Organization's Web Site, a Checklist Essay

And there it is -- the organization's purpose, stated plainly and simply. And one click takes the reader there.

Navigation around the Home Page is easy, as is using it as the departure point to reach other pages. Other links on the page take one to various projects of the Hunger Project around the world, written from the standpoint of individual human interest stories the average person can relate to. The contrast with the OAS page here is not difficult to understand; the OAS is funded by member governments, while the Hunger Project depends for its sustenance, in large part, on donations from people who may be visiting its Web site.

Interactivity is no greater than at the OAS site. There is, however, a menu choice "Get Involved." The reader is invited not only to donate but also to become a volunteer member of the organization or take a trip with the group to sites where the Project works. There is a "Contact Us" link at the bottom of the Home Page.

The site is inherently more interesting than the OAS site because of all the human interest found there. There are no photographs of bureaucrats, only of the indigenous people being helped by the Project. One can more easily relate to these people. Unfortunately, and surprisingly, there is no celebrity figure on that page who might draw readers in.

One major difference between the two sites is that the OAS presentation is much, much longer and has more breadth. But it is easily assumed the OAS has much more money at its disposal than the Hunger Project. The Hunger Project has a shorter, more direct message, and it probably would not want to have a longer message or more polished site anyway; charitable organizations like this one would not want to appear to be too fat to deserve a contribution.

1. Management Center International Limited. (Date unknown.) North Reading, England. Online reference. (http://www.mcil.co.uk/review/7-10-criteria.htm).