The Internet took away much of the control regarding information – what’s available and who controls it – that organizations and individuals had enjoyed previously. One of the results of this anyone-can-share-information platform is that there are many unofficial web sites for nonprofits, government agencies, NGOs and other mission-based organizations.

Look up a specific USA national park or state park on Google, for instance: you will receive a long list of web sites that offer information about that park’s features, accommodations, programs and more – but which is the *official* web site? It can be hard to find it amid the unoffical ones. And consider this: is the official web site as good as some of the unofficial ones?

You can go to the Peace Corps web site (which is excellent) and learn how to be a volunteer. You can also go to several unofficial web sites for advice, like Peace Corps Online, the “Independent News Forum serving Returned Peace Corps Volunteer,” or this one by contributors to the Unofficial Peace Corps Volunteer Handbook. Why do these unofficial web sites exist? What information do they provide that the official web site doesn’t? How does the Peace Corps feel about them? You might be surprised at the answer to that last question!

 

Unofficial web sites for nonprofits, government agencies and NGOs pop up for a variety or reasons. Some of these unofficial web sites are nothing but online ad farms; the goal is to use the well-known name of the nonprofit to get people to visit the web page and then click on advertising, for which the web site creator gets money (sometimes as little as a penny per click). But some unofficial sites are set up because someone feels passionately about a subject and feels the official web site does not provide all the information that is needed. Often, these people wrote the organization and suggested this or that change/addition be made. Maybe they got the standard, insincere Thank you for your email. Your suggestion will be taken into consideration. blah blah blah. Maybe they got no response at all. And months later, when nothing changes on the web site, they decide – hey, I’m going to do this myself!

Unofficial web sites may provide important information regarding your organization that isn’t available on your official web site. They may provide better information that what’s on your web site. In either case, they can be drawing traffic away from your official web site – or, in fact, they can be generating more traffic to your official web site and programs.

What should you do if you discover there’s an unofficial web site about your organization, a specific program at your organization, about volunteering with your organization, etc.?

1. Determine why the site exists. Is this an ad farm, or is this an individual who cares deeply about your organization and wants to help people connect with it? Which it is will determine how best to approach those behind the site – if at all.
2. If you cannot find a “contact us” link on the unofficial web site about your organization, go to the WhoIs database and see who owns the site; you will be able to find email addresses there for the site administrator/owner (as well as a postal mailing address).
3. If the site is merely a verbatim repeat of what you already have on your web site, offering no different or additional information, write the site administrators and request they take the information down. Remember: for whatever you write, YOU own the copyright, and you have the right to demand your copyrighted information be removed. Welcome the administrator to link to your site, as an alternative, but make it clear that over-quoting is copyright violation.
4. If the site implies that it is somehow officially-affiliated with your organization, write the site administrators and tell them this will need to change. Offer a sentence or two that you would like on the site that will clearly disclaim any official ties between the site and your organization. If no change is made and the site continues to portray itself as someone officially-affiliated, have your legal council write a letter.
5. If the site provides inaccurate information, contact the organization and say so! Be specific!
6. Is the site in response to a lack of information on your web site? If so, remedy the situation! You can ask the site administrator for permission to use his or her material on your site, offering him or her a thank you for that permission, or, you can create your own information that you believe fills in the gap on your own web site. Whether or not you remedy the situation will be determined by the Internet community; if they like your new information, they will replace links to the other web site to your own. If they don’t, expect that unofficial web site to remain high in Google searches.
7. Does the site address subjects that your organization is not allowed to, because of legal/liability issues, or because it’s not directly related to your organization’s mission? As long as there is no violation of confidentiality policies, nor violation of the law, you may need to stay hands off. But not being able to include such information on your own web site doesn’t mean you can’t have a partnership with that official site. For instance, this unofficial web site for Peace Corps members, Peace Corps Online, is referred to by the Peace Corps official web site. And you will note unofficial volunteering web sites listed at the end of this blog that, I suspect, the parent organization or government agency is quite happy about.
8. Is a thank you in order? Be honest: does the web page or web site drive people TO your web site? Is it well-written? Is it factually-correct? Does it address subjects that your organization is never going to do, for whatever reason? If your answer is yes to any of these, you need to write the administrators and thank them for the page or site, however much it hurts to have some of your information control taken away from you. It’s up to your organization to decide if this web site information needs to be incorporated into your official site, or if it’s actually a good thing that it’s outside the official fold. Either way, create a good relationship with the person or people behind this site. You might even be able to bring them into the fold as a volunteer!
9. Educate staff and volunteers about this unofficial web site. Is it appropriate for them to refer people to these unofficial pages, for instance?

With all that said, I should note that there are two organizations I have created unofficial web pages for.

One is a for-profit organization that has an online questions-and-answers forum. The same questions about volunteering and community service get asked again and again. So I created unofficial pages that answer these FAQs. I have Google ads on the site that have generated enough revenue to pay for all of my web site expenses (which in this economy, was something I very much needed!). People, especially young people, that use the forum are getting their questions about volunteering answered more thoroughly than ever before as well. I still can’t believe this for-profit company didn’t think of doing it themselves.

The other is for a nonprofit organization. My page is regarding my favorite program that this nonprofit undertakes. IMO, the organization does a lousy job of helping its target audience access that program. Six months ago, I created an unofficial page to help people access that program – and it now ranks second in a Google Search on the program topic.

On a related note, see

• this blog on Embracing the Unofficial Volunteer.
• the unofficial blog by the volunteers of Free Geek Vancouver
• the unofficial web site of the Midland Volunteer Fire Department in Maryland
• unofficial FaceBook page of the Imperial Valley Service Center – American Red Cross