Image relating to Increasing the visibility of Ashfield Voluntary Action

Increasing the visibility of Ashfield Voluntary Action

Ashfield Voluntary Action (AVA) is a registered charity which provides support to voluntary sector groups across Ashfield and supports individuals and families through a range of targeted projects.

The charity has been operating in the area for over fifteen years, initially under the name Ashfield Links Forum. AVA is involved in a wide range of activities that support the improvement and engagement of health initiatives in district of Ashfield. It works closely with the Mansfield and Ashfield Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), local councils, voluntary and community groups with an aim to improve the health and wellbeing of the residents of Ashfield.

Some of the initiatives and services it supports include volunteering projects, patient support and engagement, a community enterprise scheme and an emergency food bank. It also runs sessions at its headquarters which give local residents access to computers and the internet to boost their skills, knowledge and confidence.

 

Raising the profile

Quiet Storm was approached by AVA in Autumn 2018 and tasked with designing and developing a new website which better reflected the organisation's aims, objectives and values, and showcased the range of initiatives it supports.

Its previous website was self-built and didn’t really highlight the full range of support AVA supplies. It tasked Quiet Storm with creating a new site which would give AVA more visibility online and could be used as a central information hub, which service users and people enquiring about various AVA projects could be directed to.

We were also asked to have a look at the organisation’s branding and logo as part of the website design, to give it a refresh and make the site more visually appealing for users. We created a brochure site for AVA with a simple navigation and user journey, so anyone landing on the site could find the information they need with only one or two clicks. It has a news section which can be updated regularly, along with strong calls to action throughout the site and links to the organisation’s social media accounts. 

Following its launch in December 2018, the website has seen an 89% increase in visits. Its news section accounts for around a third of all page views.

 

‘A huge difference’

AVA’s Terese Jackson said:

“Our new website has made a huge difference to the way we promote ourselves and has helped increase our visibility. We cover a large and diverse area and deliver many different types of support, projects and initiatives to various groups in the community, so engaging properly with the different people we work with has always been a challenge.

“Prior to the website Quiet Storm built, we had a self-built one as an interim solution, but it wasn’t getting found online and didn’t reflect the organisation very well.

“Our new website has solved that problem and we’ve been given in-depth advice and training regarding adding content and search engine optimisation, which has resulted in a lot more traffic to the site. Having a good website also increases the credibility of the organisation and helps to ensure we will always have a reasonable chance of securing future funding to support our work. All in all, we are delighted with the website and the ongoing service that Quiet Storm provides. Their team is very helpful, nothing is too much trouble and they are always on the end of a phone if we need anything.”


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