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Charity Event Overview/Name
One of the greatest assets that we as Americans have is our freedom which includes freedom of speech meaning that no individual can be denied the right to express his/her opinions or judgement, freedom of worship though there are still times when people may feel persecuted because of their religious preference, and freedom from want which is considered a new principle of social and economic behavior (Murray, 1943). But sometimes we forget that there is a cost for this freedom.
Freedom is fought for on the battle field by men and women who join the Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marines. These military members have fought in wars to include World War I, World War II, Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan to name just a few. And while the veterans returning home from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars came home to parades and celebrations, the fact is that US military veterans face inadequate care after returning home. It has been found that approximately one half of 2.2 million troops experience difficulties when returning home to include post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and substance use disorder. Some veterans end their life by suicide because of the many problems they experience to include nightmares of war as well as the lack of being able to find employment (McVeigh, 2013). But another major problem is veterans who have been severely wounded on the battlefield.
The event that is being sponsored is named “Golden Lake Fund Mud Run Fundraiser” as proceeds from this fund raiser will be used to assist the Wounded Warrior Foundation in supporting veterans who have been severely wounded in war time. This business plan has been sent to your organization for review as your organization has been a supporter of non-profit organizations that Longmont Enterprises has assisted with fundraising in the past. Further, it is our understanding that you are a Vietnam veteran; therefore, we believe that you understand the importance of this event and its impact on assisting The Wounded Warriors Foundation in receiving the help that they need in order to assist these veterans in adjusting to civilian life.
Target Market
The target market is every American who can afford to make a donation as well as corporations that understand the importance of giving back to the community. The Golden Lakes Mud Run Fundraiser will raise funding that will assist The Wound Warrior Foundation in assisting veterans who have been severely wounded on the battlefield. Many of these wounded veterans need specialized care that is not provided by the Veteran Administration. Family members do not possess the ability to assist these veterans as they suffer from major physical injuries as well as suffering from internal problems to include PTSD.
The Wounded Warrior Foundation envisions a generation of veterans that are well adjusted in mind because of receiving support to overcome the challenges of readjustment after traumatic injury. Programs that have been created are also interactive allowing these veterans to receive professional services that will assist them in maintaining healthy as well as meaningful relationships with their family and friends. Services include Combat Stress Recovery Programs, peer support, Warrior Care Network, and long term support trust (WWP, 2016).
There are services that wounded veterans continuously need in order to gain some type of recovery from traumatic war injuries. These injuries include amputations, bone grafting, foreign body removal, ligament repair, and burn wound care which is only a minute list of the injuries that are encountered by solders on the battlefield (Clark, Blair, Buckenmaier, & Walker, 2007).
While the VA does assist veterans relative to health care, appointments must be made with a long waiting list. There are times when the veteran needs to be seen immediately. This is a service that is provided by Wounded Warrior Foundation Project to the veteran free of charge.
Veterans also need substance abuse care and aftercare, mental health counseling, job assessment care to include training and placement assistance (NCHV, 2016). These are very real needs that are extremely costly even when part of the cost is covered by professional volunteers. The Wounded Warrior Foundations assists approximately 300 veterans and is filled to capacity at this time. With extra funding, this apartment complex can build additional apartments thereby having the ability to assist a total of 900 veterans. This will benefit the veteran as well as the community. Truly this is a worthwhile endeavor. After this event, a strategic plan has been put into place to create a website to ensure continuous funding so that the work of The Wounded Warrior Foundation will continue.
The Benefits of a Web Site
Continuous funding is necessary for The Wounded Warrior Foundation. The event “Golden Lakes Mud Run Fundraiser” will assist The Wounded Warrior Foundation with immediate funding; however, a website that is dedicated to the non-profit organization will enable The Wounded Warrior Foundation to grow so that more veterans can receive much need assistance. There are benefits that a web site can give to a non-profit organization to include evangelizing the need of The Wounded Warrior Foundation, leveraging the power of video to advance the cause of The Wounded Warrior Foundation, building a relationship with the volunteers and partners; and connecting with other non-profits and for profit organizations to gain insight on how to improve the organization.
The focus of The Wounded Warrior Foundation is meeting the needs of the traumatically wounded veteran. This mission alone is a full time job that leaves very little time for other concerns to include social efforts to drive awareness of the organization or to communicate the need which is a type of evangelizing. A website can accomplish this need. People need to understand The Wounded Warrior Foundation mission. The website can accomplish this process with the creation of presentations within an environment that will be appealing to the viewer (Miller, 2011). Many people can be reached thereby causing the increase of donations for this worthwhile cause.
