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Case Study

Website Implementation Plan & Production

Access Fund

Working to protect climbing landscapes and ensure sustainable access for generations to come.

The Challenge

Since 1991, Colorado-based Access Fund has worked “to ensure a sustainable future for climbing by bringing climbers together to protect climbing landscapes and the incredible experiences they offer.”

Access Fund’s impactful work includes (a) advocating for public lands to be managed sustainably and to remain accessible to all people, (b) purchasing threatened climbing areas, and (c) building nature-friendly trails and climbing locales.

Their messaging was directed not only at the climbing community, but at lawmakers, land managers, donors, and other pertinent audiences. However, communication efforts were notably hindered by their Craft content management system (CMS) that required outside technical support.

Moreover, although they had a rich library of amazing photography, their ability to use it to tell their story—and ultimately for financial support—was hampered by an older, difficult-to-update website.

So Access Fund’s questions we needed to answer included:

  • Which CMS platform won’t require a developer, but will work with the variety of third-party plug-ins we wish to use and give us attractive, modern templates with which to build smart web content?
  • How can we refresh our website design without breaking the bank?
  • How can we improve upon telling our story through the website to drive donations and gain new supportive members?

Our Solution

Recognizing Access Fund’s need for easy-to-manage website improvements (for both appearance and donor optimization), we:

  • Explored and recommended three major content management systems, all of which featured user-friendly drag-and-drop editors. After demoing, Access Fund selected the one they felt supported their desired functionality and was easiest to maintain in-house.
  • Created various templates for ongoing use that (a) vividly showcased their incredible photography, (b) promoted clear and compelling calls to action, and (c) reflected a thriving, contemporary nonprofit.
  • Integrated third-party platforms and plug-ins for a seamless, convenient operation. Fundraise Up’s already optimized donor experience was elevated even further through its custom integration into Access Fund’s website.

The Results

Access Fund enjoys a much easier interface for updating their website, requiring no outside support.

They now feature a modernized website design that makes good use of third-party platforms like Fundraise Up to inspire donations.

Pillar web pages were redesigned and rewritten to clearly explain the problems Access Fund solves and the case for supporting their organization financially.

Access Fund Homepage
Access Fund Impact Section

"I just wanted to express my thanks for the beautiful new website and the seamless launch.

This is my fourth website launch with Access Fund, and I've also managed website projects on the agency side, and this is by far the smoothest and easiest I've ever seen.

You all are very good at what you do, and you have our deep appreciation!” 

Access Fund

Holly Smolenski
VP of Marketing & Philanthropy

We can help your team do a lot more!

We’ve assisted hundreds of nonprofits plan for and implement game-changing digital integrations, often requiring website restructuring that optimizes donations.

And we’re here to help with yours.

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