TEst

Target Audiences for the New Site

• Primary audiences confirmed:
• Current members: CEOs, development staff, volunteer/board campaign chairs
• Prospective YMCA organizations (not individual gym members)
• Young professionals (under 35, staff or volunteer)
• Partners and sponsors: secondary, not primary site audience
• Better served by a dedicated sponsor benefits page and targeted outreach
• Existing sponsor/exhibitor page on conference site covers them for now

Membership Structure Clarification

• Two-tier model: YMCA associations join and pay (pricing based on budget size); individual staff and volunteers sign up at no extra cost
• Associations renew annually (not auto-renew); individuals stay in the system until removed by their Y
• Renewal happens via direct email from Mary, not via the website; “renew” likely belongs in the footer, not a dedicated page
• Two separate databases: association list (primary contacts) and member benefits (all staff and volunteers)

Key Site Goals and Messaging

• Three priority actions the site must support:
• Join (or renew)
• Register for conference
• Find learning opportunities, access resources, contact NAYDO
• What a prospective member should understand immediately:
• NAYDO’s impact: why it should matter to their Y and why they should join
• Benefits of joining: what’s in it for the individual and the association
• How to engage
• Avoid a plain benefits checklist; lead with stories and emotional connection
• Analogy: a Y tour that lists “pool, gym” tells you nothing; stories do
• Fundraising is the core skill NAYDO teaches, relevant at every level and career stage
• Smaller YMCAs are the sweet spot: they need NAYDO most but often don’t know it exists
• Story angle: a $500 membership that helped raise $5M is the kind of ROI to surface

Content and Brand Directions

• Impact numbers: explore aggregating total fundraising across all ~400 member YMCAs for a collective ROI figure (990s are public)
• Eagle Awards: strong storytelling asset, should appear on both the main site and conference site
• NAYDO Leadership Series: new name replacing “Academy” (clearer, avoids confusion with DBD Academy)
• Tiered tracks planned: introductory, mid-level, and advanced (CEOs, board chairs, volunteers)
• Exploring a NAYDO certificate of completion to accompany courses
• AFP Global (afpglobal.org) reviewed as a reference: too much noise, no clear hook for outsiders; NAYDO should feel immediately relevant and connective
• YouTube strategy: use for public, searchable content (Eagle Awards, fundraising trends, membership benefits); keep member webinars on Vimeo behind the protected wall
• YouTube membership/paywall not recommended; keep the two platforms distinct by purpose
• Photography: pull from conference photos and Y brand assets; Kristen to source new Dallas photos and update the library
• Font license: transfer existing license to the new site (Mary recently renewed it)

Next Steps