Site Profile: Africa Foundation

Optix Solutions are proud of their association with a number of charitable organisations, the latest of which is the transatlantic Africa Foundation. The Africa Foundation is dedicated to conserving the continent’s vast and diverse wildernesses through funding and initiating projects that support the socio-economic development of rural communities based within or close to these areas. The emphasis is on empowering these communities to support themselves by sustainable means. While there are obvious differences between the website requirements of a charity and a business, there are also many similarities. As with a business, key is the ability to deliver essential messages to both existing audiences and potential supporters, including the organisation’s philosophy and information on current projects, initiatives and performance. Optix’s site development brief was to not only freshen up the look and enhance the functionality of the organisation’s existing website, but also involved designing a Content Management system that could deal with a large quantity of important and thought-provoking up-to-the-minute information in such a way that it could be easily be managed by the client and navigated by the visitor. A second challenge was to enable the foundation to talk to two distinct audiences simultaneously. The Africa Foundation operates in both the UK and the US, so Optix created a system structure that allows the charity’s trustees and staff to update latest news and information on events specific to visitors to the site on both sides of the Atlantic. Strong images of Africa and the Foundation’s projects and activities are essential to the impact of the site, and Optix have incorporated an editable photo gallery that allows the client to upload fresh high-quality photographs and move and replace existing ones quickly and easily. Susannah Friend, Director of Fundraising for Africa Foundation says: "I have worked with Optix on many website development projects over the past four years, most recently on the Africa Foundation website. “As a charity, Africa Foundation has to combine the best possible quality of work with exceptional value for money. Everyone that I come into contact with at Optix is professional, courteous and understands exactly what I need. “They have the ability to deliver high quality work to tight deadlines. I can honestly say I have never been disappointed by the work they produce." http://www.africafoundation.org