10 Advocacy Websites That Are Doing it Right

Advocacy organizations do important work — they prompt the most difficult conversations and pave the road to change. If your nonprofit does some or is entirely dedicated to advocacy work, thank you! The world is a better place because you exist.

As an advocacy organization, you would like to get your message heard, build a community of supporters and influence policy. In order to do any of that, you absolutely must have a dedicated website.

In this post, we’ll take a look at some of our favorite advocacy websites built in WildApricot to get you inspired. Whether you’re just starting out and looking to create a new website, or refreshing your existing one, you’ll be sure to get some ideas. You’ll see exactly what goes into an effective advocacy website and how WildApricot features make it possible.

Ready to get started? Let’s dive in.

Must-Have Advocacy Website Features

Before we look at each website individually, let’s go over some features that they all have in common. If you don’t include anything else on your website, be sure to at least offer the following sections:

1. A well-organized menu: You likely have a lot of information to share, so make sure to organize it in a hierarchy that makes sense. This will help your site visitors have a better user experience and quickly find everything they’re looking for.
2. An “About us” page: When someone who’s not familiar with your organization visits your website, this is the first place they will go to read about your mission, your work and how they can get involved. Make sure this page represents your organization well and is easily accessible.
3. Meet the team: When someone is thinking of supporting an advocacy organization, it’s important to them to know who is behind the organization, what experience they have in the field and what values they bring to this work. Whether you choose to showcase your entire team or just the leadership, it will go a long way in helping you establish a better connection with your potential members and donors.
4. Program information: Do you offer educational programs, courses or webinars? Do you have a scholarship students can apply for? Be sure to have a dedicated section for how people can get involved and learn more about the issues you’re aiming to solve.
5. Links to important resources: Where can visitors learn more? Is there a place for them to sign a petition, email a government representative or support a partnering organization? Be sure to let them know with a dedicated resources page.
6. Events: With WildApricot’s website builder, you can showcase your upcoming events in a list or calendar view, promote them in a widget on your homepage and have people register for the event right on your website. You can also keep an archive and highlight photos from your past events.
7. Membership application form: If someone is interested in joining your organization as a member, they can complete the process quickly and easily through WildApricot’s membership application form. You can set up different levels and price points, decide which information you’d like to ask for and process their payment right on your site.
8. Members’ only login area: If you offer exclusive information to your members or simply need a place to communicate important information that’s not applicable to public site visitors, you can take advantage of a member-only login area. It’s simply a password protected area of your site where members can login for more exclusive content and to view or update their own member information.
9. Social buttons: Are you active on social media? Invite your site visitors to continue the conversation and stay up-to-date on your activities by following your social media accounts. People are unlikely to visit your website on a regular basis, but if they follow you, they’ll be able to see your updates in their newsfeed as soon as you post them.
10. Search bar: Your website likely has a lot of useful information. When someone is looking for something specific, it can be time-consuming to skim through a lot of text in hopes of finding it. Instead, make it easy for your site visitors with a simple search bar embedded in your header or footer. Visitors will be able to search for key terms and find pages and sections of your website that contain them.

Now that you know which sections are absolute must-haves on your advocacy website, let’s look at some great examples from real-life WildApricot customers and see how they take their websites above and beyond with special features.

(And by the way, if you’d like to try building your own advocacy website in WildApricot, you can start a free 60 day trial right now and start exploring the website builder within seconds!)

10 Examples of Advocacy Websites Built in WildApricot

1. The Southeast Recycling Development Council

The Southeast Recycling Development Council is an organization dedicated to educating and raising awareness about the importance of recycling.

Standout website features:

• A rotating carousel of banners about their mission and the importance of recycling, allowing site visitors to immediately get a sense of what work the organization does.
• A section on the homepage, dedicated to acknowledging the organization’s sponsors.
• A place to sign up for upcoming webinars and watch past ones — this is a great way to offer educational content that helps people get a better understanding of the issues the organization is trying to solve and how they can get involved.
• A resource section with links to maps, directories, reports and recycling sites.

2. The Institute for Inclusion in the Legal Profession

The Institute for Inclusion in the Legal Profession exists to create change in the matters of diversity and inclusion among legal professionals.

