LGBTQIA+ Youth Advocacy Nonprofit
Youth OUTright:
Providing Support for LGB and Transgender Youth in Asheville Area Schools
In October of 2019, LightPress participated in the Make A Mark volunteer event here in our home town of Asheville, NC. The event’s organizers couldn’t have paired us with a more terrific nonprofit than Youth OUTright, a group whose mission is to offer support and advocacy for LGBTQIA+ youth to build life skills, confidence, and resilience.
In our “Bible Belt” region of Western North Carolina, YO plays an important role in caring for the health and well-being of a group that is often at high statistical risk of suicide and other negative side effects of the oppression they experience. Kids and teens who join YO find the safe and nurturing space for social acceptance and self-expression that may be missing in their home or school lives. We are enthusiastic supporters of the empowering work they do in our communities, and we are so proud to have been involved in the re-creation of their web presence.
When we first met with YO board members about their goals for this project, Youth OUTright’s original website was in a bit of a shambles. The org had a fresh new brand identity to present, but they didn’t want to launch them on the old website. There had been a lack of continuity between website maintenance efforts over the years, and nobody was quite sure how to rein in the rambling WordPress monstrosity it had become. (This situation will probably sound familiar to many people who have been involved in operating a grassroots nonprofit!)
Our goal in the platform switch from WordPress to Squarespace was to bring Youth OUTright’s website a fresh new look, tighter organization, and improved functionality with easier navigation for website visitors. We also wanted to bring greater ease to regular maintenance tasks–like updating event and blog pages–so that YO staff could manage the site on their own...without needing a degree in computer science! Of course, these are the kinds of cases where Squarespace excels.
We also built this website under the pressure of an 8-hour time limit. Other designers had 12 hours or more to complete various design projects for their partner organizations, but a few technical difficulties early in the day set our start time back by several hours. We were very nervous that we might not be able to make the deadline for presenting the website at the end of the day!
Not only did we pull the final touches for the website together in just enough time, but we also added a whole new “Articles” section to broaden accessibility and build SEO potential for YO’s wonderful curriculum resources.
We’re proud of how the site turned out, with its funky 90’s grunge theme and duotone color treatments. We hope you’ll check it out, and of course, please donate or volunteer if you’re able!
If your nonprofit organization is ready for a more dynamic and scalable website solution, please reach out for a consultation with our team of experienced Squarespace experts.