I am totally new to Drupal and unsure how to set Drupal up in a way that makes sense for multiple non-profit orgs helping the poor and marginalized here in Columbia, Mo. I would like to connect with someone who can help me build up a stable Web presence such that multiple people can contribute to a site but it retains its "non-Drupal appearance" (at least to some degree) and allows for a singular editorial voice.
The two non-profits I am affiliated with are both working deep in the local community to rescue people out of drug and alcohol addiction, provide clothing, food, shelter, job assistance, and mentoring to those in our community who need it the most. What's needed right now is some technical/server assistance to get them to a point where total non-techies can update/edit the site with ease. Both of these operations are run "bare-bones" so even the very idea of hiring someone out at $100 an hour is laughable. Can anyone get us going in the right direction? Sites targeted to be migrated to Drupal are http://www.grannyshouse.org/ and http://www.columbialoveinc.org/. (Note the way-outdated material...sigh.)
Thanks in advance for any advice/assistance.
Comments
Very Interested
I am a Web developer who focuses on non profits and smalll businesses and would like to talk to you more about this endeavor.
Hey Warren- I don't have a
Hey Warren- I don't have a lot of time to contribute, but I can lend you a hand. I'd like to stay out of the theming. I don't see why two "bare bones" NFPs would be concerned that their site might have a "Drupal appearance". Other than that I'd be happy to help you get your server set up and go from there. Just call me if you wanna talk.
Ya know???!!! They can just
Ya know???!!! They can just install a nice free theme or purchase an even nicer non-drupal-looking theme and be up and running.
Why Drupal?
Drupal is awesome, but have you considered Wordpress? It might be better, easier, less costly in the short and long term.
My non-profit rate is $25 an hour. I have done pro bono work for NPOs in the past and it doesn't usually work well for either party. Honestly, without that monetary commitment, I find that they either don't appreciate the service I provide, or aren't willing to put in the effort on their in to learn the system and add content and keep the site relevant and up to date. So, I have found charging a nominal rate keeps both parties on task and valuing each others time.
That said, my wife has a best friend that lives in Columbia and we've never been there. Would love an excuse to visit for a week! haha.
Here is the site I made (pro bono) for my church. http://foc4u.org/
Still Available?
Hi,
I am also starting a non-profit and need a little extra help (I am having problems with the home page, the rest of the site is working).
Please let me know if you are interested.
sarah@justhealthfoundation.org
I can help you out with the
I can help you out with the theme conversion into a drupal one if you are interested.
I can help smooth some of the rough edges with you
Warren,
I am the Chairman/CEO of a Software Development and Consulting company in Independence, Missouri (east of Kansas City) and have been in the Information Systems / Technology industry for about 20 years.
I have developed sites in just about every way imagineable and I have to tell you that I am really liking what Drupal 7 has to offer (over Joomla or Wordpress either one), especially when it comes to being able to set up a site and then walk away and let the owners of the site maintain it.
It requires a little bit of training of the user, but once I show them how, most are off and running. I myself have taken my site completely offline and am going to upgrade and develop our website strictly using Drupal provided functionality (and there is a lot of it to be had), even though I can and have done all the functionality by hand in the past. It saves me considerable time and it is rare that the modules do not work in the manner in which I intend on using it. But on the rare occasion it does, it is flexible enough I can write the additional code needed to "overwrite" the provided functionality.
I find that I like the functionality, the community, the additional functionality, and the ability to even develop your own functionality much better in Drupal than any other CMS system.
So in an effort to help promote the Drupal framework, I wanted to jump on here and let you know that if you need any help, I would be willing to point you in the right direction and if need be might even be able to travel to Columbia for a day or two to get the fires burning. But chances are that no matter what kind of help you need I am sure you can find it in the vast community resources available (IRC, Skype, Groups, Help files, extended help module, books, etc) but anything you can not seem to find sufficient help for I would be willing to give a stab at helping you with.
Mark L. Krug
Chairman / CEO
Paladin Pursuit, Inc.
(816) 503-9586
business: mark.krug@paladinpursuit.com
personal: devildogmrk@yahoo.com
Theming is the key
Setting up Drupal on a server is fairly straightforward, particularly now we have Drupal 7. Most of the expert attention would have to be devoted to customising templates and stylesheets to create the individual theme you need for each site. This could be done by starting with the base theme Zen and creating new subthemes. An example of one I have done (using Drupal 6) can be seen at www.just42.org.uk
The new themes could make use of backgrounds and images from your present sites to retain some continuity of appearance.
Unfortunately I am unable to visit you in Columbia!
Graham Oliver
Suffolk, UK
Permissions and grants
If you are planning to use the same instance of Drupal for both non-profits, I can go over some of your options for setting permissions and grants. I get up to Columbia now and then, if it helps to meet in person.