Standout website features:

• A place where site visitors can sign up to receive news and important information. The form asks for additional information rather than just a name and email address, so communications can be segmented and personalized. They’ve essentially used a membership application form but without the membership fee.
• A place to view and download important publications — these are simply PDF files uploaded to the website.

3. Society Promoting Environmental Conservation

The Society Promoting Environmental Conservation aims to provide the public with practical solutions for urban sustainability.

Standout website features:

• Latest blog posts and upcoming events are featured as widgets on the homepage.
• An events section that lists monthly online meetings.
• A place for site visitors to sign up to receive emails about volunteer opportunities
• A page where site visitors can make a donation.
• An online store where site visitors can purchase a wildflower seed package in support of the organization.

4. The Lawyers’ Committee for Cultural Heritage Preservation

The Lawyers’ Committee for Cultural Heritage Preservation works to promote the preservation and protection of cultural heritage resources through education and advocacy.

Standout website features:

• Prominent call to action buttons like “Donate” and “Get Involved”.
• A photo gallery display on the homepage, so site visitors can get a sense of the organization’s mission and work.
• A Facebook widget that showcases latest posts and updates in real time.

5. The Latino Coalition Foundation

The Latino Coalition Foundation’s mission is to promote initiatives that enhance overall business, economic and social development of Latinos across the US.

Standout website features:

• The organization’s mission is clearly highlighted right on the homepage.
• The homepage features a carousel of photos from past events. This spotlights members of the organization’s community and gives prospective members a sense of what they can expect from future events.
• A slide presentation about the featured program is uploaded to the site as a PDF document.
• The donation page features a donation tracking wheel that updates as progress is made towards the organization’s goal.

Interested in making your own advocacy website after seeing these examples? Start a free trial of WildApricot today.

6. Illinois Federation of Business Women’s Clubs

The Illinois Federation of Business Women’s Clubs strives to make a difference in the lives of working women in Illinois.

Standout website features:

• This website has two menus, a main one as well as one for quick access to the most frequently visited pages.
• A section with links to more information about legislative issues, what people can do to help and the best time to do so.
• A section with links to other local organizations and newspapers for people who’d like to make a difference beyond just supporting the organization’s work.

7. Nevada Faculty Alliance

The Nevada Faculty Alliance advocates for quality education for the common good of their communities by promoting dialogue and effective policies and procedures.

Standout website features:

• A section that lists the organization’s various chapters and links to them where applicable.
• A section that lists services available to members. Offering guidance and services to members in return for their support acts as both an incentive for people to join as a member, as well as another way for the organization to act on their mission.
• A section with important contacts — there are many people involved and their contact information is listed here should people need to email the organization regarding a specific issue.

8. The National Foster Parent Association

The National Foster Parent Association aims to be a respected national voice for foster, kinship, and adoptive families through networking, education, and advocacy.

Standout website features:

• This organization offers a course and a weekly webinar, and people can submit their questions for the webinar ahead of time, making them more likely to participate.
• Past webinar videos are embedded right on the page so it’s easy for visitors to see them.
• An online store where site visitors can buy a bracelet or a book in support of the organization.
• The donate page includes a prompt for people to check if their employer would match their donation.

9. Maryland Affordable Housing Coalition

The Maryland Affordable Housing Coalition advocates for affordable rental housing in Maryland by ensuring adequate public and private resources, efficient and effective housing programs, and strong support among public officials at all levels of government.

Standout website features:

• The homepage features an embedded video. This is a great way to engage site visitors right as they arrive to the website and showcase your organization’s work in action.
• Sponsors are displayed on the homepage using a rotating carousel widget, giving them greater visibility.
• The website has a searchable membership directory that lists member organizations and their contact information.

10. North American MenEngage Network

The North American MenEngage Network works with men and boys to achieve gender equality, end violence, and promote health for men, women and children in North America.

Standout website features:

• The homepage promotes the organization’s upcoming symposium and features links to the resource hub, as well as prompts to join, donate and subscribe to the newsletter.
• The donate button stays in the footer at all times, regardless of what page the site visitor is on — this increases its visibility and creates more opportunities for someone to make a donation.
• Their past newsletters are all saved in a dedicated archive page as PDF documents.

Start Building Your Own Website in WildApricot

These features (and many others!) are all available with the WildApricot website builder. To get started with creating your own website, start a free 60 day trial now.

What features and sections will you be including in your advocacy website? Let us know in the comments!