HIAS

The Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS) is an advocacy group for persecuted and oppressed distressed persons worldwide with many branches. HIAS had recently launched a campaign in Africa and was seeking a younger demographic and constituency. Founded in the 1880s, HIAS needed to be brought into the 21st century with its Web presence; Purple, Rock, Scissors met with dozens of executives in order to create a cohesive brand using subdomains online.

In the Global subdomain, an educational, interactive world map shows areas where HIAS is heavily involved today and gives information on how donations help. Past beneficiaries were given MyStory, a first-person interactive subdomain where they could create an account and contribute stories of how HIAS aided them, as well as reading and connecting with others. Vivid photo galleries, an events calendar, and an easily updated Advocacy news subdomain were utilized to draw in that younger demographic, as well as the allowance for future growth of a Young Leaders subdomain. The different pages lead users to the Donate subdomain, designed to be completely compatible with the nationally used Blackbaud fundraising software. A customized system capable of syncing users’ online and offline giving was created, enabling HIAS to track donations.