NHC’s board of governors and staff spent 2014 thinking deeply about the work NHC can do for our members and the housing community at large. We identified providing resources to the housing field as a key value NHC brings to the housing community. NHC has been producing more research and different kinds of resources than ever before, like webinars, webcasts and communications tools. And as a national organization, the primary way the majority of our members and others will access all of these resources is online. Those factors add up to one thing: Providing the highest-quality online resources possible must be a top priority.
We put together a two-part plan to address this need, and today I’m proud to officially introduce you to part one: An NHC website that clearly describes our work and gives you easy access to the events, resources and tools you’ve come to rely on.
At the new nhc.org, you’ll find many new features, like:
- Simplified navigation that leads you straight to events, membership and our program areas: policy, research and communications.
- A new webinars library featuring embedded videos and an easy-to-navigate, topic-based organization.
- Enhanced resource pages in our research and communications libraries that offer downloadable PDFs of our reports, as well as press kits, webinars when available and information about the authors of our reports.
- A Housing Landscape data portal that connects you with new interactive state and metro data tools.
- Improved site search that enables you to find whatever you need quickly and easily.
As happens when organizations build new websites, you may discover that your bookmarks to NHC webpages are broken or resources have moved from where you are used to finding them. We are also still in the process of uploading some of our past work to the site. So if you can’t find what you’re looking for right away, try using the search bar at the bottom of any page on nhc.org. If that still doesn’t get you what you need, let me know.
While I’m thrilled to have this new site up and running, the part I’m most proud of is that the entire site was built by Sarah Bond-Yancey, our summer communications intern. Working with NHC marketing and communications associate Radiah Shabazz and me, Sarah chose a platform, designed the information architecture and developed all of the great new features you now have the chance to use. Her programming knowledge, project management skills and ability to quickly understand NHC’s work and interpret it for different audiences have been invaluable. We are so grateful to Sarah and wish her well as she moves back to Washington State to pursue a master’s degree and further her career in housing and community development.
I hope you enjoy visiting the new nhc.org and touring the new features. I also hope you’ll send me an email letting me know about your experience and about additional tools and resources you’d like to see on the site. The second part of our site redevelopment will involve making our site even more interactive, adding new data visualization tools and incorporating content from all of NHC’s sites, like HousingPolicy.org, Foreclosure-Response.org and the Housing Communications HUB, into nhc.org so you can access all of our resources in one place. We’ll be reaching out to our members for input and ideas throughout this process to ensure that all our online resources truly meet your needs.