facebook.com).

Interactive Web Content
The Dime Child website offers a colorful, picture-filled, interactive flash-animated website (see Figure 1). Images change dynamically and shuffle upon clicking any of the 5 main areas:

  • About Us- where visitors can find information about the organization’s mission, history, and founders (see Figure 2).
  • Gallery- where visitors can find photos and blurbs about recent events and mentoring sessions (see Figure 3).
  • Supporters- where visitors can learn about supporters and various support avenues including donation acceptance (see Figure 4).
  • Contacts- where visitors can find the physical foundation location and contact information for key staff members (see Figure 5).
  • WDCR- where visitors can find the link to and information about the online radio station hosted by youth members (see Figure 6).


Figure 1: Dynamic Home Page


Figure 2: Informative About Us Page


Figure 3: Interactive Photo Gallery


Figure 4: Expandable Supporter Page


Figure 5: Main Contacts Page


Figure 6: WDCR Online Radio Portal Page

Site Actions
Online donations and purchases are not applicable for this site, but events and mail-in donations are the main avenues of financial support. There is also phone and email contact information provided for credit card donations. Additionally, the WDCR online station is run by students and volunteers, and is accessible via the Dime Child site (see Figure 7).


Figure 7: WDCR Online Radio Pages

Reacting to Visitor Interaction
Dime Child proudly displays list of supporters and board members on their site. Donation address and inquiry email address is located under the supporters section. They also provide a contact section with the location, phone, and fax number of Dime Child’s headquarters along with an employee directory including names, titles and email addresses.

Utility, Organization, Navigation, Appeal
The Dime Child site design is unique, colorful, visually appealing and interactive. The site menu is not located in the typical top or bottom navigational locations. However, it does utilize left-pane navigation and is generally left-aligned. With a relatively small and to-the-point interface, a user can view the site from a smaller screen without requiring horizontal or vertical scrolling. As a user selects a section of the site to view, the menu box changes from gray to orange indicating which section a user is viewing, and the menu remains in the same relative location throughout navigation. External links such as the online radio station open in a popup window so that the user remains on the site at all times. This is helpful in particular for the low to moderate internet browser/computer user, and is overall very well suited for a youth member being the target market.

Site Actions
Online donations and purchases are not applicable for this site, but events and mail-in donations are the main avenues of financial support. There is also phone and email contact information provided for credit card donations. Additionally, the WDCR online station is run by students and volunteers, and is accessible via the Dime Child site (see Figure 7).

Features such as the various slideshow pictures and gallery give the site a welcoming experience. Page flow is entertaining as the images and menu items shuffle with sound effects. But perhaps the most youth-appealing feature is WDCR. Hosted and aimed at at-risk youth, the radio station provides an entertaining avenue that any child or adolescent can relate to, with music and experiences to share. Browsers may listen to the station while navigating the pages and even while navigating other sites.

Room for Improvements, Enhancements
The site serves its purpose as a welcoming, youth-based, low to moderate computer user portal for the Dime Child foundation. However, what the site lacks most is a convenient and trustworthy donation mechanism. I highly recommend interfacing PayPal with a name-your-donation feature, along with a few items for purchase. This could generate more revenue and allow for another participatory experience where members could work together to create WDCR CDs, t-shirts, homemade cards, etc. for purchase. The site would also benefit from either a blog or link to their Facebook page to increase participation and mentorship. Finally, and perhaps most basic, the site should be updated more frequently as upcoming events posted have already occurred.

References