Another benefit of a website is the leveraging of the power of video to advance the cause of The Wounded Warrior Foundation. More people can become aware of the benefits that are given to veterans through The Wounded Warrior Foundation and make donations online. This is the benefit of advanced exposure which is gained by a website (Halligan, 2012). It is important for a non-profit to build a relationship with the volunteers and partners who contribute to the organization as there are mutual benefits. The Wounded Warrior Foundation can advance its mission through the association with its partners and volunteers and can brand its business. Nurturing the relationship can enable the volunteers and partners to stay abreast of the needs of the non-profit without the non-profit having to specifically identify their needs. This is a win-win relationship for the non-profit and the partners/volunteers.
Lastly, another benefit of a website is connecting with other non-profits and for profits businesses to gain insight on how to improve the organization. Non-profits have the same goals to varying degrees as the purpose is always to help those in need. In today’s business market, there is also a social benefit to stakeholders as well as strategic partnerships between any combination of non-profit and for profit organizations. Each organization can maintain a focus on the greater good of the community (Arter, 2014). Successful partnership with a for-profit business can yield great benefits and results to include increased sales of products or services; increase customer and brand loyalty; attraction of new business partners and relationships; and the receiving of a tax donation for contributions (Arter, 2014).
The benefit of a non-profit partnership with a non-profit partnership includes increase funding, connecting with new business partners, attracting in-kind partners, increase in media coverage thereby enabling increased donations, and the development of earned income opportunities. The Business Value Proposition increases based upon the mix of information that is found when researching the business goals of the for-profit partners as well as the addition in the mission of the non-profit organization (Arter, 2014). This is just a limited list of the benefits that are associated with a website. Any non-profit that is assisting needed individuals within a community can benefit from the addition of a website. Now let us review the domain name for the website.
Domain Name
A domain name is very important to any business or organization as domain names are relevant to the Internet’s addressing structure and would not be effective without them. Each computer on the Internet has what is defined as an Internet Protocol (IP) which is a unique string of four numbers that are separated by periods and looks like this xxx.xxx.x.x with each x representing a number. It would be very difficult to remember these numbers on different websites; therefore, a group of computer scientists created the domain name system to assign a unique name to each number of the website. Domain names make a difference between having a successful Web presence or getting lost in cyberspace IP addresses (AllBusinessEditors, 2016).
Other benefits of a domain name include adding credibility to a business allowing the individuals who visit the site to have confidence in the site based on the name. The domain name for the event www.helpawoundedvet.com. This name reiterates the purpose of the event and will allow those who visit the site to know exactly what the event is about. The domain name is also! (Web, 2016).
Other benefits of an effective domain name include showing that the organization is forward thinking with the implication of the non-profit being knowledgeable of the Digital Revolution; adds mobility to the non-profit’s Internet presence allowing the non-profit to transfer Web hosts should the organization choose to do so; and most importantly, the right domain name can attract more business which is exactly the desire of the organization after the Golden Lakes Mud Run Fundraiser event is over (AllBusinessEditors, 2016). The next step is the content that will be on the website upon its creation.
The content of the website will be divided between the upcoming event and The Wounded Warrior Foundation with information concerning the upcoming event. The targeted audience will be people within the community where The Wounded Warrior Foundation is located; however, many people are not aware of The Wounded Warrior Foundation or what the organization does. Information about The Wounded Warrior Foundation will be included on the Website to include a picture of how the apartment complex looks now and another future picture showing how the apartment complex will look after funding has been received and used for the new buildings to include specialized equipment rooms. This should attract people who know the importance of giving for such a cause. There will also be a list of the organizations and businesses that have contributed to The Wounded Warrior Foundation over the years.
Information will also be included concerning when and where the event will be held. The scheduled event will be held October 8, 2016 at the Denver Colosseum located at 1525 Lawson Street, Denver, CO 80909. The telephone number is 303-353-3333. The event will be held in doors with vendors giving away free food, products, and services to those who give donations. It is the plan to raise $2.5M for the non-profit organization. All funds raised will go directly to The Wounded Warrior Foundation. The event is being sponsored by 6 vendors whose organizations will be listed on the website with other vendors matching donations.
This event can use the support of every organization and individual to show the appreciation for the sacrifice that was made by veterans who served this country with honor in wartime. It is now time to show that appreciation by giving to a cause that will assist these veterans in getting help to return to a fulfilling life with family and friends. While it is good to thank the veteran for serving the country, it is even more important to give assistance in their time of need.
Company that will Develop the Website
There are a number of sites that could be used to develop the on-profit’s website; however, the chosen company to develop the site is Web.com. This website builder can be found at the link listed below. http://www.web.com/landing/websitebuilder.aspx?trkID=SEMrzNr3ZW&promo=bsl3m495&gclid=CjwKEAjwgPe4BRCB66GG8PO69QkSJAC4EhHh6pGQcC-Bx1b8RjSF3oQISsIlENXf4RTtTbWTYSkk5xoC1yHw_wcB This business can also be reached at 800-872-0147. There are hundreds of design templates to choose from as well as a variety of integrated online tools and services to include web publishing, web hosting, business email, and domain name registration. The site also offers web marketing and ecommerce services to include technical expertise.
