This second post on community benefit dives into best practices for the Community area of your nonprofit hospital or healthcare system flagship website to assist you in offering a first class digital experience. With the Community area attracting a wide-ranging audience including legislators, policy makers, non-profits, community clinics, and consumers you will be able to better meet their varied needs with a best in class digital experience.
There are several common elements that all community benefits website areas need in order to retain tax-exempt status however there are degrees to how well this being has done. When done well it creates greater awareness of the community benefit programs/activities supporting several stakeholders, encourages participation and expands reach with a superb digital experience.
Showcasing Community Benefit Programs/Activities on Flagship Site
The Community area of your website should showcase the efforts of your organization in community health improvement, health professions education, community building, unreimbursed care plus others. The impact can be shown in several ways and not just through annual reports or community health needs assessment and 
implementation strategy plans but also through videos, data points, brief facts, etc. Including a video that is out in the community of the neighborhoods being served showing the service being made available can be extremely powerful. In addition to videos leverage photography, animation, graphics and other formats to tell the story of the impacts in community benefit. Use these formats to highlight the programs/activities that are being offered, the volumes of individuals that are participating, the partnerships that exist in the community with your organization and how they work, results of surveys conducted, etc. all to help create awareness and showcase the impacts of community benefit.
Engaging Community Benefit Reports
In addition to this, address the community benefit reports and publications in an easy to understand and make them accessible. Make the results of the reports transparent and offer key findings prior to having to download them. Consider offering some key takeaway points in the form of infographics with numbers and supporting facts. Strong use of graphics to present this information will make it easier to interpret for many visiting the website area.
Creating Comprehensive Events Calendars
Draw attention to where you will be next with a community events calendar(s) that highlights by each program where and when you will next be in the community. A comprehensive calendar of upcoming events that includes the details of the services being offered, exact location, hours, what to bring with you or any frequently asked questions that need answering. Creating this awareness will ensure you reach as many people as possible within that neighborhood for those that most need your services. Multiple calendars can also be created for the various audiences to ensure health professionals are able to locate events relevant to them as quickly as possible.
Dedicated Community Health Improvement Program Dedicated Site Sections
For those from the local community visiting the website, not only showcase the comprehensive set of community health improvement programs and services offered but ensure every program has a dedicated website section. It should clearly state the services offered and in which communities and neighborhoods they are offered. Include any resources you have available so they can be downloaded and used by parents, teachers, and others. Multimedia use per program could highlight the specific work being done and the impacts made. Ensure these showcase some of the individuals you serve.
Define Community
In addition to the above items, it is important for all audiences to understand what community means to your organization. Having a clear statement on your Community landing page will help with this. It can tie into your mission or brand values helping website visitors understand the importance of the work and dedication to community benefit. Share examples of what key commitments include for your organization.
Encourage Questions & Contact
Make it easier for website visitors to get in touch should they have questions by offering contact details or a form as a way to get in touch. You may also wish to have a dedicated line just for press inquiries to help screen some of the queries.
Be sure to follow digital best practices by focusing on prominent placement of relevant calls to actions (CTAs) so there is a user action for each webpage. Offer key reports and publications as downloadable links above the fold of the screen so users do not have to scroll and it can be easily located. It can also be helpful to repeat CTAs to key reports at the very top and bottom of the webpage for user convenience. In order for webpages not to be too text heavy, leverage multimedia, infographics, etc. If you are including multimedia and infographics please ensure they are mobile friendly.
I hope you found the above useful in creating a best in class digital experience for the Community area of your flagship nonprofit hospital or healthcare system website. The final post in the series will offer suggestions on what to do next in expanding the omnichannel presence.
