Virginians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty
Tides Foundation Final Grant Report
November 23, 2015
$6,000 Capacity Building Grant
TFR 15-01562
All activities conducted by Virginians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, Inc.
were and are consistent with its status under Internal Revenue Code section
501(c)(3) which remains unchanged since the proposal and related materials
were submitted to The Advocacy Fund. Virginians for Alternatives to the Death
Penalty, Inc. warrants that it is in full compliance with its grant letter dated June
2, 2015 and that, if the grant was subject to any restrictions, all such restrictions
were observed.
Impact & Assessment
This project to update the VADP web site resulted from a social media for
nonprofits conference in Richmond. One of the major recommendations to
the assembled nonprofit leaders was to redesign their organizations’ web
sites with “responsive design.”
Many older web sites like that for VADP was designed for desktop & laptop
computers. If you accessed the old VADP web site on a cell phone or tablet,
the entire page appeared in microscopic print. It was terribly difficult to
navigate on those devices
Earlier this year Google instituted a new policy downgrading web sites in
their search engine that do not have responsive designs. The reason is that
over 50% of all web searches are now made on mobile devices. And this
percentage will only grow in the future.
VADP solicited three estimates from experienced web developers for
redesigning the VADP web site to recognize the device & display the web
page in an appropriate manner. The estimates ranged from $1,125 to
$6,000 depending on how comprehensive the redesign would have been.
The upper end estimate would totally redesign the web site from scratch
with mobile device responsive design. The lesser figures would provide
“fixes” to lessen the basic problem.
With the generous grant from the Tides Foundation, VADP chose Workhorse
Digital to redesign our web site. This vendor also provides web hosting
services and other IT services to VADP.
The redesign work proceeded in several phases. The first step was
choosing a WordPress template on which to create the new responsive
VADP web site. Our consultant suggested two alternatives based on the
type of information on the existing site. The VADP Executive Director, in
consultation with selected board members, decided on one of these
templates.
The second step was reviewing the material on the existing site and
deciding what to move over to the new site and what to discard. We
determined that about 20% of the existing web pages were either out of
date or no longer were relevant to the strategic direction of the
organization.
The third step was assisting the consultant with design work. The
Executive Director provided a wide range of photographs to create a
welcome and visually appealing image for VADP.
The final step was reviewing the beta site and making both substantive and
visual changes to what the consultant created. This process took place in
several iterations with the assistance of VADP board members who
reviewed the beta site and recommended a number of changes.
The new web site went “live” on November 12, 2015. The responses from
board members and VADP supporters has been extremely positive.
Challenges
The execution of Alfredo Prieto by the Commonwealth of Virginia on
October 1st created havoc with the web site redesign process. The original
“launch” date for the new VADP web site had been September 23, 2015.
The execution created a significant amount of unanticipated work for the
sole VADP staff person that made it impossible for the organization to meet
its deadlines in the original work plan.
As a result, the launch was delayed for seven weeks due to other
contractual obligations of the consultant and staff work on a major VADP
event - an awards luncheon in mid-October.
Evaluation & Lessons Learned
It has proven difficult to engage our supporters in organizing local
educational events & outreach efforts at festivals, hosting “friend-raisers,”
and identifying conservatives who might be willing to sign onto a public
statement opposing the death penalty. Most VADP activists are also
engaged in other issues, and abolition seems to be a secondary area of
commitment. In addition, most supporters are decidedly liberal and have
few conservative contacts of note.
It is our hope that the new VADP web site will help to generate new
supporters and donations for our work to limit and ultimately abolish the
death penalty in Virginia.
In recent weeks several VADP supporters have volunteered to host “friend-
raising” events. A capital defense attorney in northern Virginia will host an
event in January. An Episcopal priest in Norfolk will host another event in
the spring with the assistance of two attorneys in her church. Two board
2
members will also host events in the spring of 2016 - one in Richmond and
another in Roanoke.
Funding & Finances
For the first ten months of 2015 VADP has generated $50,250.29 in income
(91% of budget goal). Individuals contributed $38,013.85; churches gave
$9,075.00; and special events generated $2,470.00 in revenue.
Total expenses for the first ten months of 2015 total $69,102.03 for
$18,851.74 in negative net income. We anticipate that end of year giving
will exceed expenses so that we can end the 2015 calendar year with an
approximate net income of zero.
Our end of year fundraising letter is scheduled to go out from a mailing
service on the day after Thanksgiving. This will be supplemented by a
social media development effort and continued faith community fundraising.
Board members will contact VADP major donors by phone to encourage an
increase in gifts. Finally, we plan to have several in person meetings with
major donors with the capacity for substantial four figure donations.
During these major donor meetings, we will present a five-year strategy
document that asks them to increase giving so that we can hire a full-time
conservative outreach organizer. This will include a number of specific
giving levels that are needed to reach this new staffing goal in 2016.
Virginians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty
Tides Foundation Interim Grant Report
November 23, 2015
$6,000 Capacity Building Grant
TFR 15-01562
Financial Report for the Grant Year
July 1, 2015 to June 30, 2016
Expenditures
(as of 11-25-
Budget 2015)
Personnel Expenses:
Executive Director
Personnel Subtotal
Direct Expenses:
Travel
Postage & Shipping
Printing & Copying
Materials & Books
Database & Website
Direct Expenses Subtotal
Indirect Expenses:
Telephone & Fax
Development/Fundraising
Professional Fees
- Workhorse Digital, Inc. 6,000 6,000
Indirect Expenses Subtotal 6,000 6,000
Total Expenses $ 6,000 $ 6,000
CC BY-NC-SA 4.0