The Organization
The Russell Innovation Center for Entrepreneurs is the only not-for-profit business incubator in metro Atlanta that’s designed to guide Black entrepreneurs over the special barriers they must overcome in order to build thriving businesses.
The Challenge
The marketing materials that RICE had created were inconsistent in their presentation, and the organization’s website lacked basic information and functionality. For instance, it didn’t go into detail about its mission or programs. Visitors couldn’t book events or make donations online, nor could they use the site to register for the information sessions required of aspiring stakeholders. Finally, users could not interact with the website. Given all of these deficiencies, RICE wanted to rebuild and rebrand.
The Results
We took the following steps to refresh the RICE website:
- Collaborated with RICE to improve the organization’s stakeholder application, event request, and donation processes
- Refined the event registration process so that RICE personnel will no longer have to schedule events manually on behalf of visitors. Those planning events will be able to choose times, select vendors, specify preferred room styles, schedule appointments with audiovisual technicians, and make deposits
- To streamline the event registration process, Badie Designs built an application that was compatible with Optix, which RICE had been using previously
- Introduced animations and other graphical effects to emphasize select text and images
- Created an interactive graphic that presents RICE’s Big IDEAS curriculum as a multistage cycle; users can click or tap on each stage to learn more
- Added a customized tool that permits separate fees for stakeholders, non-stakeholders, and nonprofits
- Developed a stakeholder portal containing personal and business profile pages, announcements, and directories and other resources
- Created an online Black Marketplace directory on the RICE website for POC-owned businesses
- Integrated a custom CRM application that collects data from stakeholders, applicants, donors, and volunteers
Thanks to our custom solutions, the new booking process is easy and intuitive, while the site’s interactive elements add visual interest.
