Illumination Foundation Micah’s Way Micah’s Way is a non-profit organization based in Santa Ana that benefits the homeless, making it a competitor for Illumination Foundation. Its mission is to help families and individuals based on their needs and assist them in becoming self-sufficient. This program is called Family and Individual Services (FIS). The website is very easy to follow and use. It uses the same border for each section of their website, clearly identifies contact information, includes a link for donations, and literally highlights the organization’s mission. This design allows for consistency through-out the site and makes it very easy to navigate. Each page uses several pictures and a few videos to give visitors a great visual of the organization. However, the site goes over the very basic idea of the organization and only explains one small program that it hosts several times a week. Something that the Illumination Foundation should consider adopting is openly acknowledging its volunteer’s birthdays. This could be done in the newsletter or even in a more private fashion by sending a birthday card to the volunteer’s house. The same program could be used by sending holiday cards or New Years cards to volunteers in order to remind them that the organization appreciates their contributions. Also, Micah’s Way incorporated less formal text on its website, which was interesting. It could either encourage more people to volunteer because they feel that the organization is more fun, or discourage people because they do not feel like it is a well-run organization because it is less professional. Main Page The main page explains to visitors who the organization is, its purpose, and how visitors can donate. The informational paragraph begins with a Bible reference, assuming that all visitors to the site have a Bible (“You can read about it in your Bible...”). However, the text also acknowledges that Micah’s Way is not a religious organization despite being named after a prophet. This creates an inconsistency and may cause visitors to feel disinterested in the organization if they do not have a religious affiliation. Immediately thereafter, there is a paragraph offering statistics about the homeless in Orange County. This allows readers to understand why Micah’s Way exists. The statistics paragraph and the following one, explaining what a non-profit is, both offer links to other pages. This encourages readers to continue exploring the site even if that was not their original intention. Blog The website also offers a blog. This is a great idea to keep website visitors informed on what is going on each day. However, it is not used in an effective manner. There are entries from several employee’s blogs, but most of the postings are void of any information. Since September 12, 2009, there are only 18 blog entries. The most recent entries only have one quote from a public figure, such as Ceasar Chavez or Lincoln, or tell of a Bible reading or gospel. Micah’s Way had the right idea in the beginning, including videos of some of its events or speakers, but the blog has quickly become obsolete.
89