The website gives organization’s a choice to build its own website with simple yet powerful Website Builder design software guaranteeing a secure and reliable web hosting. The web hosting can help to increase traffic and can accept donations via credit card payments. At this time the site is offering a special to include a free Facebook account. The telephone number for this special is 866-495-7531 (Web, 2016).
It is most important to remember that a website is a very effective business tool. Since this website will be used by a non-profit organization, it is important to be cost effective. The organization has a clear strategic plan which is to ensure consistent funding for The Wounded Warrior Foundation. Information will be placed on the website to keep contributors informed on the how the organization operates and the improvement of veterans as they recover and move on with their lives. Another positive relative to the success of The Wounded Warrior Foundation is that veterans who do recover successfully also come back and volunteer in helping other veterans to do become productive. This is valuable information for other veterans as well as partners and volunteers who may not be aware of this process.
How the Website Will Be Managed
Managing the website once it has been set up is of importance to The Wounded Warrior Foundation non-profit organization. Investigation is being performed at this time to use a system called WordPress. This company understands the importance of a Website with a training program that is designed to assist the organization in managing their own website with ease. WordPress will teach individuals who will be assigned the task of managing the website how to edit web pages, upload any photos or images that will be used on the website as well as how to add new content to the website. This process can be accomplished via a flexible text editor that works very similar to MS word. This will enable success for the individuals who will be working on the web page.
Identification of Costs
As has been previously stated, Web.com will be used to set up the website for the event and for The Wounded Warrior Foundation. After research it has been found that the introductory Web.com cost for using the website builder is $1.95 with a special that will give the organization a Facebook account for free. Four weeks after implementation, the rate is $22.95 per month for Website Builder only and $42.95 per month which includes Website + Marketing + E-Commerce (Web, 2016). While this price is somewhat higher than other websites, the advantages include Web.com working virtually which means that any problems that occur with the website can be repaired without the organization being open and a coach is available to answer any questions. The pricing appears to be reasonable thereby enabling the organization to manage costs relative to the addition of a website. The last consideration is the identification of potential impact on revenues.
Identification of Potential Impact on Revenues
This business plan details the successful event planning for the “Golden Lakes Mud Run Fundraiser” event. But now it is time to identify the potential impact on revenue for your organization by being a sponsor and participant in this event. Corporations who support non-profit organizations can receive a boost in their business as research has shown that 91 percent of consumers tend to spend their money with organizations that give to non-profits and 61percent of consumers will try a new brand when that organization contributes to non-profits (Horrigan, 2013).
These are just a few of the positives that can potentially impact on revenues by your organization being a sponsor of the “Golden Lakes Mud Run Fundraiser” event. As you can see, there are benefits for your business as well as the non-profit organization. The biggest benefit is the enabling of a veteran to get back to life.
References
AllBusinessEditors (2016). Why Domain Names Are So Important. Retrieved April 25, 2016, from https://www.allbusiness.com/why-domain-names-are-so-important-681-1.html
Arter, A. (2014, August 19). 10 Benefits Only Nonprofits Can Offer For-Profits in a Partnership. Retrieved April 25, 2016, from
http://thirdsectortoday.com/2014/08/19/10-benefits-only-nonprofits-can-offer-for-profits-in-a-partnership/
Clark, M., Blair, M., Buckenmaier, C., III, Gironda, R., & Walker, R. (2007). Pain and combat injuries in soldiers returning from Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom: Implications for research and practice. Journal of Rehabilitation Research & Development, 44, 179-194. Retrieved from http://www.rehab.research.va.gov/jour/07/44/2/pdf/clark.pdf
Halligan, A. (2012, October 17). 4 Steps Nonprofits Can Take to Establish a Lasting Business Partnership. Retrieved April 25, 2016, from
https://able-altruist.softwareadvice.com/4-steps-to-establish-a-lasting-business-partnership-1012/
Horrigan, S. (2013). The Five Things Corporate Sponsors Want From Nonprofits. Retrieved April 25, 2016, from
http://nonprofithub.org/nonprofit-marketing-plan/five-things-corporate-sponsors-want-nonprofits/
Miller, J. (2011, October 24). 10 Ways Non-Profits Can Benefit From Social Media. Retrieved April 25, 2016, from
http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/10-ways-non-profits-can-benefit-from-social-media/
Murray, N. (1943). What Does Freedom Mean? Parrish Memorial Art Museum, 9, 710-713. Retrieved April 25, 2016, from
http://www.ibiblio.org/pha/policy/1943/1943-09-05a.html
NCHV. (2016). Who Are Homeless Veterans? Retrieved April 25, 2016, from http://nchv.org/index.php/news/media/background_and_statistics/
Web (2016). Web.Host. Retrieved April 25, 2016, from
https://cart.web.com/interstitial/default
WWP (2016). Programs. Retrieved April 26, 2016, from https://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/programs/
