You better believe she can rock that cape: Sheena from The Uniform Project.

For my inaugural posting, I thought I should write about an organization whose online presence has grown steadily since it’s inception, whose daily postings are a real kick in the pants and whose cause is utterly right-on.  This NPO is less than a year old and already they are kicking butt and taking names, and making a serious run at their very lofty financial goals.  And they’re doing it all online.

The Uniform Project is based on a very simple premise: one upwardly mobile, fashion-forward young woman, Sheena, wears one LBD (fellas, that’s Little Black Dress to you) every day for one year, with different recycled accessories each day.  She posts a picture of herself in her outfit daily (these outfits, as you might imagine, cover quite a spectrum: from the chic masterpieces of a true fashion visionary to stone-cold-crazy get-ups that often look like something Marie Antoinette would wear if she were a salesgirl at Hot Topic, who dresses each morning in the dark after ingesting an unimaginable amount of controlled substances), on her website.  She lets her readers rate her outfits (and berate them), describes where all her accessories came from and creates a silly little name for each sartorial innovation.  Sounds simple and fun, right?

Well, it sure is, and it’s also for a great cause.  Sheena is taking on this project in service of a cause close to her heart:  The Akanksha Foundation for the education of underprivileged chidren in India.  100 % of the donations she takes in online via PayPal go to this wonderful organization (minus operating costs of the website, I’d imagine).  Of course, I want to recruit her (and her undoubtedly fun staff) to try one of our free donation pages and cut some of her overhead costs, but that’s for another posting. . .

The most impressive thing about The Uniform Project is it’s wild marketing success and focus.  Sheena and co. can offer us all a veritable tutorial on how to pull together an NPO that knows how to take advantage of incredible amount of fundraising resources available on the web.  Here’s how. . .

1.)   A Simple, User-Friendly Website That Clearly Explains The Mission

The Uniform Project has a stylish, minimalist website that allows the daily pictures of Sheena to really shine.  Her page about the mission of the project is concise, heartfelt and makes clear that what she’s doing is serious work to affect change, something it’s quite easy to forget when you’re giggling over her dress, paired with, say, a batwing cape, bright legwarmers, a porkpie hat, a Victorian blouse and always, always, vintage pumps.  Not only does she make the deeper message and aim of her fashion odyssey clear, she keeps a running ticker on the top right corner of her website, letting her faithful supporters know close she’s coming to her financial goals.  The Funds Raised ticker (currently at about $44,000- go on, Uniform Project, with your bad self!!) shows the current amount of cash raised and also what that really means to the organization.  For the Uniform Project, what $44,000 means is: 122 Kids in School.

The site has a clear message, coherently stated goals, regularly updated content and a cool gimmick (every morning, over my morning coffee: good lord, is she really wearing a fannypack??) that helps supporters feel more invested in the cause.  Also, Sheena’s really kind of singing for her supper: when you donate, you not only get the good feeling of having committed an act of generosity, you also feel as if you have personal stake and ownership in some of the flatly crazy outfits Sheena devises.  Donating to her cause is win-win!

2.)   Cross Marketing.

This point sounds pretty minor and actually isn’t.  I’m not talking about The Uniform Project’s savvy use of social media outlets or the publicity they’ve received from other online fashion sites and publications (in fact, I’m going to get to this in a minute); I’m talking about the symbiotic relationship Sheena has with her accessory suppliers.  The Uniform Project accessories are almost all donated by various artists: etsy vendors, up-and-coming designers and boutique owners with a keen eye for the kinds of accessories Sheena loves (and from the looks of it, she never met one she didn’t like).  In exchange for these donated accessories (which are later sold on Ebay, turned into cash donations, and put back into the cause), the designer gets a link from a blog that gets hundreds of thousands of hits per day and also gets his or her work showcased on a live, and now moderately famous, model.  Sheena gets from this exchange not only an amount of accessories that can only be called an embarrassment of riches, but hundreds of in-links from these same designers blogs of websites.  For an NPO to grow successful online, it is imperative to have linked connections with other organizations, blogs, or individuals sites who are of similar mind; this will increase the traffic through your site in number, certainly, but will invaluably increase your web traffic by bringing your site visitors who are already aligned with your mission.  The Uniform Project has made a lot of online friends and they are all helping, directly or indirectly, bring in more cash to the cause.  Ebay is, through the holidays, matching every dollar donated, up to 15k; now that’s what I call a valuable web ally.

3.)   Social Media

This is kind of a well, duh point to make, but having an interactive quality to your online presence is key to fundraising success.  The Uniform Project is linked into all aspects of online media; Twitter, Facebook, youtube, etc.  They send out regular email missives and update their social media sites often and humorously.  These outlets may not always be a good fit for your particular site or cause, but it’s always important to keep in mind that one of the earmarks of a successful website in general (and successful online fundraising in particular) is creating a sense of community.  While the idea of Twitter is, yes, totally time-wasting and preposterous, it would behoove any organization to consider its’ value as a vehicle for increasing online traffic and donations.  I swear, even if you’re not a hipster who wears gem sweaters and fringed vests to help needy kids in India, social media methods can really help get the name and mission of your NPO out there.  All this junk isn’t just for the kids anymore, honest.

Watch The Uniform Project Trailer

4.)   Clarity of Goals and Message

One of my favorite things about the Uniform Project is watching the ‘Funds Raised’ number climb daily.  I’m aware of the mini-goals Sheena and friends have set for the holidays, of the overall financial goal and where specifically the money is going.  I know what motivated the project, who supports it, and why it is personally important to Sheena, the face of the organization.  The directness of their fundraising lets the donors feel directly involved in every step of the process, and also keeps us exactly apprised of how close we’re getting to the goal.  This type of honesty and clarity of message is crucial in online fundraising, where it’s harder to ‘make the sale’ through a website than it would be face-to-face or at a benefit, or even cold-calling.

5.)   Interesting Content

My biggest point of praise for the U.P. is that the content of their site never gets old or stale.  There is always a new video, link, picture, or promotion to look at and experience.  Many non-profits think that throwing up a static website with some info about their mission, some basic search optimization and a PayPal account is enough to guarantee some online donation activity.  Unfortunately, in most cases, it’s really not.  Believe me when I say that it truly does pay to put some time and effort into creating compelling content for your site.  I’m not saying it has to be daily photos of a sassy fashionista unaccountably blessed with a models figure, but putting thought into who your target audience is and how to maintain their interest is crucial.  Web sites that have dynamic, changing content are far and away the ones who command the most web traffic and NPO’s that keep a blog or regularly update their sites are much more successful than their static-site counterparts.  A great blog will eventually become it’s own donation engine, of sorts.  Blog readers become donors become staunch supporters of your cause, whose yearly contributions you can count on like clockwork.  This is especially true if you are just starting out and looking to establish your web presence: put some time, energy, and creativity into your website and it will repay your organization many times over.  Sheena and the Uniform Project are being handsomely rewarded for their efforts, with recognition from online and print publications, articles in the trade blogs and, most importantly, by building an online donor base that is sure to remain rock solid as the organization grows and moves forward.  I, personally, can’t wait to see what she wears tomorrow.

-A.J.

Filed under: Online Fundraising by AJ