A New Digital Experience for the Foundation for Appalachian Ohio

September 14, 2026
FAO website

The Foundation for Appalachian Ohio (FAO) plays a vital role in transforming lives across 32 counties. By turning charitable giving into lasting investments in people, institutions, and ideas, FAO creates pathways for communities to flourish.

As FAO’s programs and community offerings expanded, the organization needed a digital presence that matched its growth and ambition. To align its web presence with its evolving mission, FAO partnered with Origo Branding to create a modern, accessible website designed to engage donors, partners, and community members. Here is a look behind the scenes at how strategic research, custom web design, and smart digital architecture came together to elevate FAO’s story.

Strategy Through Discovery & Research

Every successful web transformation starts with listening. To understand how stakeholders perceived the original site—and to map out the goals for the new platform—Origo conducted strategic discussions, an online survey, and one-on-one interviews with key FAO stakeholders.

This discovery phase uncovered critical insights regarding:

  • Which information needed primary prominence on the home page and key landing pages.

  • How to structure the user journey to optimize navigation for different audiences, from individual donors to grant seekers.

  • How to balance the regional scope of the main foundation with the distinct needs of local community affiliates.

Building on these insights, Origo developed site architecture, naming concepts, and visual design options. FAO ultimately selected the concept “Every Gift You Give,” a theme that directly reflects their core message that every type of contribution builds meaningful, lasting impact across Appalachian Ohio.

A Welcoming Look and Powerful Site Features

Origo designed the new site to feel both informative and welcoming. Built with a responsive layout optimized for desktop, tablet, and mobile devices, the new site delivers a seamless user experience while supporting strong search engine optimization (SEO) performance.

Key features built into the new website platform include:

  • Integrated Sub-Site Functionality: Origo built a unified system allowing FAO’s 15 Affiliate partners to manage cohesive sub-sites. Each Affiliate can now easily highlight its own local funds, grant opportunities, scholarships, and organization history within the main brand framework.

  • An Interconnected News Feed: To streamline communication, Origo engineered a dynamic news feed. Articles published on the main site automatically populate to the relevant Affiliate sub-sites, ensuring local communities stay informed without extra administrative effort.

  • A Custom Funds List: To help donors quickly find causes they care about, a custom automated filtering system enables users to search funds by county, area of interest, or one of FAO’s core Pillars of Prosperity.

Preparing for Long-Term Growth & Success

A great website launch requires more than just clean design—it requires technical precision and team enablement.

That’s why prior to going live, Origo conducted a thorough SEO audit and refined back-end performance to ensure fast load times and search visibility. Additionally, Origo led comprehensive training sessions for the FAO team, equipping them with the tools and knowledge needed to manage, update, and evolve the site internally as the organization grows.

The result was a seamless launch of a vibrant, scalable web platform that connects donors to causes and amplifies community impact across Appalachian Ohio.

Discover the Full Story

To learn more about this partnership and explore the detailed strategy behind the digital redesign, read the full Foundation For Appalachian Ohio Case Study.

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