GOAL: Provide access to high quality FitKit Personal Finance Programs at no cost for one year to 100 personal finance educators working in low-moderate income school districts.
 
NEEDS of Students and Educators in Low to Moderate Income Schools: Approx. 1 in 5 children live in poverty according to Communities in Schools. Students in high poverty schools have less experienced instructors, less access to high level science, math, and advanced placement courses, great challenges in meeting educational requirements, and lower levels of state and local spending on instructional materials. All of this shows that students in high poverty schools — many of whom have fewer resources and supports outside of the school building — are also getting less in the classroom- And its largely students of color that are feeling these impact. We seek to provide high quality turnkey FitKit Personal Finance high school Programs to schools that lack the resources or expertise needed to meet state Financial Literacy requirements.
 
IMPACT: Nationally- Low-Moderate income school. By providing 1 educator with FitKit programs DMFLF can impact as many as 250-500 students per year. 100 educators can impact 25,000 to 50,000 students annually

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Your company’s website is often the first point of contact between your business and your potential customers. It can serve as your virtual storefront, letting your customers know all about your products and services. Your customers may even be purchasing products right from your website.
 
In other words, this is one part of your business that you can’t afford to skimp on, the one thing that has to operate at 100%. And no time is it more important than when you’re operating your business in a tough economic climate.
 
And no matter how great you think your website is working for you, it can always be better. Here, we present a few tips on how to maximize your website to get the most out of one of your most powerful business tools.
 
Keep Them Coming Back
 
It’s one of the first rules of increasing your website’s rankings in search engine searches, keep adding content. A blog is a great way to do that by directing readers to your site. You’ll first have to define your target audience in order to create content that will be both relevant and interesting to them. Decide on a platform for your blog, such as WordPress, Blogger, or Squarespace. They all have their own pros and cons, so do your research and see which one will work best for you. Once you’ve created your blog, then promote it on your website and all your social media sites.
 
Optimize for Mobile and Smartphones
 
Your website appears different on smartphones than it does on desktops, so make sure your site is optimized for those devices as well. Using a responsive design means your site will always adjust to the screen it’s being viewed on. Use image compression for your photos so that they’ll be loaded more quickly on mobile devices. And make sure all the navigation buttons, links, and forms can be easily tapped by the user's finger.
 
Add Customer Reviews
 
People like reading reviews before purchasing a product. You don’t need to look any further than mega-seller Amazon and see the millions of product reviews there. Show off your own positive reviews on your website, building trust and confidence with potential customers. You can ask for reviews, if you don’t already have any to share, by engaging with your current customers on your social media business pages and asking for feedback you can share.
 
Use White Space Effectively
 
White space, or negative space, is the area on your website that separates the different elements. It can help with readability and reduce eyestrain. With it, you are able to draw the viewer's eye to the most important elements by surrounding them with white space. A simple design implies elegance and a sense of professionalism. And finally, it makes navigation easier on mobile devices.
 
Improve Customer Service
 
Use a chatbot or live chat on your site. There are several different versions of chatbot software that you can choose based on your budget and requirements. You’ll have to input code into your website to make the chatbot functional, like adding a plugin or script to the header. You can customize your chatbot’s appearance to compliment the rest of your site, too.
 
Payment Options
 
Your customers expect to be able to pay for your product or services on your website, so make it as easy as possible for them. You’ll first need to subscribe to a payment processor like Paypal, then incorporate the processor onto your website by means of a plug-in or an extension. You’ll then want to add payment buttons that clearly direct customers to that link.
 
You can direct customers and clients to your site to pay online, too. For instance, if you’re in the business of installing or repairing HVAC systems, check this out. With it, you can prompt clients to pay online and let them pay how they want. It’s a simple yet effective way to get your invoices paid on time and keep your finances organized.
 
Finally, using your website to make it a powerful marketing tool can carry your business through the toughest of times. Understanding all the ways to optimize your website can take some time, but the benefits of updating it now will pay you far into the future.
 
DoughMain Financial Literacy is a nonprofit dedicated to building a better tomorrow by educating people today. Consider supporting our efforts to help build a better tomorrow by educating students today. 
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